Google Glass May Have an Afterlife as a Device to Teach Autistic Children

More funds for autism research and much , much less for the military. One will pay dividends , the other only death.

Just watched the documentary "Life, Animated (2016)". Amazingly Disney animation movies helped the Suskind family breaks through some communication barriers in the most unexpected way. But cartoons are not high tech tools.Nevertheless anything that can help autistic people navigate the confusing world is a good thing. Hopefully also affordable too.

Only children?

this article is disgustingly ableist. this device is unnecessary and harmful. it's extremely likely that any increased eye contact is due to the autistic participants forcing themselves to do this for the sake of the trial. autistic people can make eye contact - they don't need to be trained to do so with a failed piece of technology - it's that most don't want to because it's uncomfortable, distracting, and often painful. this articles goes the way so many research papers, therapy materials, and advice blogs do - relying on and prioritizing the voices of non-autistic people just because they know someone who's autistic or 'study autism', instead of, you know, talking to autistic people. you people do whatever you want with autistic children because they're going to comply to please their family, and you ignore the existence of autistic adults who are all saying: NO ONE WANTS THIS DEVICE. NO ONE ASKED FOR IT.

A big part of this type of SEL therapy is the user's perspective. I they see it as an "intervention" because something is "wrong" with them, the impact is superficial. Check out THE SOCIAL EXPRESS for a fun, scenario based curriculum that students on the spectrum gravitate to naturally. The characters in each scenario are young and cool...and they take the inference skill development way beyond facial clues... body language, how to act in awkward social situations (what to do if you sneeze or fart). The goal is to help students how to theive in a socially oriented world.

Nice to know that there might be a real useful purpose for this gizmo than it just being a shiny, new, money- making thing. As a former speech pathologist, I’m pretty out of the loop, but did hear from a former colleague that using a tablet has helped her grandson with Aspergers quite a bit.

hard to believe, trying to make money with artificial people to teach emotion to autistic children. must everything be about money? and the study this article is mostly about really does fail from the lack of a decent placebo, which would be very easy to provide by randomizing feedback to the kids and seeing if the parents still think it's helping..

The company called Brain-power has been developing google glass apps for autistic children for about 5-6 years now. It’s interesting to see that this area is getting more attention. https://www.brain-power.com/

Great to see exploration of the usefulness of VR and other technologies for folks with autism. For those with safety concerns, the effectiveness has already been proven. Why aren't the devices and software available as well? One phrase in this story, "a device is a poor substitute for real human interaction" shows a lack of understanding of those with autism. Human interactions are almost painful; learning via technology is infinitely more effective.

The technology merely supplants human beings trained and educated to do the same thing. Google in the mean time, profiting off of emotion, and peoples health insurance, only to offshore the profits, outside of the US

These results appear promising. I wonder, though, will autistic children in lower socioeconomic status (SES) schools have access to this type of technology? In CA, at least, it is typically the higher SES families who are privy to evidenced-based methods, more services, access to new tech, options to enroll in clinical trials, etc. As an aside, in grad school I was taught to use people first language (“child with ASD”) however most of the population with whom I work prefer to call themselves and to be referred to as “autistic” so I respect that request in my language.

I love the idea that innovators are finding new uses for ideas already out there. Helping people with communication disorders find better ways to understand and be understood is a great secondary use for this tech.

I am happy if this is an unexpected benefit of tech. Meanwhile billions of children are losing the ability to read faces because all emotion is reduced to simplistic emojii, on facebook, and mind numbing, stultifying expressionless gazing at a screen all day, in every public venue, in bed, at restaurants during meal times, in the playground replacing empathy and human interactions.

How much is Google Glass being priced at for the specific goal of helping children on the spectrum? As I recall when they debuted six years ago they were priced at $1,500. They were the same price when they rebranded as a tool for private industry a few years later. Hopefully they have reduced the price so that families of average income can afford them.

"In an instant, the glasses told him whether he was right or wrong, flashing tiny digital icons that only he could see." It sure would be helpful to readers if we could learn how the glasses determine just which emotion the lad picks. Does he vocalize his choice? Does he poke a button on a virtual screen? Does he stare at a digital icon? What?

If you would like to learn more about the Autism Glass Project please visit : http://autismglass.stanford.edu/