{"id":24317,"date":"2025-09-22T15:25:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/?p=24317"},"modified":"2025-09-22T15:25:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:25:38","slug":"dartmouths-play2prevent-lab-and-nonprofit-proof-positive-collaborate-to-design-mental-health-games-for-autistic-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/2025\/dartmouths-play2prevent-lab-and-nonprofit-proof-positive-collaborate-to-design-mental-health-games-for-autistic-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"Dartmouth\u2019s play2Prevent Lab and Nonprofit Proof Positive Collaborate to Design Mental Health Games for Autistic Youth"},"content":{"rendered":"

The play2PREVENT (p2P) Lab<\/a> at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth has received a $755,000 grant from Proof Positive<\/a>, a nonprofit organization focused on promoting the well-being of the autism community. The grant will fund a two-year initiative to create and evaluate digital health games that help autistic youth build emotional resilience, social confidence, and positive coping strategies.<\/p>\n

The collaboration was sparked through Dartmouth\u2019s Innovation in Medicine & Healthcare Series<\/a>, a forum that convenes leaders across medicine, technology, and academia in cities around the country to explore innovative solutions in healthcare.<\/p>\n

\"Lynn
Lynn Fiellin, MD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe moment we started talking, there was clearly a strong alignment,\u201d said Lynn Fiellin, MD, founder and director of the p2P Lab and professor of biomedical data science at Geisel. According to Fiellin, these initial conversations quickly evolved into a deeper collaboration, with both organizations seeing an opportunity to fill a critical gap in the mental health landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re both grounded in science and focused on empowering young people through positive psychology,\u201d Fiellin added. \u201cProof Positive brings a robust curriculum around gratitude, stress management, and optimism. And we saw a real opportunity to embed those elements into gameplay built with youth, for youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founded in 2009, the p2P Lab has spent more than 15 years developing and testing video games aimed at reducing health risk behaviors among adolescents<\/a>. Games have addressed topics like HIV prevention, substance misuse, and mental health, often blending narratives and challenges to engage young people in learning through play.<\/p>\n

In late 2023, Fiellin transitioned the lab from the Yale School of Medicine to Dartmouth, where it is now affiliated with the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH)<\/a> and the Geisel School of Medicine. The move marked the continuation of a longstanding collaboration with CTBH and opened new doors within Dartmouth\u2019s interdisciplinary research community.<\/p>\n

Now, with Proof Positive\u2019s grant, p2P can cover new terrain\u2014all while funding research staff, curriculum development, community engagement, and a full evaluation of the game\u2019s feasibility and impact. The research will begin with focus groups and co-design sessions before moving into game production and outcome measurement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve shown through rigorous research that games teaching mental health skills\u2014like reframing negative thoughts or managing stress\u2014can have measurable impact,\u201d Fiellin said. \u201cWith this new initiative, we\u2019ll be tailoring those tools to meet the needs and strengths of neurodivergent youth, starting with their voices at the center.\u201d<\/p>\n

To design these tools, Fiellin\u2019s team and Proof Positive will collaborate with autistic youth, families, and educators to develop interactive, game-based content that is both relevant and respectful to the intended audience. The games will range from short, interactive exercises to longer narrative experiences, incorporating practices from positive psychology, such as daily gratitude reflection or emotion regulation strategies, into immersive, play-based environments.<\/p>\n

Proof Positive was founded in 2022 by Christina Kirby and Josh Kulkin, parents of Dylan, their autistic son, whose well-being improved dramatically after receiving support that combined traditional autism intervention with principles from positive psychology. Motivated by their experience, the couple launched Proof Positive to make these kinds of tools accessible to a broader community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission is to spread the science and skills of happiness,\u201d said Katie Curran, MAPP, the chief wellbeing officer of Proof Positive. \u201cProof Positive, believes that everyone\u2014autistic individuals included\u2014deserves the skills and support to flourish. This partnership allows us to meet youth where they are, using play as a powerful way to teach and practice the habits that strengthen mental health and wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The collaboration will also fuse two domains that seldom overlap. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of research on autism intervention, and a lot on positive psychology, but there\u2019s not much at the intersection,\u201d Curran explained. \u201cThat's where we see the opportunity. That\u2019s one of the reasons we\u2019re invested and excited about this research.\u201d Curran emphasized the importance of viewing the project through a scientific lens. \u201cWe\u2019re not saying these games will <\/em>improve well-being. We\u2019re studying whether they can<\/em>. This collaboration gives us the structure to ask the right questions and follow the data wherever it leads.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the game will not replace existing therapies, the team sees potential for it to complement clinical and educational interventions. \u201cNothing we do is a replacement,\u201d Curran emphasized. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely additive. If the games show a meaningful change for the individuals participating, they could fit into that therapeutic process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fiellin agrees. \u201cWe know that autistic youth often enjoy screen time, like most kids. So the question is: Can we use that time in a way that supports their mental health and development? If the answer is yes, that\u2019s a powerful outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

The initiative also marks a new chapter for both organizations. For Proof Positive, it\u2019s a direct investment in original research and game development. For the p2P Lab, it\u2019s an opportunity to apply its model to the autism community, a population it hasn\u2019t previously focused on, expanding the reach of its work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an important next step for our lab,\u201d said Fiellin. \u201cWe\u2019ve refined the process over many years, partnering with youth, iterating on design, and building from real scientific outcomes. Now we\u2019re applying that same process in a new context, with a new community. It\u2019s a meaningful expansion of our work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both leaders hope the project will lay the groundwork for broader systemic change. \u201cIn five or ten years, I\u2019d like to see these tools as part of everyday life,\u201d Fiellin said. \u201cNot as a novelty, but as a normal, positive resource that families, schools, and communities rely on. Because all kids benefit from play.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about Dr. Fiellin\u2019s work and the play2PREVENT Lab\u2019s pioneering use of video games in behavioral health, visit play2prevent.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To learn more about how Proof Positive is improving the lives of autistic people and their families, providers, and communities, visit https:\/\/proofpositive.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Written by Jeremy Martin<\/em><\/div>\n
Jeremy Martin is an Advancement Writer in the Office of Medical and Healthcare Advancement at the Geisel School of Medicine.<\/div>\n

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The play2PREVENT Lab at the Geisel School of Medicine has received a grant from Proof Positive, a nonprofit organization focused on promoting the well-being of the autism community, to fund a two-year initiative to create and evaluate digital health games that help autistic youth build emotional resilience, social confidence, and positive coping strategies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":24322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,1,8],"tags":[881,487,623,1282,37],"class_list":["post-24317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-improving-lives","category-news","category-research","tag-autism","tag-biomedical-data-science","tag-ctbh","tag-digital-health","tag-mental-health","author-15"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/Lynn_Fiellin-nc1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4r3h1-6kd","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24317"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24323,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24317\/revisions\/24323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}