1. VIRTUAL
WORLDS
IMPLICATIONS FOR
TEACHING CHILDREN
WITH AUTISM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. 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.

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

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

13. 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.

14. 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.

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

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

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

18. 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.

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

20. 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.

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

22. 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.2005.85
Thornburg, D. (. (2010). Thornburg TEDx [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZbK0JTveQQ
Wilde, 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

23. Photo Credits
• 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.jp
g
• 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_d13c
2a9bb7635be20a17f329d39f6f0d
• 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__=14
21957034_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__=1421
547724_03967fa07c5c3acc25192637961ffa0f