Google Glass Helps Children With Autism Learn Facial Expressions

Technology advancement in our world has brought us things that were once unimaginable. The new advancements being created have changed the lives of many. Recently, google has released a new pair of glasses created specifically for helping children with autism identify facial expressions.
The autistic spectrum is a very large one, as it is very true that no two people with autism are the same. But, the majority on the spectrum struggle or lack skills rooted from the same relative area, one being understanding emotions. Facial expressions as well as comprehending ones tone is a very tricky skill that usually takes many years for some to grasp. The most common way for these kids to get help on strengthening these skills is through a therapist. Unfortunately the number of kids needing therapy is much higher than the number of professionals in the field, leaving many kids to be deprived of the very important help they need in order to progress. 
    Luckily google has created new glasses that target this area of struggle and help the kid receive the help they need without having to see a therapist. These glasses will be used as a tool that will allow these kids to practice and learn facial expressions seen in everyday life. The glasses capture photos of different expressions as well as hold games that will help the child with autism practice identifying the specific expressions. (Click the link to learn more about what the glasses can do: https://newsela.com/read/super-power-glasses-help-kids-with-autism/id/45608/  Currently these glasses are solely being tested but the results have been great. Google has tested these glasses out on 14 kids ranging in age, that have been using the glasses for 10 weeks, “Twelve of 14 families said their children made more eye contact at the end of the study. The children's average scores of their social skills decreased by 7.38 points during the study, meaning some autism symptoms had decreased. Six of the 14 children had large enough declines in their scores to move down a step in their autism category, for example from ‘severe’ to ‘moderate.’” Just after 10 short weeks some of these children have seen results that have moved them down on the spectrum which is truly amazing. This product is capable of helping kids in ways therapists can't, as some people with autism are able to grasp the ideas of technology more than comprehending one of a person’s. Overall I think that this product would be beneficial. Since every person with autism is very unique it will not help everyone, but even if it is only capable of helping a small few I think it's worth it. Do you agree that we should further this product out on to the market? Or should we focus more on growing the specialized therapy field?

Comments

  1. Caroline DOctober 25, 2018 at 9:37 PM

    I agree that furthering this technology would be beneficial because the amount of children that have autism is much greater than the number of therapists that are able to treat them. Having the option of the Google Glass would allow the children to get the help they need. Children with autism are also more comfortable learning by using technology rather than learning through people. I also believe that if possible, it would be best to combine the two ideas. Which would be to use both the Google Glass and therapy to help these kids.

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