Empowered Brain: Making a Difference for People on the Spectrum

Often in this journey, I come across super cool stuff that can help kids and adults on the spectrum learn vital skills and the best part is sharing it with all of you. Empowered Brain by Brain Power is one of them.

So often, children with autism, like my son Cooper, can have a hard time making eye contact when interacting and that can mean they miss out on a lot of information.

Ned Sahin, founder and CEO, of Brain Power recognized that and created the tool ‘Empowered Brain,’ that uses super cool smart glasses to coach people with autism. The tool encourages kids with autism to make eye contact, engage in conversation and more easily read social situations. And it’s not just for kids on the spectrum. It can even guide adults through the interview process. The goal is to draw attention to faces.

For example, in one program, a user looks through the smart lens to see the person he or she is looking at. Next to that person’s face is an icon that illustrates his/her feeling. It offers an “assist” to help the child read the situation. A child looks through the glass to see his smiling mother and, next to her face, sees an image of a smiley face. The child comes to recognize that expression as one of joy and can react appropriately.

Another program builds on that by asking the child to choose what the other person is feeling from two icons that appear in the glass. Choosing correctly earns the child points and virtual rewards. Encouraged by the “game” the child continues to engage. And, at the end of the day, both parent and child can see how often he/she guessed correctly.

We have been working with Empowered Brain for a few weeks with Cooper. As with anything new, we are working on tolerance first. My goal is to get him comfortable so we can use their program, Transition Master, to help him transition to his new center in the spring.

With the program, we can upload video of the new building and location and have him see and engage before actually visiting in person. I can’t even imagine how much this will help him!

To learn more about Empowered Brain by Brain Power click HERE

Brain Power has made the first wearable system to help people with autism gain self-sufficiency.

If you think this will help someone in your life click HERE.