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Google’s SketchUp Software Google’s SketchUp Software and Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders The Project Spectrum Manual of Ideas for Teachers and Parents Written by Anja Kintsch with support from The Boulder Valley School District and The Autism Society of Boulder County What is SketchUp? SketchUp software was originally designed for professional architects. It is a deceptively simple, powerful tool for creating, visualizing, and communicating ideas in 3D. SketchUp was developed to combine the elegance and spontaneity of pencil sketching with the speed and flexibility of today’s digital media. Design software has been around for decades and is clearly here to stay. SketchUp is being put to good use by everyone from industry giants creating skyscrapers and football stadiums to elementary school kids using SketchUp to learn about shapes. It is also being successfully used by individuals with autism spectrum disorders. SketchUp offers individuals an alternative to handwriting when expressing their knowledge, a possible vocational tool, and a way to virtually interact with new and challenging environments before having to face them in person. What are Autism Spectrum Disorders? While ranging widely in its severity, autism affects individuals communication skills and ability to deal with social interactions. People on the spectrum show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. They may display repetitive behaviors, show resistance to changes in daily routine, and can have unusual responses to sensory experiences, such as certain sounds or the way an object looks. Symptoms can be mild to severe. Those with autism may also have developmental delays and be non-verbal, while those diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (or high functioning autism) have normal intelligence and are verbal. Many individuals, even those with high functioning autism, struggle with the physical task of writing. They may possess a good understanding of the concepts but are unable to express them through traditional linguistic modes. Often they can demonstrate their knowledge by drawing, building or using some other method that does not involve writing. Because of difficulties with social interactions and writing, many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are drawn to areas such as mathematics, science and computers. The Project Spectrum Story The SketchUp team at Google receives thousands of emails from customers around the world. A couple of years ago, the team noticed that a surprising number of these emails were from parents who were using SketchUp in their professional lives, but who wrote to tell how much their children with autism were using and enjoying SketchUp. The SketchUp team soon came to understand that people with ASD tend to think and learn visually, and that many autistic children are spatially and visually gifted. Since there was a clear connection between kids on the autism spectrum and SketchUp it seemed natural to explore whether SketchUp could provide these kids a creative outlet or possibly a life skill. Based on the positive response from the local autism community, Google decided to formalize Project Spectrum in an effort to make SketchUp and related learning materials more widely available to the ASD community . The Manual This manual is designed to help teachers, parents and others working with children with ASD use the SketchUp program in a variety of creative ways. SketchUp can be used as a powerful tool for social explorations and as an alternative to writing to demonstrate knowledge. And because SketchUp is a relatively easy-to-use program, it is a good place for students interested in computer graphics to begin to explore their talents. The manual provides several examples from which one may begin, but the possibilities are limitless. This manual is a list of exercises that can be done in SketchUp. Additionally, ideas for using these lessons with Google Earth are included in some examples. For SketchUp tutorials please see http://sketchup.google.com/sptutorials.html . The Author Anja Kintsch is the Assistive Technology Team Leader for the Boulder Valley School District working with students with a variety of disabilities. She is also a researcher on the Cognitive Levers Grant developing technology for individuals with cognitive disabilities in the Center for LifeLong Learning and Design. Center for LifeLong Learning and Design (L 3 D) The Center for LifeLong Learning and Design (L3D) is an educational and research unit of the Computer Science Department whose mission is the ongoing development of theory and technology to support learning, design, and communication. The Center’s approach includes the development of conceptual frameworks and computational artifacts, as well as the cultivation of an