From DSC:
Interesting, relevant work — something to put on the radar for sure.
MU online curriculum helps children with autism develop better social skills — from munews.missouri.edu
Research-backed program will be available to millions of families and educators worldwide
Excerpt:
COLUMBIA, Mo. – One in 68 children in the United States has some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, which impairs a child’s ability to communicate and interact with peers. Because of the social challenges these children face, many efforts are being made to find new ways to help children with autism develop their social skills. iSocial, a classroom curriculum designed by University of Missouri researchers to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder cultivate better social skills, has been licensed by Nascent Stage Development LLC to develop the program into an expansive, online virtual world. Nascent will contract with other online educational companies to make the lessons available to millions of families and educators worldwide.
iSocial helps children with autism develop better social skills by leading them through a guided lesson plan that incorporates evidence-based strategies. In the virtual world, children, parents and teachers will be able to collaborate and interact using personal avatars. Janine Stichter, professor of special education and the author of the iSocial curriculum in the MU College of Education, collaborated with Jim Laffey, professor emeritus in the College of Education, to develop the initial online platform. Stichter said a digital platform enhances the ability to reach more students.
Per Cailin Riley, Convergence Media Manager:
Nascent will start selling the paper version of iSocial immediately,
but the virtual world will start development in March.