University of Utah and Google Team Up to Help Families with Children on the Autism Spectrum

These days, we hear a lot about the disorder of autism, but researchers at the University of Utah have created a program that helps kids with autism focus on building their skills and utilizing an aptitude for visual-spatial thinking, computers and other electronic media.

One of the program participants is 12-year-old Christopher Charles, who was diagnosed with what’s now known as high-functioning autism when he was 18 months old. His parents started him in therapies early on, but hadn’t found something that seemed to hold Christopher’s interest or accommodate his behaviors.

Full Story: http://www.utahpulse.com/view/full_story/17054636/article-University-of-Utah-and-Google-Team-Up-to-Help-Families-with-Children-on-the-Autism-Spectrum?instance=featured_home_pulse

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5 Tips From an Accidental Entrepreneur – Aeir Talk

Joe Hill never planned to be an entrepreneur. But once he stumbled upon a great iPad app idea for his kids with autism, he didn’t look back.

http://matr.net/article-48133.html

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Using Theater to Teach Social Skills

Researchers document improvements for children with autism

Back in 2003, Matthew D. Lerner was a recent college graduate working as a counselor at a therapeutic summer camp in Massachusetts. His job was to teach the basic rules of social pragmatics to students on the autism spectrum. But the going was tough. Many of the adolescents objected to the rote training, which began with a lesson to teach a particular skill (such as how to start a conversation) and continued with specific instructions on how to practice that skill. Some got anxious. Others got aggressive. The staff was at wits’ end.

By PATTI HARTIGAN Harvard Education Letter

Full Story: http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/521