PowerPoint Presentation

Pilot Study of Peer-Mediated Theatrical Program for Children with Autism Demonstrates Potential

Study Conducted in 2009

Lead Researchers: Blythe Corbett, Joan Gunther & Dan CominsUniversity of California, Davis

Results Published in Journal of Autism Development Disorders (2010)

Theatre as Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Major Components of Learning Deficit:

Difficulty understanding other individuals thoughts & feelings

Difficulty perceiving and understanding emotions

Limited ability to empathize

Poor communication skills

Autistic Children Lack Social-Emotional Skills

Successful Behavioral Intervention Strategies

Peer Mediation Active Learning Practice Key to Success Supportive Environment

Children with autism spectrum disorders would show improvement in social-emotional skills from participating in a peer-mediated musical theatrical program. Hypothesis

Pretest Posttest Design

Evaluated changes in 3 neuropsychological measuresMethods

NEPSY Matching Faces

NEPSY Affect Recognition

NEPSY Theory of Mind

8 Children (7 boys, 1 girl)Age Range: 6-17 (M = 13.86, SD = 3.49)IQ Score Range: 62 102 (M = 82.36. SD = 16.44)

Participants

Autistic children paired with normally developing peer actorsRole of peer actors:Serve as peer models & co-stars in a musical performancePerform peers role for video modeling

Pilot Research Design

Rehearsals 3 months Rehearsal schedule increased gradually from 1 day to 4 a weekHeld in supportive environment

Design/Schedule

2 of the 3 measures produced statistically significant results:

Matching Faces [t(7) = -2.62, p = 0.034]

Theory of Mind [t(7) = -2.73, p = 0.034]

Encouraging Results

Need More Robust Follow Up Study Larger sample requiredControl groupParticipants need to stop other interventions

Next Steps