Part intervention therapy, part research program, and part fun with theater arts, the SENSE Theatre Project has succeeded in helping local kids with autism perform better and stress less on everyday stages like classrooms and playgrounds. After a successful premiere production (Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids played to sold-out shows at the Davis Musical Theater Company in June), and rave reviews from families, teachers and therapists, the program seems poised to offer new hope to families affected by autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Blythe Corbett, Ph.D. is the driving force behind the non-profit Social Emotional NeuroScience Endocrinology (or SENSE) Theatre Project. “Theater provides opportunities to explore and learn social skills like verbal communication, movement and expression, skills which autistic children especially benefit from practicing,” explains Corbett, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis, and a pediatric neuropsychologist at the M.I.N.D. Institute in Sacramento.
Thirty-seven kids (ages 6-16) participated in the production, including eight kids with autism. The children with autism were teamed up with “buddies,” other young actors in the show who volunteered to help the kids with ASD learn their roles. In addition to working with the kids in live rehearsal, the actors performed their autistic buddies’ roles for videographer Dan Comins, who then prepared and uploaded the video performances to a password-protected Web site which parents could access at home. The video site allowed the autistic kids to practice their parts, following along as an actor buddy modeled how to deliver appropriate gestures, intonations and facial expressions along with their lines. Equally key, the tapes modeled how to wait for cues and listen or react while other actors played their parts.
Kristen Byrne is the Walk Chair for Walk Now for Autism. She lives in Rocklin with her husband, Martin, her daughter, Megan (15) and her twins, Devan and Ethan (7), both of whom have autism. “We marvel over the steady progress Ethan and Devan have made in just three short months participating in this project,” says Kristen. “Before the SENSE program, it wasn’t typical for Ethan to approach other kids in the school yard and ask, ‘Can I play with you?’” But he started to do just that. She saw changes in Devan too. “He could talk and talk and talk about one particular topic of interest to him, but might never ask about the other child’s interests.” After being involved in SENSE, he started to ask other kids questions like, “What’s your favorite color?” and, “What game do you want to play?” Kristen speculates, “They were in that environment so much, with these kids who never gave up engaging them, that I think they not only got to see what that socializing looks like, but they also gained the confidence to go back to school and use those new social skills. We owe a lot of their success to the SENSE buddies,” she says. “They were so patient and kind… I just can’t say enough about them!”
The twins’ skills improved so quickly and so dramatically, in fact, that when they resumed applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy after the play, the re-assessment team had to ask, “What are you doing with the boys?” Other parents got similar questions from teachers. Kristen beams as she sums up the experience: “It’s really been an amazing transformation. We would gladly do it all over again!”
“We learned a lot from this initial production,” says Corbett, “and the team is looking forward to taking the next step.” That step will include another theatrical production in the Sacramento area, she says, just as soon as the SENSE team can find a theater, or theaters, to collaborate with the non-profit program. Looking back, Corbett has many fond memories of the Jungle Book show, but among her favorite was the night she saw sixteen-year-old Esteban Marchant, an actor with ASD, exhibit a special kind of grace under pressure. “Esteban had a solo number, and in performance the music kind of got ahead of him. Most actors would have become quite flustered, but Esteban just turned to the piano player, William, put his hand up, and said, ‘STOP!’ William complied. Esteban took a breath, composed himself, turned to William, gave a nod, and they began again, perfectly in sync. The audience loved it. They gave a roar of applause. He gave himself the opportunity to succeed, his way! It was just fantastic.” It’s that kind of confidence Corbett hopes to see cultivated in more kids.
SENSE Theatre Project | SenseTheatre.com
MIND Institute | Ucdmc.Ucddavis.edu/MindInstitute
Blythe Corbett, Research Director | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 |
 |
|
| 7 SANITY TIPS Summer 2012 BAY AREA > |
SWING INTO SUMMER Summer 2012 SACRAMENTO > |
