Marc Sirkin's Mindnumbing Thoughts

If you've been reading my blog (sorry it's been dormant for so long) it's time yet again for me to leap to the next thing. For the last 3.5 years I've immersed myself in the autism world learning more than I ever thought possible. Up until last week, I had been leading teams at Autism Speaks in social media, fundraising, marketing, IT, direct mail and CRM. I've been a busy bee. First and foremost, I learned that autism is really, really complicated. Pick any one thing about it (take causes for example) and you'll find significantly different viewpoints from a variety of corners of the community. I deeply connected with all parts of the community; parents, children, adults, researchers, caregivers, teachers and more. Beyond any of the other causes I've been involved in, autism got under my skin in some incredible ways. I feel deeply for those on the spectrum and for their loved ones who are must struggle to understand and cope with whatever comes from...

I have been working a lot on a passion project called "Hacking Autism" which has led me down some really interesting roads and led to some very cool conversations. I visited University of Michigan and saw demos of Microsoft Kinect games built for kids with autism. I've talked with game designers about gaming as therapy for autism. I've contemplated social games, social networking, touch technologies and more; all in relation to those on the spectrum. This is an extremely exciting time for autism and technology. The explosion of iOS and mobile apps is literally the tip of the iceberg. Check out www.hackingautism.org for more and get ready to "hack autism." I'm trying to pull off a hackathon in June with the Random Hacks of Kindness folks, and am excited to see what sort of traction we'll get. Are you a hacker? A game designer? A project manager? A parent or a child with autism, or perhaps someone on the spectrum yourself? Get involved at the RHoK s...