Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD):
1) abnormal language development
- speech may be absent or present w/ echolalia
- persons have difficulty initiating conversation as well as gauging inference
2) abnormal social development
- lacking a "Theory of Mind," persons do not attribute mental states to others
- no social eye gaze
- do not imitate social behaviors of others
3) abnormal behaviors
- preoccupation with nonfunctional qualities of objects
- repetitive movements (body-rocking and hand-flapping)are self-soothing
- prone to throwing violent tantrums because intolerant of change
Benefits of Virtual Reality and Comic Strips
they enable:
1) one to gradually introduce change in the safety of a known environment (reducing cognitive load as well as anxiety)
2) students to actively rehearse new skills without experiencing repercussions of failure as well as approach mistakes in a more positive light
3) instructor to guide student through social interactions unobtrusively (no one has to know), which may help students develop the experience and skills needed to predict the way their actions will be received
4) students to experience (virtual & actual) friendship and practice maintaining social ties
Brigadoon
Special Island for Persons w/ Autism in SecondLife
http://braintalk.blogs.com/brigadoon/2005/01/more_about_brig.html
brief APA (2009) article re: Second Life & Autism
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/09/second-life.aspx
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