Innovation For Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Initiative
Registrations for our next STEM skills workshop are now open and accessible here REGISTRATION OF INTEREST. This is a free community offering from Urban Maker provided thanks to our unique social enterprise business model.
The course is located in Hyde Park and utilises our partner space at DAKTECH; a software managed services and design business, who kindly operates a community accessible MakerSpace. The workshop covers basic STEM/Innovation skills to help empower you with the knowledge to support your friends, family or client and introduce them to the world of solving problems using digital design and 3D printing. If this interests you, then please follow the link below to register (Parents or Caregivers attendance only).
Note. The workshop is designed for those who are non-technical and/or not familiar with using a local community MakerSpace and associated equipment.
Workshop Content:
- Introduction to a MakerSpace
- Exploring a Problem - Introduction to the basics of Design Thinking
- Visualising a Solution - Sketching an idea from head to notepad
- Generating a Digital Design using Tinkercad/or remixing an existing design
- Introduction to 3D Printing - Types of desktop 3D printers, understanding the tech, safety and basic operation
So where is the initiative up to?
The Initiative is developing well and we have learned lots and fine tuned the content to provide an empowering and impactful experience for participants. The following is an overview of the progress so far, albeit with development time worked around important family and day-jobs.
November 2022 to Present - Stage 1 - One on one entrepreneurial mentorship. Creating a flexible Innovation journey with a local teenage participant, who had a drive to learn how to run his own business. The mentorship followed a product development path focused on a home security device for windows and sliding doors. The product was branded as Track-Lock, and provided process design (manufacturing), economics/marketing (MS Excel balance sheet/Facebook/Market Stall) and product testing skills and experiences.
August 2023 to October 2023 - Stage 2 - Parent or Carer and Child innovation workshop. A 2.5 hour workshop was designed as detailed below and delivered to three separate families with a total of four kids, two boys and two girls as the target learners. The workshop was held at the Townsville City Council Riverway Library Mixhaus MakerSpace. This proved to be an effective environment, enabled by digital design terminals, industry standard tooling (3D printers, 3D scanner, Laser CNC) and was extremely conducive to learning. With feedback in hand, the curriculum has been updated, including extending to 3hrs to dedicate a 1hr timeslot on Tinkercad.
October 2023 to Present - Testing the Design Thinking-Sketch-Digital model creation - process flow. All while using free online digital tooling including Tinkercad and desktop 3D printing software, to reduce the participation (overhead) costs; adopting the open-source mantra of the global maker community. Local market participation has seen a steady increase in sales of unique, but simple products, as we tweak the target market designs, ensuring scaling is achievable though leveraging 3D printing and resin mould manufacturing techniques.
February 2024 - Purchased additional printer - Bambulabs A1 with 4 colour auto material selection unit. This provides an ability to teach the latest multi-colour lithophanes, custom LED light strips and custom artwork techniques. This is an exciting capability and we are still learning and will develop the techniques over 2024.
January 2024 to Present - Stage 3 - Parent or Carer Innovation workshop. This is our current endeavor, and aimed to up-skill and teach participants about the raft of Maker online digital support networks, that can support STEM learning in the home. Given the onset of AI fusion within our society, a Generative AI module has been added, however, the hypothesis for the latest delivery workshop is; will we have enough time for this module, or is this going to fall into a second workshop design and offering?
(Our social enterprise Logo representing neuro-diverse participants, intertwined with a cyclic journey of challenges and discovery)
What is our drive and ambition?
With a commitment to providing a positive community impact and in the early stages of developing a unique Social Enterprise business model, Urban Maker aims to empower ASD participants to be creative. We are looking for your help to take this service model to our Townsville ASD community with a desire to continue to offer this initiative as a free service.
In our community, the opportunity to engage in creative endeavors is not always accessible due to various challenges such as physical or mental limitations and a lack of access to educational resources. Urban Maker's Innovation for ASD initiative is a response to bridge this gap. With an aim to establish a community-based STEM program which offers no-fee sessions to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, following a purpose designed program that introduces participants to the world of problem solving. The learnings cover problem solving, digital design and additive manufacturing (3D printing). Participants receive a certificate of participation which details the training covered and can help them in their pursuit of future employment.
The statistics tell a compelling story – since 2019, there has been a 46.6% increase in homeschool registrations in Australia (source: ABC News). Considering that 1 in 100 Australians is on the autism spectrum, and with a 50% lower likelihood of obtaining a bachelor's degree compared to students with other disabilities (source: Amaze), Urban Maker is motivated to address these disparities through the Innovation for ASD initiative.
We believe that this initiative has high potential to make a meaningful impact within our community. By providing hands-on training experiences, we connect those disadvantaged with Innovation educators and facilities, including introduction to local MakerSpaces. Recognising the unique requirements of participants, these experiences can be one on one, accompanied by a support worker or parent, or a group setting targeting Parents and Carers. Fostering inclusive and continued learning within both home and local support networks is a powerful value proposition that can help germinate the early building blocks for a bright future in the STEM working environment.
If you share our commitment to narrowing this educational divide, consider exploring our shop. There, you can purchase not only a product that has been made from following this initiative's curriculum, but also an Innovation session to sponsor a local ASD individual, group or maybe one for your own child.
As a sponsor and as a token of our gratitude, you will receive a certificate of support. Your contribution goes beyond a purchase – it becomes a step towards a more inclusive and supportive future. Thank you for your kindness and support.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact us via the online form.