Avatars to Help Autistic Children

There was a news story I saw on TV earlier this week, and then I found more information on the internet about it. The Center for BrainHealth in Dallas uses avatars in a virtual world to help autistic children learn to cope socially.  They claim that four or five sessions are comparable to two or three years of real world training.  Coffee shop get togethers and job interviews are examples of social situations that are presented.  It helps the students recognize emotions and facial expressions, and it could be their gateway to social interaction.