About Empathy Bridge

Though autism affects 1 in 70 people in the world, most people never experience the difficulties in life that come from such a condition. An Empathy Bridge for Autism is a toolkit that allows people to experience the visual, auditory and speech differences that come with autism, advocating greater understanding and empathy for people with autism. Three different components together emulate the struggles and evoke a similar sensation to that felt by a sufferer. Bridge for Vision reproduces an autistic vision of the surrounding view by using augmented reality. Bridge for Hearing evokes the oversensitive hearing often accompanied by autism. Lastly, Bridge for Speaking is a set of six uniquely shaped candies that impede tongue movements in several different ways. The project aims to take as many people as possible for a walk in the shoes of a person with autistic spectrum disorder. For this purpose, this kit is made of low-cost materials, making it easy to produce and to share with a wider audience. Colors favored by people with autism comfort users, including people within the spectrum themselves. Not just the symptoms make autistic people and their families suffer, but also the indifference, the misunderstanding, and the frigid glance of others. I believe An Empathy Bridge can gradually change those people to be compassionate, to understand and to care for autistic people. For example, school students may use it and understand autism first-hand, promoting compassion for children with autism, thereby reducing bullying. Helping people with autism themselves is important, but I feel an even more urgent task is to spread understanding and care about autism in our society. This kit embodies the important value that 'A minute of your time can bring remarkable changes to the lives of people with autism.'