Three Good Things

Let us consider some good things that have happened before the year 2021 concludes: 1) On February 1, 2021, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced that the autism spectrum disorders may be caused by defects in the mitochondria of brain cells of the eye. The research continues. 2) In the year 2021, many people have adopted the term “on the spectrum” to refer to the many brain dysfunctions that can and cannot be named and diagnosed yet. 3) Yale University Child Study Center and The Jim Henson Institute have invited many experts from many fields of study together to discover what happens when spectrum and non-spectrum children and adults look at puppets. What are they looking at? What do they see? Why don't we already know what they see? Are we looking at the important things? The chapter will explore these questions and specifically learning and the impact of puppets further.