Friday, 13 January 2012

• University of Utah & Google Team Up for Kids with Autism

  

  UNIVERSITY OF UTAH AND GOOGLE TEAM UP TO HELP FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN ON AUTISM SPECTRUM
  Researchers use workshops to teach job skills and to learn more about 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.

  Chris has participated for the past year and a half in workshops at the University of Utah to teach 3D modeling  software by Google called SketchUp. Cheryl Wright, associate professor of family and consumer studies, coordinated the workshops in partnership with Google’s Project Spectrum, an initiative to teach job skills to kids with autism. Steve Gross, a certified SketchUp instructor and designer for Universal Creative theme parks, leads the workshops.

  Wright and her team soon found far greater benefits to these workshops than acquiring a skill set for potential employment, however. The sessions facilitated social engagement among the students and their peers, parents, siblings and even grandparents.

  More information about these workshops and resources for parents and teachers of kids with ASD can be found at istar.utah.edu. The complete study by Wright et. al is available by contacting University Public Relations.

  The University of Utah offers a satellite uplink service for live interviews or video feeds about this story. For more information about broadcast services, visit: http://unews.utah.edu/broadcast-services.

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