Jr. STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math)

Mission

Our mission is to get kids excited about the possiblity of a career in the STEM diciplines so they are motivated to work hard and build the knowlege base required to gain entry into one of these careers.

We also want to use technology to supplement the early training required by autistic children. An autistic child needs to be taught a great many details that are simply known by a neurotypical 5-year-old, such as his vs. her, in front vs. behind, days of the week, etc. There is a matrix of skills included in the "Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills" (ABLLS) criteria that evaluates what a given child knows. If a child masters all of the ABLLS criteria, then they are a successful 5-year-old who is prepared for Kindergarten.

Some of the ABLLS criteria are well suited to computer based training. Our goal is to work with universities, software / gaming companies and the government to develop this training so that human educators can focus on the skills that cannot be taught using computer based training.

Given the high incidence of kids with autistic symptoms, which may exceed 1% of the 8 and under population, the need for specialized training is huge. If we succeed, more autistic kids will have the skills of a neurotypical 5-year-old by the time they enter Kindergarten - opening up K-12 educational opportunities. If we fail, we risk having a large number of young workers disabled due to autism in 10 years.