Autism Advocacy in the Virtual Online World

Here's a news article featuring Amanda Baggs (Blog) in the virtual world Second Life. Amanda is an advocate for Autism and has profound Autistic characteristics. The video features her work in virtual worlds and her views on mental health discrimination.



Her group in Second Life is called 'Autistic Liberation Front'. The group title may sound a bit radical but their site is very accessible. I'd recommend checking it out if you're interested. Her most popular video on YouTube gained a lot of attention from the press and raised awareness of some of the classic symptoms of Autism as well as the discrepancy between Autistic communication and verbal language.

International Conference on the Use of the Internet in Mental Health' May 14-16, 2009 in Montreal, Canada

I'll be giving two invited talks on the use of virtual worlds for teaching and learning at 'The International Conference on the Use of the Internet in Mental Health' May 14-16, 2009 in Montreal, Canada. Conference Website

Here's an introduction to the 3-day conference by the conference President Alain Brunet.



Alain conducts research on the role of the Internet in helping victims of trauma, their loved ones and professionals. More information on this research can be found here.

The conference will bring together people from across the globe to discuss the role of the Internet in Mental Health. I'll make my presentations available in the usual way following the conference. I'll also give backchat updates during the conference via Twitter as 'MiltonBroome'.