STUDENT NAME :
GEORGIA THOMAS
STUDENT NUMBER :
M00295508
MODULE NAME/NUMBER :
THE3130
MODULE TUTOR:
Jason Denvir
ESSAY TITLE:
The benefits of drama for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder
I confirm that this essay/project is entirely my own work and the sources
used in its preparation and writing are properly acknowledged.
Signature: G. Thomas
Date: 14/04/2014
Introduction
“Drama enables us to focus on an analogous life-situation, in order to expose
mechanisms by which decisions are arrived at, and subject to scrutiny the
consequences of those actions, thoughts and behaviour” (Sherrat : 2002) Drama
can be a great outlet for children and adults with Autism spectrum disorder. It
can allow them to communicate in ways that they may not have been able to
previously and it gives them a hobby and possibly a passion. Many autistic
people like having the attention of people around them to be on them, so acting
gives them this need because audiences will watch and applaud them. This essay
will cover what Autism spectrum disorder is, its symptoms, psychological and
physical effects and the vast spectrum of autism. It will also cover what theatre
companies and methods are used with autistic people and the positive and
negative outcomes of using Drama as an outlet for people within the Autistic
Spectrum. The essay will end with a case study of three young people I
researched during my University placement at Haringey Shed.
Part One - Research
“Autism refers to a number of complex disorders associated with brain
development. Though the characteristics and severity of symptoms of autism
vary greatly from child to child, the most commonly observed symptoms reveal
difficulty in the areas of verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction
and the incidence of repetitive behaviours.” (Sheppard : 2014) Autism
Spectrum Disorder is an inherited brain disorder, generally found in the early
years of a person’s life. It is more commonly seen in boys than girls, in an
American Study, it was found that Autism Spectrum Disorder was found in 1 in
54 boys and 1 in 252 girls. The symptoms of Autistic Spectrum Disorder include
social impairment – They will not make eye contact with the person they are
conversing with, they will listen and look less at the people around them, they do
not actively seek pleasure in playing with or sharing toys, and have little
understanding of personal space. Some more communication issues are – they
may not respond to their own name, or the voice of a parent of carer, they
develop language skills at a slower pace than regular children and occasionally,
people with autism spectrum disorder physically injure themselves in order to
gain attention, such as pulling their hair out and biting themselves. People with
autism spectrum disorder are unable to understand the emotions of other
human beings. “It is believed that repetitive behavior [sic] helps to structure life
and reduce anxiety for the autistic child. Deviation from these procedures can
cause an outbreak of confusion, anger or despair.” (Sheppard: 2014) Repetitive
behaviours are a very common symptom of autism. This includes lining
belongings, such as pencils and ornaments in a certain order, a little like
obsessive compulsive disorder, the disorder in which a person will have
obsessive compulsions for certain activities such as washing themselves and
keeping belongings in a certain order and if this is interrupted, the person will
show negative emotions and become incredibly anxious. Some more repetitive
symptoms of autism spectrum disorder are sitting in the same place every time
their in a certain room, along with everyone else sitting in the desired place of
the autistic person and knowing the routine of their day with every detail.
Disallowing an autistic person from these things can cause negative emotions
within the person such as anger, anguish and sadness. Autism has a wide
spectrum of severity. This ranges from extremely low functioning autism in
which the person will never learn to speak, or learn to speak at a very late age i.e.
in their teenage years, will not learn to use a toilet on their own and need
constant supervision - to high functioning autism, in which the person will have
most the traits of a regular person, i.e. They can speak, go to the toilet and live
without much supervision, but will still hold many of the traits of a person with
autism spectrum disorder such as the obsessive compulsive qualities, the
inability to understand the emotions of those around them and the lack of
understanding of personal space.
Applied theatre can be a good form of drama for people with special needs,
including autism spectrum disorder. Through workshops, in which practitioners
will include groups of around 10 – 30 people that often focus on one particular
subject such as confidence, or preparing them for something in life, like starting
at a new school. “Rehearsal can be seen as a collaborative process of
investigation, research, trial and error, negotiation and often improvisation”
(Prendergast: 2013) The activities in the workshops will be focussed on the
subject at hand, for instance, if the workshop is based around confidence, the
practitioners may ask the people involved in the workshop to act out a scene in
which a person may not be feeling confident and then the practitioners will ask
them to reflect on what could be different within the scene to change the
outcome of the situation. This means of drama is beneficial to children with
autism as it allows them to gain a stronger knowledge of human emotion and
consequence of actions. However, applied drama is only beneficial to those on
the higher end of the autistic spectrum. Some of the most common Applied
Theatre companies in the UK are Clean Break Theatre and Geese Theatre
Company.
“The very act of engaging in play and drama experience will strengthen those
