CNN Interview with Milton Broome - Autism in Virtual Worlds

Milton was recently interviewed in Second Life at SL-Labs by CNN. We spoke in depth about the utility of virtual worlds for helping people with Autism. I'd be interested in feedback from people with Autism and their carers about how they feel Virtual Communities can be of value to them.

The original video is here and the video can be viewed below.



You can also find a related CNN report on an initiative by David Savill (Avatar Dave Sparrow), a person with Autism, on 'Naughty Auties' a space specifically designed for people with Autism in Second Life. The report is here.

Project Spectrum helps people with Autism

New 3D design software called Sketchup has been released by Google and is helping people with Autism to express themselves using 3D drawing tools. Project Spectrum is focusing on bringing this freely downloadable software to the Autistic community. I think that this is another good example of how people with high-functioning Autism and Asperger's Disorder can utilise their capacity for visual representation in a creative and therapeutic way.

Second Life allows the same type of interaction with 3D objects but goes one step further in allowing high levels of social (virtual) interactivity in the same space without the associated disabling (real world) anxiety this necessarily involves for people on the Autistic Spectrum. Combining the consistency and fixed nature of virtual 3D structures that people with ASD crave alongside the changing social relations and interactivity of Second Life, we may be able to provide stimulating social learning spaces for people with Autism. Please see this video for more information on Project Spectrum.