Motivation
The chatbot-for-autism literature (Papadopoulos 2025; Frontiers in Psychiatry 2025) flags conversational AI as a high-value pattern for autistic users: patient, predictable, available, non-judgmental. AITW's AI tutor bots (Clawd, Gremlin, Dreamfinder) are likely the strongest ASD-positive feature already in the game.
A "bot-only practice mode" — solo room where only AI tutor bots are present, no human peers — would let players build competence and familiarity before adding the social layer. Lowers the cost of the first multiplayer session by an order of magnitude for kids who get overwhelmed.
Scope (tentative — needs consultation)
- A room mode that admits only the player + bots
- All existing bot capabilities (oracle, code editor help, prompt challenges) work
- Probably accessible from the room selector / a "Practice" tile
- Open question: does completing challenges in bot-only mode count toward progress?
Why this is gated
Design-heavy. Open questions on progress carry-over, social re-entry path, and whether this should be a permanent affordance or a tutorial. Needs consultation input before implementation.
Related
RESEARCH.md — chatbot-for-autism evidencedocs/asd-consultation-prep.md
Motivation
The chatbot-for-autism literature (Papadopoulos 2025; Frontiers in Psychiatry 2025) flags conversational AI as a high-value pattern for autistic users: patient, predictable, available, non-judgmental. AITW's AI tutor bots (Clawd, Gremlin, Dreamfinder) are likely the strongest ASD-positive feature already in the game.
A "bot-only practice mode" — solo room where only AI tutor bots are present, no human peers — would let players build competence and familiarity before adding the social layer. Lowers the cost of the first multiplayer session by an order of magnitude for kids who get overwhelmed.
Scope (tentative — needs consultation)
Why this is gated
Design-heavy. Open questions on progress carry-over, social re-entry path, and whether this should be a permanent affordance or a tutorial. Needs consultation input before implementation.
Related
RESEARCH.md— chatbot-for-autism evidencedocs/asd-consultation-prep.md