parts of the brain that are under-functioning in children with autism.” (Sherratt:
2002) Another form of drama that is useful for those with autism spectrum
disorder is drama therapy. Drama therapy is a form of therapy in which the
drama therapist will either work with their clients one – to – one or in a group. It
is used to be of benefit to those with mental health disorders, physical and
mental disabilities. In a setting where the client or clients are autistic, the drama
therapist will develop sensory drama sessions. For instance, the sessions will be
based around movement, touch and other senses, which is a creative outlet for
those on the autistic spectrum. Movement is particularly useful for those on the
autistic spectrum because it allows them to gain a better sense of themselves and
others around them, giving them more knowledge of personal space. Drama
therapists will also use movement to teach relationship experiences and
emotions such as “against”, “with”, “sad”, “happy” etc. This promotes eye contact
and encourages the young people to develop stronger relationships and have a
better knowledge of the emotions of their family, friends and carers. Some of the
most common drama therapy companies in the UK are Roundabout and The
British Association of Dramatherapists.
Inclusive theatre is perhaps the most commonly used from of drama for people
with autism spectrum disorder. Inclusive theatre is very similar to a regular
armature dramatics company except anyone has entitlement to join, there will
be people from average backgrounds, disadvantaged backgrounds and they may
have physical or mental disabilities. Inclusive theatre companies pride
themselves on giving equal opportunities to everyone they work with. For
instance, in Haringey Shed’s play 27, one of the main parts was given to a young
person with cerebral palsy. In terms of the benefit inclusive theatre has on those
with autism spectrum disorder, it gives them the opportunity to feel and be
included in activities and dramatic practices that may not be as accessible to
them elsewhere, it teaches them how to behave around a large group of people
and gives them a chance to make friends. The activities in inclusive theatre
companies include drama games that involve touch, sense and relationship
building such as partner work and games that explore emotions, relationships
and trust. There are also active warm ups that give the young people a change to
exercise in a non-routine, fun way, i.e. unlike physical education at school. This is
beneficial to those with autism, because often they learn without a great deal of
strenuous exercise. Inclusive theatre companies also put on either devised or
scripted plays, which gives people with autism a the opportunity to experience
acting, which in turn teaches them about make believe and encourages use of
imagination which many people with autism spectrum disorder struggle with as
one of the symptoms is the inability to grasp the concept of lying. Some of the
most commonly known inclusive theatre companies in the UK are Chicken Shed
and Haringey Shed.
Although there are many positives to using drama as an outlet for people with
autism spectrum disorder, in the wrong context, drama could be detrimental to a
person with autism spectrum disorder. For instance, if one were to place an
autistic person in a typical amateur dramatics company, they would not
necessarily cope very well. With the difficulty grasping the concept of lying, an
autistic person would not understand the concept of acting, without the
appropriate tuition of trained practitioners who specialise with working with
those with special needs. With no one to explain how acting works and what
acting is to them, and asking the person to simply ‘act’, this could cause major
anxiety which could cause them to act out in ways typically seen in an autistic
person, such as self inflicted injury to themselves and injury to others. Therefore,
in order to use drama as an effective outlet, they need to be in an environment
that caters to their needs and has sufficiently trained staff that are prepared for
every possibility seen in an autistic person.
However, although there are negatives to drama being used for autistic people,
there are also many positives, with each example of methods, there are many
ways in which an autistic person can benefit a lot from drama. Drama allows for
many ‘windows of understanding to be opened’. For instance, drama can give
autistic people an understanding of personal space and human emotion. Drama
is also good for creativity and teaches everyday skills in an un-conventional and
enjoyable way. Therefore, when drama is used to help autistic people and there
is a staff team that is trained to deal with every possibility that may show in an
autistic person and there are activities that suit the needs of autistic people, i.e.
activities that aren’t too difficult and that incorporate teaching methods to
further their understanding of how to behave around others. “Children with
autism seem to lack a desire to search for deeper casual links in their
understanding of the word. Instead they excel at remembering predictable
routines (for example, teeth cleaning) and processing surface level information
such as train timetables” (Sherrat: 2002) meaning that by working with autistic
people by using drama can be a great tool as it allows them to use their skills of
remembering information by giving them lines in a play, or a script to learn.
Part Two – Case Study
As part of my university degree, I did a 100-hour placement at Haringey Shed, an
inclusive theatre company for young people aged 7 to 16. During the placement, I
decided to case study three young people with autism spectrum disorder who
are all on different points of the spectrum, high-functioning autism, mediumfunctioning autism and low-functioning autism, I set out to research how each of
them benefited from performing arts and drama.
