Hi everyone,
I'm currently working on a multimedia design college project on AS and have been reading this forum for the last few weeks. I felt it was time to post to inform you all and hopefully gauge feedback to the idea and see if anyone has any suggestions. I myself am NT but have a close family member with Aspergers so it is an area that I have great interest in learning about.
I'm still very much in the research stage so I'm a bit short on specifics at the moment but I will try my best to explain the concept. Basically I wish to create a series of short videos designed to promote awareness and understanding of Aspergers. The angle it will take is, as I know many feel, is that rather than being a disorder that should be cured it is just another way of viewing the world and what are commonly referred to as symptoms are an intrinsic part of personality.
One thing I have been exploring is that of a series of interactive videos. The videos will be one facet of a fictional organization set up to promote awareness of Aspie culture and that explains what Aspergers is and shows it in a positive way. The videos themselves will most likely deal with issues such as sensory overload etc. and show how the world appears to a person with AS. More than just showing 'this is how they see' I strongly want to get across the message that this is just a different way of seeing the world, and not 'bad' different.
One potential form the videos could take are of situations with many narratives running concurrently which the user can explore by jumping to the point of view of the various characters. By being able to compare different perspectives, I hope to get across the message that AS is a different, but valid, way of thinking.
Other things I have been thinking of are a series of online games on the organisations website (though the game concepts could possibly be shown in video) that also promote this message. For instance, while someone with AS may enjoy putting things in order, the aim of one of the games would be to create an ordered structure of some kind in a way that can show the satisfaction that can come from this and, by extension, show an NT player that it is a valid way of interacting with an environment.
I hope that all makes sense, as I said it's still in the very early stages of development! I would greatly like any feedback, suggestions and criticisms that anyone would care to give. I think it has great potential but if anyone feels that I'm going in the wrong direction or relying too heavily on stereotypes please let me know. The last thing I want to be is exploitative and/or patronizing. Also any opinions or suggestions for further areas to explore would be much appreciated.
Thanks for you time,
Alan
