We are excited to present a TEDX video from Our Program Director, Aaron McGinley, M.A., on the topic of Autism, Technology, and Social Skills!
Aaron’s career has been filled with highlights exploring the relationship between Autism and Technology. Past accomplishments in this area have included webinars on Cyberbullying, multiple workshops and presentations on Video Game Addiction, and an article in a nationally recognized counseling journal on Social Skills for the 21st Century.
Aaron says “Technology is here and here to stay, whether you have Autism or not, so our job as a community-based program is to support students in developing a healthy relationship with technology. So whether it is helping parents establish healthy boundaries with video game use, educating students on internet safety, or simply doing a little bit of social skill training on e-mail etiquette, I am grateful for the many opportunities that Black Mountain Academy affords me to help students navigate technology use. This TedX talk was a chance to raise awareness within the community , and invite them into the process of supporting our students.”
I found your talk very helpful Aaron. I appreciated the story of Jerry and the clear connections you were able to draw between struggles with face-to-face interaction and how these same struggles can be compounded in an online environment. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us!
Aaron,
Thank you for sharing this. I really liked the story about Jerry and his struggles about online vs face to face. I believe that all of us at one point in time have sent the wrong comment or had an email or text misinterpreted. I can see the real struggle in online social media and it is only going to continue to get more and more complicated not only for those that are struggling with autism but for many of are youth. Thank you for the work that you are doing to coach our youth through these challenging times.