GoFar partners with Herb Chambers
Game On For Autism Research Foundation, a nonprofit founded and directed by Cambridge teenager Jamie Menhall, recently announced a new partnership with Herb Chambers.
GoFAR is the world�s first nonprofit foundation exclusively dedicated to funding research into technologies aimed at helping those with autism spectrum disorder. Herb Chambers, president of the Herb Chambers Companies, is providing critical financing that will allow GoFAR to support clinical trials by researchers, including at the Affinity Project at the Lurie Center for Autism at Massachusetts General Hospital and the GAMES Project at Boston Children�s Hospital.
GoFAR has raised money from private individuals, nonprofit donors and corporate leaders such as Herb Chambers, every dollar of which goes toward funding clinical research. In addition to supporting its current research partners, GoFAR will continue to seek out and potentially fund additional world-class researchers and labs in the field of autism-focused technology.
Menhall was 15 years old when he founded GoFAR, and is now an 11th grader at Boston University Academy High School. His passion for helping children with autism spectrum disorder began at age 12 when he was volunteering to provide peer support for adolescents with ASD. He was struck by how difficult it was for these teens to communicate. He noticed, however, that many of the patients shared his love for video games, which their therapists used to reward and connect with them. Inspired by this insight, Menhall began researching how games and touchscreen technology could help autistic patients communicate. He realized that the best approach would be to establish a nonprofit organization that could directly support researchers studying how emerging digital technologies might be used to help improve quality of life for everyone with ASD.
�We would like to thank Herb Chambers from the bottom of our hearts,� said Dr. Leslie Fang, GoFAR�s chairman. �It�s clear through his support of the Jimmy Fund and other charitable initiatives, Herb is a person who truly cares about children, especially those underserved kids with disabilities. Herb�s support will go a long way toward allowing our organization to support clinical research that will further unlock the mysteries of how emerging technologies can improve the quality of life for children living with ASD.�
The infusion of funds from Chambers will help GoFAR achieve Jamie�s vision. At MGH, Dr. Kirsten Birtwell is leading a project that is investigating �Affinity Therapy,� an assistive technique that harnesses the power of technology to connect with autistic kids based on their own existing passions, such as cartoon characters. Dr. Susan Faja�s lab at BCH, meanwhile, is testing the efficacy of existing instructional games as tools for helping kids with ASD develop better executive function skills, including paying attention and making basic plans. To date, all funds distributed by GoFAR have gone toward these two projects, but Menhall and Dr. Fang are considering partnering with other researchers at the cutting edge of autism research.
�Autism is clearly affecting an increasing number of children and I have personally witnessed its effect on the child and the family,� said Chambers. �It is beyond remarkable that a teen with no personal link to autism would be so passionately involved. The approach GoFAR is taking clearly has merits and I am personally vested to understand the science of using technology to help children on the spectrum.