A psychiatrist at Vanderbilt University is using his previous experience as an actor to develop a new program to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder improve their social skills. According to an article by Makin (2014), Blythe Corbett, M.D., stated, “I knew from experience that acting can have a profound impact on how we interact with others… It can facilitate more flexible thinking and behavior.†Consequently, he started a drama-bested intervention program called SENSE Theatre.
So far, the SENSE project has run two summer camps, which include activities such as improvisation and role-playing games, scripted sessions, and eventually, participation in a final play. Makin (2014) indicates that the kids with a childhood social disorder in these pilot programs demonstrated increased social awareness and memory for faces following participation in the program. Other similar programs are also currently being developed, including The Shakespeare and Autism project and Imagining Autism. While additional research is still being completed to test the efficacy of these interventions, these initial results are definitely promising for a new innovative treatment modality for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.