Empowering Autistic High School Students for Tomorrow's Tech
Our Vision
Attracting diverse youth to computer science professions is important to our national interests and to provide economic opportunity. We engage high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a remote video game design and software development summer camp.
Through teamwork activities, participating youth develop and practice communication and collaboration skills while growing their professional knowledge and skills to prepare them for potential careers in computer science.
Embedding student learning in a virtual summer camp environment provides participating high schoolers with the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills for remote work, which is increasingly common in computer science careers.
Research
Over the past three summers, our EdASE team has hosted innovative virtual camps for young autistic talents, focusing on video game development. Our primary goal is to unlock and nurture these students’ potential. These camps also serve as a hub for pioneering research in autism and computer science education. We’ve seen transformative effects on students’ communication and collaboration skills. Our mission remains twofold: to make computer science inclusive for neurodivergent individuals and contribute to research in this area. Join us on this journey
Participation in EdASE Research
By granting permission for your child to participate in research activities at our camp, you support our efforts to advance computer science education tailored for neurodiverse individuals. Participation won’t significantly impact your child’s camp experience, and they may not recall the research component. At the end of the camp, we collect feedback from every student in a group setting to enhance future camp experiences. If you have any concerns or queries about the research aspect of EDASE, please feel free to contact us.
Publications
EdASE in Other Media
Leadership Team
Paige Rodeghero, Ph.D
Clemson University
Andrew Begel, Ph.D
Carnegie Mellon
D. Matthew Boyer, Ph.D.
Clemson University
LET'S TALK!
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Foundation under grant ITEST-2148720. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.