Michael Igafo Te’o, Artist and Animator

Michael Igafo-Te’o is an English-Irish-Samoan-Native American animator
and is the Founder and CEO of Michael Igafo-Te’o Animation Studios.
Skilled in traditional hand-drawn animation as well as Claymation,
Michael and his younger sister Melody were also commissioned by The
Disney Channel to star in the short film entitled, “The Time I
Realized My Brother was Different.” The film is based on a book
Melody wrote as a child chronicling her own tales of playing games and
eating pizza with her autistic brother.

Rumor has it that Michael already has a future independent film
distribution contract with Warner Bros. Animation… All we know for
sure, is he will always have a home in the Autism Today ARTS Network.
Check out some of his stuff in his gallery!

And focusing on the visual engagement most people on the spectrum find
success at, the Akiva Metaverse is accessible through Virtual Reality
on the Oculus Quest 2. You don’t even need controllers to make it
work. Through hand tracking and a companion app, people of varying
degrees of capabilities are able to take part in Akiva and they can do
so at many stages of life development. While currently designed for
both younger kids and older kids, the overall intention is for Akiva
to stay with the individual and help them as they age and transition
into adulthood. Constantly creating new worlds and stories, Akiva is a
great way to immerse the user in an educational ecosystem in a fun and
engaging way.