Drama Therapy for Autism. By
Lisa Jo Rudy -
About.com Guide - Updated: October 29, 2007. About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the
Medical Review Board People with autism are often verbal, but lack the skills to speak and interact socially. Sometimes, language skills are echolalic - that is, people with autism repeat others' words verbatim. Some parents have noted that their children with autism can actually recite big chunks of dialogue from TV shows and movies, with precisely the same accent and intonation as the original.
Drama therapy offers the opportunity for verbal individuals with autism to build on their imitative strengths by actually learning, practicing and perfecting "lines" in a fun, supportive setting. It also allows participants to work on social improvisation, practice social skills learned in other settings, work on reading and using body language, and develop speaking skills. Even better, it offers participants the opportunity to actually become actors, star in a show, build confidence, and earn sincere applause.
Cincy Schneider is a pioneer in the field of drama therapy for people with autism, and author of the book Acting Antics: A Theatrical Approach to Teaching Social Understanding to Kids and Teens with Asperger Syndrome. Her classes in theater and movement are offered to kids and adults of all ages, and with a fairly wide range of diagnoses (high functioning autism, Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, ADHD, etc.) According to Cindy, participants may gain:
* self-confidence not only in performing, but in interactions
* improved self-esteem; pride in their accomplishments
* improved recognition of emotions in others
* improved identification and labeling of own emotions
* new leisure time activity in a group where they can be successful
* new awareness of volume levels and beginning modulation of level
* new skills for functioning as part of a group
* new skills for following directions
* improved ability to interact with peers
* increased self-confidence through success
It's not easy to find a drama therapist specializing in autism, since the field is so new. At present, there are only a few formal drama therapy groups serving individuals with autism.
The good news, though, is that typical drama instructors have a great deal of what it takes to work with children on the autism spectrum. Many of the games, improv activities and exercises that work for typical theater students can be easily modified for learners on the autism spectrum.
Resources:
Schneider, Cindy. Acting Antics. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishing. C 2007
Interview with Cindy Schneider, May 2007.
Storie Sociali e Alpaca sostengono eBookFest 2010
From Arwood EL & Kaulitz (2007) Learning with a visual brain in a auditory world - Visual language strategy for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
MARIA è una bambina autistica che ha un talento speciale per ricordare i nomi delle persone. Per comunicare meglio con lei il padre Miguel Gallardo (illustratore per «New Yorker» e «Herald Tribune»), disegna le persone che fanno parte della vita di Maria: sono le immagini che compongono questa graphic novel intitolata Maria e io (pubblicata in Italia dall’editore Comma 22). Il libro, con l'apparato narrativo del fumetto, spiega l’autismo agli adulti, attraverso gli occhi di una bambina. 
Social Stories 10.1 and Comic Strip Conversations Carol Gray makes a rare appearance in the United Kingdom with the first workshop on Social Stories 10.1 (the revised, updated, and expanded version of Social Stories 10.0) June 7th-8th 2010
È sardo il primo portale delle storie sociali
Success Stories are personalizable children’s books. Engage children in a fun and creative way while addressing social skills, safety skills, and communication skills.
Per opera del grafico Fabrizio Piredda il portale "Storie Sociali"® ha cambiato logo. La scelta visuale richiama il nuovo logo di Sardiniaweb® (disegnato sempre dall'ottimo Piredda) e introduce il dialogo (anzi, in un caso è voce e nell'altro è pensiero) tra un bambino e una bambina; dialogo mediato dal baloon. Che ve ne pare?
2010 Social Stories Collection (Darren Tagliarini)
Nel 1991 Carol Gray sviluppò le strategie delle storie sociali (da cui il marchio registrato Social Stories™) e delle conversazioni a fumetti (Comic Strip Conversations) ovvero un metodo di insegnare specifiche abilità sociali a persone con disturbo dello spettro autistico. Carol Gray ha scritto diversi sull'argomento: il primo: The New Social Story Book (10th Anniversary Edition) è stato tradotto in molte lingue tra cui l'italiano (Il libro delle storie sociali ad uso delle persone con disturbi autistici per apprendere le abilità sociali, Vannini, 2004). 
MATTINO (file Pdf)
Il libro di Caroline Smith, Storie sociali per l’autismo (Erickson 2006, 104 pagine, € 17,50, ISBN: 978-88-7946-893-0) mantiene intatto il suo valore a distanza di 7 anni dalla prima pubblicazione in lingua inglese (Writing and Developing Social Stories: practical interventions in Autism). Intanto perché l'autrice spiega molto semplicemente e altrettanto concretamente come e perché scrivere storie sociali. E poi per la serie di schede (che la Erickson ha pubblicato in un formato adatto alla pratica quotiana) con numerosi esempi divisi per tipologia di storie e età dei destinatari. 
Oggi abbiamo ricevuto due libretti della Natural Learning Concepts Inc (New York): "The restaurant and the movies" e "Answering questions and sayng hy and bye". 