Young Person 1 – High-Functioning Autism
This young person was incredibly enthusiastic about drama and performing arts.
They understood very well what was expected of them, and always performed to
their highest standard. It was clear that drama was a great outlet for them
because they were able to express their emotions through the medium of acting.
Having been a long-term member of Haringey Shed, they have learnt skills such
as better communication, understanding of their peer’s feelings and emotions
and a better sense of personal space. It was clear that this young person
thoroughly enjoys their time at Haringey Shed, especially the performance
aspect. When given the chance to perform, they acted to the best of their ability,
whilst also giving her peers advise on how to project to an audience. This young
person is a clear example of how drama can be extremely beneficial to people
with autism spectrum disorder.
Young Person 2 – Medium-Functioning Autism
This young person is of the medium-functioning autism persuasion. Although
they’re still very enthusiastic, similarly to Young Person 1, it is clear that they find
certain aspects of performance slightly more difficult. They are very enthusiastic
and are happy to do anything asked of them, but there is still an element of
misunderstanding of certain aspects. They enjoy Haringey Shed and enjoy the
performance aspect, however, when it comes to tasks involving them not being
on stage and being watched by any form of audience, they tend to act out for
attention by misbehaving. Throughout the rehearsal process, this young person
started with one – to – one, hands on supervision, with constant assistance by
physically, verbally and visually telling them how to do certain things. As time
went on, the practitioner who was their main supervisor began to show them
these things, by only using verbal and visual clues and references. This allowed
them to begin to fend for themselves and not rely on being physically taken
places or have help physically doing tasks. This young person also learnt slightly
more about appropriate behaviour around their peers and practitioners. They
started the process, unable to understand why a person may not want to be
hugged at a certain time, but as the process continued and they were being
handled in a less physical way, they began to understand slightly better. This
young person is also a good example of how drama can be a positive practise for
autistic people, because they learnt critical skills during the process, through
learning drama skills.
Young Person 3 – Low-Functioning Autism
This young person has low-functioning autism, meaning they have difficulty
communicating in any way, they need assistance when going to the toilet and
they often act out. They needed one–to–one assistance at all times, and unlike
Young Person 2, they needed to be constantly taken places and shown things
physically. Despite all this, however, it was clear that this young person took
great enjoyment in drama activities and performing. Although they would often
act out to seek attention, when they were on stage they were clearly happier
then if they weren’t. Throughout the rehearsal process, this young person would
misbehave severely whenever there was a moment in which performing or
playing wasn’t involved. Otherwise, they would join in to the best of their ability.
Although they didn’t necessarily learn many new communication skills through
drama and performance, this young person discovered a hobby and a means of
fun and enjoyment, this could lead to them learning better communication skills
as they followed examples well.
All three young people required a different amount of help and support, but
through the co-operative and coherent nature of Haringey Shed, each of them
learnt new skills of different values. Thereby proving the positivity of using
drama as an outlet and to be of benefit to young people with autism spectrum
disorder.
Conclusion
“Play and drama evoke emotional reactions in children: putting children with
autism directly in touch with their feeling responses will enable them to see how
events and experiences come together to have a meaning – a personal
significance – rather than just be related chronologically.” (Sherratt: 2002)
Drama is a positive outlet and can be of benefit to many people. People with
autism spectrum disorder can benefit from drama immensely, it can allow them
to access new skills they may have otherwise not found, such as general motor
skills, communication skills and can ease their repetitive, obsessive symptoms.
Although in the wrong setting, i.e. in a typical theatre company, drama can be
detrimental to someone with autism spectrum disorder, with the correct
practitioners and the right environment it can be of huge value. With the many
methodologies and practises used in this field, there is much evidence that
drama is useful for autistic people, thus proving that drama is a positive choice of
activity and is highly advantageous to those with autism spectrum disorder.
Bibliography

Sherratt, Dave & Peter, Melanie. Developing Play and Drama in Children
With Autistic Spectrum Disorders. David Fulton Publishers, 2002. P. 87

Sherratt, Dave & Peter, Melanie. Developing Play and Drama in Children
With Autistic Spectrum Disorders. David Fulton Publishers, 2002. P.94

Sherratt, Dave & Peter, Melanie. Developing Play and Drama in Children
With Autistic Spectrum Disorders. David Fulton Publishers, 2002. P.95

Sherratt, Dave & Peter, Melanie. Developing Play and Drama in Children
With Autistic Spectrum Disorders. David Fulton Publishers, 2002. P.1364

Sheppard, Alec. Autism: The Facts, The Signs, The Care. Vision Spots
Publishing, 2014. P.34

Sheppard, Alec. Autism: The Facts, The Signs, The Care. Vision Spots
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
Prendagrast, Monica & Saxton, Juliana. Applied Drama. Intellect Ltd, 2013.
P.177