ASHBURN, Va. – Onscreen, Michael Mendoza's digital avatar stands before a wonderland of cakes and sweets, but his message is all business: "I. Get. Frustrated when people push me and call me undefined and call me undefined a teacher's pet!"

Technology resource teacher Adina Popa works with student Michael Mendoza using the Xbox Kinect. Motion sensors have become a big deal in the world of autism therapy and education.

Technology resource teacher Adina Popa works with student Michael Mendoza using the Xbox Kinect. Motion sensors have become a big deal in the world of autism therapy and education.

In another classroom at Steuart W. Weller Elementary School, nearly an hour's drive west of Washington, D.C., two students stand side-by-side, eyes riveted on a big-screen TV. They jump, duck and swing their arms in unison, working together as they help their digital doppelgangers raft downriver.

In real life, 9-year-old Michael has autism, as do his two classmates. All three have long struggled with the mental, physical and social rigors of school. All three now get help most days from video-game avatars undefined simplified digital versions of themselves doing things most autistic children don't generally do. Click here for the entire article and video.