About ACT

The Autism & Communication Technology Initiative (ACT) utilizes the unique features of the MIT Media Lab to foster the development of innovative technologies than can enhance and accelerate the pace of autism research and therapy.

ACT researchers are especially invested in creating personalized technologies that enable non-autistic people to understand the ways people on the autism spectrum are trying to communicate and to help both parties more effectively understand their own and others emotional and cognitive states, all the while providing researchers and clinicians with real-world data that appreciates the complexity and uniqueness of the autistic experience.