New DVD series helps kids with autism learn emotions

My son Alex has always had a tough time with recognizing and understanding emotions. In the past we have spent a lot of time using visual aids and books, such as Janan Cain's The Way I Feel*, to teach understanding of emotions. I recently learned about a new DVD series developed in the UK by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen from the Autism Research Center at Cambridge University that has been shown to help kids with autism recognize and understand emotions. The DVD series is called The Transporters and is available as of January 12, 2009.

When I saw pics of The Transporters it reminded me of Thomas The Tank Engine and Jay Jay the Jet Plane(transportation vehicles with faces). Alex has been a huge Thomas fan since about 2 years old. Now at age 8, his interests are more varied but Thomas still ranks high.

Great news is that I've been given the opportunity to try out The Transporters with Alex and so we'll be viewing it over the upcoming weeks before sharing our experience with it here at The Bon Bon Gazette.

Learn more about The Transporters:
The idea behind THE TRANSPORTERS is to help children to learn about emotions in a way that they enjoy. THE TRANSPORTERS features characters like toy trains and cable cars because children with autism tend to like mechanical objects that have highly predictable movement, while they shy away from people’s faces, which they find unsettling and unpredictable. By grafting real actors’ faces onto vehicles, the DVD attracts children with autism to look more at human faces and makes it fun and enjoyable to recognize and understand emotions. The DVD took almost three years of research and production effort to create and it has involved children with autism at every stage. [....]
The content-packed DVD consists of 15 five-minute animated stories (75 minutes), 30 interactive quizzes (70 minutes), and a 36-page booklet to help parents, teachers, and caregivers get the most out of the DVD at home and at school. The storyline involves a toy set in a child's bedroom that comes to life when its owner goes to school. Each episode focuses on a different emotion, beginning with the simplest (happy, sad, angry), and moving on to the more complex (proud, disgusted, jealous). THE TRANSPORTERS is aimed at children between 2 and 8 years old.THE TRANSPORTERS is available online for US$57.50 at http://www.thetransporters.com/. 25 percent of profits from sales go to autism research organizations and charities, including Autism Speaks.

How it Works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YbGMwyZv98


View a short 1min clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4yJ3cxT3qs

Watch Episode #1 of The Transporters here


More info at The Transporters website and check back, I'll post our experience with The Transporters in a few weeks.

*Related Link: My Epinions Review of "The Way I Feel"