VIRTUAL WORLDSIMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

Narrator: We all dream about what our ideal world would be like…

Narrator: We all dream about what our ideal world would be like: the perfect house;

Narrator: We all dream about what our ideal world would be like: the perfect house; the perfect place;

Narrator: We all dream about what our ideal world would be like: the perfect house; the perfect place; The perfect job;

Narrator: We all dream about what our ideal world would be like: the perfect house; the perfect place; the perfect job; our perfect selves!

Narrator: Virtual world games such as Second Life, Minecraft, and The Sims let players create these ideal lives and places.

Narrator: Among young players, Minecraft has become a popular pastime and a place to let the imagination soar. It can also provide learning opportunities.

Narrator: The building process in Minecraft teaches perspective and spatial relationships…

Narrator: And the “mining” requires the player to learn about the components of what they wish to build, such as sand becoming glass, or metal and wood becoming a pickaxe.

Narrator: The game can be played alone or with others, teaching cooperation and collaboration to create projects together.

Narrator: But for children with autism, life is a series of puzzles to decipher…

Narrator: And Minecraft’s world can be a scary place, with players destroying the creations of others (known as “griefing”), monsters lurking, and terrors in the night.

Narrator: Stuart Duncan, known in Minecraft as “Autism Father,” created a server that is restricted to autistic children and their families. It is a safe space, where griefing is forbidden, and bullying is outlawed. Autcraft’s server creates a safe space for children on the spectrum to create, to interact with others, and to learn without fear of being judged.

Narrator: On Autcraft, players are encouraged to work together on projects.

Narrator: A Thanksgiving project, for example, urged all players to create signs saying what they were thankful for.

Narrator: At any one time, the server may have a few people, or dozens.

Narrator: The CDC estimates that 1 in 68 children are somewhere on the autism spectrum, with abilities in a range from completely nonverbal to demonstrated genius.

Narrator: Is learning with Minecraft the answer for all of them? Of course not.

Narrator: But the virtual world game offers a safe place to learn, to communicate, to create, and to grow. A place to develop skills and build friendships as well as ideal worlds.

Narrator: A place where autistic children share an equitable playing field.

References

CDC. (2014). Facts about ASD. Retrieved from Autism Spectrum Disorder. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html

Abirached, B., Zhang, Y., & Park, J. (2012). Understanding user needs for serious games for teaching austism spectrum disorders emotions. In T. A. Wilson (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2012 (pp. 1054-1063). Chesapeake, VA: AACE Retrieved from Walden Library database.Cheng, Y., Moore, D., McGrath, P., & Fan, Y. (2005). Collaborative virtual environment technology for people with autism. Proceedings of the fifth IEEE International Conference of Advanced Learning Technologies (pp. 247-248). Kaohsiung, Taiwan: IEEE Computer Society. doi:10.1109/ICALT.2005.85Thornburg, D. (. (2010). Thornburg TEDx [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZbK0JTveQQWilde, J. (2010). More than a place to meet (virtually): What educators tell us about Second Life. Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2010 (pp. 3866-3874). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/35200

• Second Life: http://mainlandlondon.blogspot.co.uk/• Minecraft: http://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/minecraft-2__140227213724.jpg• The Sims 3: http://www.the-sims-4.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/the-sims-3.jpg• Boy playing Minecraft: https://www.flickr.com/photos/josephb/8378996155/• Minecraft columns: http://home.edweb.net/mathcraft-use-minecraft-teach-common-core-math/• Crafting, Students interacting: http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume15/ej60/ej60m1/• Griefing: http://media.primeinspiration.com/files/photos/134119883783f95a_l.jpg • Night terror: http://s1.hubimg.com/u/5044044_f520.jpg • Volume lesson: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AWKV0YjfEwc/UTepiigVzAI/AAAAAAAAAnA/l8VQnQM-5sU/s1600/photo+(1).PNG• Autcraft wall and Autism Father: http://www.iqjournals.com/interview-autcraft-creator-stuart-duncan/• Puzzle cube: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X_NP6I0-50s/U8ANYK2qSlI/AAAAAAAAA50/aa45VRvHq1o/s1600/aut.jpg• Autcraft Thanksgiving: http://

files.enjin.com.s3.amazonaws.com/483843/modules/forum/attachments/894797_10200366484279498_159119885_o_1385385047.jpg• Working together:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/v/t1.0-9/543930_386454804813244_456219337_n.png?oh=d93c82a67f797fbb68df4a4a889544bd&oe=54C2196D&__gda__=1420437042_d13c2a9bb7635be20a17f329d39f6f0d

• Personal world, 60 on server: https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10406482_504016813057042_1672008653632000388_n.jpg?oh=14e49b35a8b31a215517ce98c6ee4c60&oe=54B03D12&__gda__=1421957034_59520de8869824b0589c31dc285f7d5a

• Sandbox: http://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/blog/children-treasure-hunting-in-sandpit_cropped-1.jpg• Girl with blocks: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/images/autism-facts-graphic2.jpg• 1-in-68: http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/images/p0327-autism-spectrum-disorder.jpg• Wood puzzle: http://techpageone.dell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/autism-large-mattuhrig.jpg• Autistic boy: http://mentalhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/autisum-struggle.jpg• Temple Grandin:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hSIy47WkdiE/TH-3cXV2DsI/AAAAAAAAAGo/j3lInkehmQI/s1600/

TempleGrandinFieldDay+031.jpg• Autcraft Welcome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSgaBMXv2KA• Equity:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10325781_492096830915707_757237945131453365_n.jpg?oh=60f505b65e7b346fb1cc70128aedb800&oe=54B21F85&__gda__=1421547724_03967fa07c5c3acc25192637961ffa0f

Photo Credits