1. The Immersive Theater Experience for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Author
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Ivy Giserman-Kiss, Paige M. Siper, Emily L. Isenstein, Elyana Feldman, Audrey Rouhandeh, Allison Durkin, Hannah Grosman, Alexander Kolevzon, Mikaela Rowe, Emma Wilkinson, Michelle Gorenstein, Jordana Weissman, Kristin Meyering, and Joseph D. Buxbaum
- Subjects
Male ,Parents ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ,Adolescent ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Best practice ,education ,Personal Satisfaction ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Developmental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,mental disorders ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Child ,Public awareness ,Public health ,05 social sciences ,Community Participation ,Art Therapy ,medicine.disease ,Caregivers ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Practice Guidelines as Topic ,ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDSOCIETY ,Autism ,Female ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,Audience response - Abstract
Despite growing public awareness of ASD, many caregivers of children with ASD struggle to find opportunities for participation in community activities with appropriate accommodations. The current study evaluated the experiences of individuals with ASD who attended immersive theater performances specifically designed for individuals with ASD. Parents and teachers of 256 children and adolescents completed questionnaires regarding their pre-show expectations and post-show satisfaction with the performance. Analyses revealed that, on average, parents' and teachers' levels of satisfaction significantly outweighed their pre-show expectations. Based on researcher observations, audience feedback, and past research, a list of best practices for successful theater programming for individuals with ASD was compiled with the goal of widespread dissemination to increase accessibility of theater performances for neurodiverse audiences.
- Published
- 2019