San Diego Natural History Museum

The San Diego Natural History Museum will design a program entitled SPECTRUM, which will provide a structured opportunity for high-functioning, verbal young adults (ages 18-25) with autism spectrum disorder to collaborate with their peers in practicing social skills and participate in organized fieldtrips. In addition, participants will work to create social stories, written or verbal access tools aimed at helping individuals with autism spectrum disorder understand various social interactions, situations, behaviors, skills or concepts that are expected in a public setting. These stories will serve as a template for other museums to use in determining which visitor experience elements should be included for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Museum staff and program participants will work together to develop both written and video based social stories for seven diverse museums in the San Diego area.