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There are tons of myths floating around about autism that are harmful to the autistic community and the people who work with them.

Ava and the crew are back for another adventure, and this time they’re learning about needs!

Our award-winning SEL video game empowers students to work on their social-emotional IEP goals in a safe environment before applying what they learn in the real-world. Each Ava module focuses on different SEL skills and presents challenges that enable the students to practice those skills while playing the role of Ava, an autistic star-mapper.

We've been hard at work and are thrilled to share that today we are launching a brand new game mode filled with limitless possibilities, World Builder! World Builder is our latest game mode that lets players design and create their own fantasy world while exploring the building blocks of SEL. Players can now design a world with their creative and adventurous spirit, whether building a home, a pirate ship, or anything else they can dream up. 

Social Cipher was selected to be a new member of the LEGO Foundation’s Play for All Accelerator to help expand their reach around the world to neurodivergent children in schools and at home. 

Neurodiversity deserves a celebration, and we are so excited to participate in Neurodiversity Celebration Week during the week of March March 13 - 19, 2023—a worldwide initiative focusing on challenging stereotypes and misconceptions around neurological differences.

What is Interoception? Interception allows us to interpret the things going on inside our bodies. Understanding how we feel helps us take the appropriate actions to manage the different emotions those feelings create. Our interoceptive awareness recognizes internal sensations like hunger, thirst, tiredness, digestion, or heart rate—but that’s not all Interoception plays a role in emotional regulation, social-emotional understanding, empathy, self-awareness, problem-solving, and perspective-taking.

We know just how necessary it is for neurodiverse folks to have full support from all those involved in their daily lives. It’s vital to be understood and accepted for our true selves in the early years. Children desire to be loved for who they are, but it may be more of a wish for a child who feels different from their siblings or peers. As parents and guardians, it is important that we make all children feel safe whether we have a neurodivergent child or our neurotypical children are interacting with them. 

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often associated with hyperactivity, moving at a fast pace, and being surrounded by a constant whirlwind of activity—resulting in an increase in productivity. This isn’t the case for most with an ADHD diagnosis.In fact, it could mean quite the opposite–with so much going on in an ADHD brain, channeling the energy and focus needed to complete a task can be burdensome, and you end up feeling stuck. This feeling is referred to as ADHD paralysis, many youth who have an ADHD diagnosis could go through this, and it is not only important to understand what it is; it is also important to understand how you can support your students through these moments to set them up for success, both inside and outside of the classroom.‍

Neurodivergent folks are often described as "high-functioning autistic" or "low-functioning autistic," a limiting label that follows them around and impacts their academic journey. The problem is that the difference between these labels, in most cases, is based upon the personal perspectives of a parent, practitioner, or educator—causing miscommunication and confusion because neither one describes the level of ability or function across multiple categories, including social awareness, executive functioning, sensory processing, etc. 

Our CEO Vanessa Castañeda Gill was recently featured on the Two Sides to the Spectrum podcast, hosted by the incredible Meg Proctor, MS, OTR/L of Learn Play Thrive. Vanessa was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD at the age of 14, she had no neurodivergent female role models or sense of autistic identity, which led her down a challenging road.

The importance of play is critical when it comes to child and youth development—yet there has always been a divided opinion on video games, and how they impact youth. Autistic youth, on average, spend more time playing video games than neurotypicals; 41.4% of autistic adolescents and children spend free time playing video games compared to 18% of their neurotypical peers.

Social-emotional learning, or SEL, is the overall process by which children grow, learn and practice their emotional intelligence. Not only does SEL allow all people to thrive both personally, academically, and professionally, it also helps people maintain positive relationships and contribute to a more empathetic and understanding world. SEL curriculum also works to promote equity and empower people to work towards a safe, healthy environment. 

We have a TWOtally awesome announcement to share with you. We are officially launching Episode 2, Quest 2 of Ava! As we continue to cover the topic of Trying New Things—where we follow our favorite autistic space pirate, Ava, as she tries new things and works her way through social challenges, self-doubt, and connecting with her community.

There are many ways to build on the strengths of Neurodivergent folks, and leveraging special interests is at the top of the list. A special interest is not just a hobby or activity, but a part of life and serves as a support to cope through daily interactions. Meaningful activities need to be nurtured and celebrated—special interests lead to developing the imagination and expertise of valuable topics for neurodivergent students.

What is stimming? Stimming is short for self-stimulatory behavior. It is important to note that many people have a stim they use to self-regulate; it is not generally apparent to others. Stimming can be more pronounced with some neurodivergent folks due to heightened senses. 

Humans, in general, thrive on routine. Routines are especially cherished by autistic folks–supporting repetitive patterns of behavior, activities, and hobbies. Not only are routines stress relievers, but they bring order in the space of chaos. This is why change can be so tricky; it’s frequently filled with discomfort, uncertainty, and even judgment. Here are some steps you can take to help those you love (including yourself!) ease into changes–whether they’re in a routine, lifestyle, or other areas of life.

We know just how necessary it is for neurodiverse folks to have full support from all those involved in their daily lives. It’s especially important in the earlier years for students to have been supported both inside and outside of the classroom. Therapists and Educators are essential to students’ success and growth and life, we wholeheartedly believe that individuals who work with students daily are a key component to their academic and social-emotional success.

ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) is officially defined as a type of therapy that focuses on teaching certain behaviors through a series of rewards and consequences. Although ABA therapy is currently banned in many countries, it remains one of the most popular therapies for autistic children in the United States. ABA therapy is controversial to some parents of autistic children and autistic self-advocates.

A neurodivergent advocate is someone who celebrates neuro-cognitive diversity and while in pursuit of equality, respect, and full societal inclusion for Neurodivergent people. Neurodiversity advocates recognize and celebrate the strengths and contributions of neurodiverse individuals to all of society!

We have exciting news to share with you. We are officially launching Episode 1 of Ava! We have developed three different components of our product that will work together to create an engaging, easy-to-use social-emotional learning tool for educators and autism service providers to empower youth of all neurotypes. These components are the game, Ava, our Social Emotional Learning curriculum, and the Companion Application.

Ava is meant to be implemented as a supplemental tool for therapists and other facilitators to run with an individual or group of youth, utilizing Ava as a social-emotional learning tool. We’ve created this helpful resource to use as your guide for all things Ava, including how to play the game, character sheets, and supplemental materials!

Social-emotional learning, or SEL, is the overall process in which children grow, learn and practice their emotional intelligence. Building the foundation and skills needed throughout life, learning to recognize and manage your emotions, develop positive relationships, set and achieve attainable goals, and how to make responsible decisions. SEL is intended to create a safe, healthy, and empathetic space that expands far beyond the classroom environment, reaching the home and community.

Hi! I’m Vanessa, and I’m the CEO + Co-Founder of Social Cipher. We build space-pirate adventure games and software for neurodivergent youth ages 10-15 and the professionals who work with them. I started this work with my team because of my own experiences growing up as an autistic teen and young adult. I suffered from confidence and self-image issues and struggled to understand where I belonged. To have a game like Ava, where I could have safely built skills while seeing my authentic self portrayed, would have meant the world.