Autism Puppet Project

Background image by Maëva Vigier https://unsplash.com/photos/j_12oQL6i-U

Say hello to Austen. Austen is a puppet designed to aid educators and therapists working with autistic children.

New research by Yale university confirms what many anecdotal observations have previously suggested; that autistic children respond better to puppets than humans. A study in collaboration with Cheryl Henson daughter of Muppet creator Jim Henson; showed that when presented with a puppet and a human counterpart, the autistic children “dwelled” on face of the puppet in a comparable way to how the neurotypical control group “dwelled” on both the puppet and the human counterpart.

I decided to make a puppet aimed at autistic children to aid learning and social interaction. I chose to make a live-hand puppet that would allow educators to use pens and other objects while controlling the puppet.

The puppet should be non threatening, and aid educators and therapists by increasing engagement. It should be portable and easy to use.