2023-05-14 17:18:59
The French Chess Federation is at the initiative of an experiment aimed at exploring the therapeutic benefits of the millennial board game on young people with autism. Jose/Adobe Stock
REPORT – The game would have beneficial effects on the ability to concentrate, orientation in space or even social skills.
Maxime, Ethan, Elisa and Angeline learned to play chess in just ten sessions, in their classroom at the Institut médico-éducatif de Villers. The establishment located five kilometers from Coulommiers, in Seine-et-Marne, welcomes children and adolescents aged 6 to 20, with intellectual disabilities with or without autistic disorders. Back from vacation, the four young people resumed their place in front of the chessboard. “They haven’t played for several weeks, we will start from scratch this morning”, apologizes with a smile to their teacher, Jean-François Porcher. From scratch, that is to say piece by piece, according to a method specifically designed for this young audience who sometimes struggles to concentrate.
The game therefore begins with four rooks that the older teenagers place, jokingly, on the chessboard. Absorbed, Ethan concentrates for a long time and takes deep breaths before moving his piece, while Maxime chats happily in front of him – this…
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