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Project Spectrum from SketchUp by Trimble

Information updated on Thursday, April 27th 2023, 09:16
How to Contact the Provider
Contact email
[email protected]
Web
https://www.trimble.com/en/our-commitment/education-and-outreach/project-spectrum
Services
Online Learning - blogs, resources, webinars, apps, telehealth
Workshops, In-Person Training, Classes

The strengths of autism shine in 3D

About 8 years ago, the SketchUp team started receiving some pretty intriguing calls: parents of children on the autism spectrum were calling to let us know how SketchUp was changing their kids’ lives. People with autism tend to be unusually strong visual and spatial thinkers, and it became clear that SketchUp plays to those strengths. With that bit of information (and help from the Autism Society of Boulder County), we launched Project Spectrum with a single goal: connecting the autism community with SketchUp.

For some children on the spectrum, especially those who are nonverbal, SketchUp serves as a way to communicate allowing them to share their thoughts through images. Other kids learn life skills that help them to achieve educational and career goals they might not have even aspired to before SketchUp. It seems SketchUp builds self-esteem since these children are able to model circles (and squares) around their neurotypical peers.

Project Spectrum is a program dedicated to teaching autistic middle school students, high school students and adults about 3D design with a computer program called SketchUp. Students on the autism spectrum are often visually and spatially gifted and because of those gifts, they usually take to 3D design really well. With that in mind, we try and help them learn SketchUp with a series of free classes.

These classes are dedicated to building on the strengths that many individuals on the autism spectrum have and allowing them to express their creativity in a way that develops skills that can lead to an exciting career.

Project Spectrum promotes an atmosphere that creates success and engagement. It gives students a chance to really shine!

All sorts of professionals use SketchUp in their chosen careers. While it is mostly architects, everyone from concept artists to theme park designers use it. SketchUp is also one of the most intuitive 3D modeling programs to learn, making it a great starting point for learning other 3D modeling programs as well.