Learning How to Mind Read

Mind Reading: The Interactive Guide to Emotions DVD-ROM is finally, finally, finally out! After a great deal of delay, illustrated by how much the Harry Potter actor pictured on the cover has aged, they seem to have worked out the formatting issues. We've been excited about this product for a while, because it seems like it offers so much more than the standard "let's learn emotions" books and videos out there. From the description:

"This disc contains an Emotions Library, which features 412 emotions organized into 24 groups. Each emotion is illustrated using 6 video clips, audio clips, notes, and mini-stories. There is also a Games Zone, which allows users to have fun with emotions and encourages informal learning about emotions in a less structured setting. In addition, there is a Learning Center, which contains lessons and quizzes to help users improve their emotion recognition skills."

The use of real photographs, instead of line drawings, is a definite strength, as is the use of photographs of people of all different ages and appearances, to help support generalization of the emotion identifcation skills learned from the computer activities.

Teachers and parents can also learn more strategies for teaching children with ASDs to recognize emotions in the book, Teaching Children with Autism to Mind-Read: A Practical Guide For Teachers and Parents, by Patricia Howlin, Simon Baron-Cohen, and Julie Hadwin, all renowned researchers in the field of ASDs. The strategies presented are divided into three core areas: teaching children about emotional understanding, including facial expressions; teaching children about informational states, including taking another person's perspective; and teaching children how to develop pretend play.