Can you imagine the therapeutic value of this? From phobia therapies like the one below, to helping people with social phobias, to even more complex therapies such as helping individuals with Asperger’s syndrome pick up on social cues, vocal inflections and body language. The possibilities are amazing!

It also opens the possibility of long distance and even multiple provider therapies: the patient interacts with a single avatar which may be “driven” by different therapists at different times (allowing 24 hour care and a consistent “face”), or even running on auto-pilot as in the “Milo & Kate” demo above.  I did not realize we were so close the the ‘ractors in Neal Stephenson’s Diamond Age.

Virtual Phobia Therapy:

Virtual therapies could be amazing, or they could be awful! What’s your opinion?

I came across this story about the joys and hardships of living with a child with Asperger’s Syndrome.  I just wanted to share it with you.

Life with Asperger’s Syndrome can be very confusing. Many days, Caleb is very high functioning and you would never expect that there is something different about the wiring in his brain. Other days, it’s quite obvious that this child has some real issues.

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As a parent of a special needs child I have learned that I must command authority and respect. I can not let my child use his diagnosis as an excuse to misbehave on a daily basis. I see that all to often in society and I do not want that to happen within my own family. However, I also realize that there will be some days that are just bad days with wrenches thrown into the mix that make everything go cattywompus. Unfortunately, I realize that sometimes it is of my own making and I have to correct myself in order to correct my children, especially Caleb.

via Seaside Tales.