Developers at Google didn't create SketchUp, a 3-D software drawing program, with autism spectrum in mind.

But the software's free download drew such a positive response from parents of children with autism that the company created a program, Project Spectrum, to enhance the experience of the user with autism.

"As the calls kept coming in," said information on a Project Spectrum page for educators, "we learned that people with autism tend to be visually and spatially gifted -- that, in fact, they think in pictures.

"When people with these gifts get their hands on ... design software like SketchUp, sparks tend to fly."

Officials at both Siskin Children's Institute and Signal Centers in Chattanooga said they were not aware of the software but planned to look into it.

Project Spectrum was created, according to company officials, to give people with autism the opportunity to express their creativity and develop a life skill using the software.

In addition to the software, the program includes six learning modules on how to use SketchUp, a manual of lesson plans and a video on how students with ASD have found it useful. To download the package, visit www.google.com/educators/spectrum.html.