Arts Therapies Research And Practice With Persons On The Autism Spectrum

"This volume presents cutting-edge research and practice on creative arts therapies for individuals on Autism Spectrum of all ages, outlining the development of effective and accessible approaches to support diverse needs of this client group. Consisting of 14 research-based chapters with contributions from over 30 authors from across the world, the book brings together research from art, music, drama, dance, movement and other forms of creative art therapies. The book demonstrates how arts therapies have evolved over the years to address the health and social care needs of people on the autism spectrum and their caregivers. Chapters explore the implications arts therapies across a spectrum of needs in various settings and offers a comprehensive picture including a variety of research outcomes, therapeutic processes, and critiques both of existing practice and research methodologies. The book will be key reading for researchers, scholars and clinicians from dance movement therapy, music therapy, art therapy, drama therapy and expressive arts therapies. It will also be of interest to post-graduate students and mental health professionals working with children, adults and families of individuals on the autism spectrum"--

Recent research has shown that art therapy can be particularly effective for children with autism and related communication disorders. The extensive range of symptoms experienced by autistic people makes them extremely individual in presentation, so any treatment used must be tailored to a range of varying needs. Art Therapy with Children on the Autistic Spectrum presents a new model of practice, which primarily focuses on communication difficulties. The authors describe how negative behaviours and subsequent tension may be alleviated when the autistic child is involved in interactive art making with the therapist. The book is divided into three parts: the first part explores art making processes and art work, with an emphasis on how art can be specifically communicative. A history of autism is presented within the therapeutic context. The second part challenges existing methods of practice within art therapy and considers the most appropriate approaches to treating autistic children. The last part discusses research that lead to the formulation of this specific model - methodology and assessment interventions are analysed, as well as the ongoing development of appropriate assessment instruments. Case studies of art therapy with individual autistic children demonstrate the use of the model and the outcomes. Throughout the book, it is emphasised how art therapy works as an integral part of overall management and treatment approaches to autism. It will be of particular interest to all those professionals working with autistic children and specialists in other communication disorders.

There is increasing pressure on therapists to provide details of structured assessments and to report therapy outcomes to funders, employers and co-workers. This edited volume provides a series of case studies, with varied client groups, giving arts therapists an accessible introduction to assessment and outcome measures that can be easily incorporated into their regular practice. The book provides demonstrations, within a practice-based evidence framework, of how measures can be tailored to the individual client's needs. The case studies show assessment and outcome models for music therapy, art therapy and dramatherapy used with a range of client groups including people with intellectual disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease and those suffering from depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or coping with bereavement.

This volume presents cutting-edge research and practice on Creative Arts Therapies or Arts Therapies for individuals on the autism spectrum of all ages, outlining the development of effective and accessible approaches to support the diverse needs of this client group. Consisting of 14 research-based chapters with contributions from over 30 authors from across the world, the book brings together research from art, music, drama, dance, movement and other forms of art therapies. The book demonstrates how arts therapies have evolved over the years to address the health and social care needs of people on the autism spectrum and their caregivers. Chapters explore the implications of arts therapies across a spectrum of needs in various settings and offer a comprehensive picture including a variety of research outcomes and therapeutic processes, and critiques both of existing practice and research methodologies. The book will be key reading for researchers, scholars and clinicians from dance movement therapy, music therapy, art therapy, dramatherapy and expressive arts therapies. It will also be of interest to post-graduate students and mental health professionals working with children, adults and families of individuals on the autism spectrum.

There is a distinct lack of art therapy literature on working with adults with autism spectrum disorders, and this book combats this dearth by looking at the theory and practice of working with this client group. With clinical case examples throughout, it provides ideas for practice and interventions for use in institutional and community settings. There is a useful focus on directives to help with specific concerns, for example college and job readiness, social skills, and adapting to independent living. The book also includes information on ASD itself and gives advice on developmental and neurological considerations to take into account when working with this client group.

Psychodynamic Art Therapy Practice with People on the Autistic Spectrum offers a valuable counterbalance to the phenomenological, cognitive and behavioural theories that currently prevail in the wider field of practice and research. The result of a decade of work by a group of highly experienced art therapists, this book presents eight frank and compelling accounts of art therapy with either adults or children with autism, supported by a discussion of the relevant theory. The book begins with an overview of the theoretical context and the subsequent chapters give varied accounts of practitioners’ experiences structured in a loose developmental arc, reflecting issues that may arise in different settings and at various stages of therapy. Each is followed by an afterword which describes the author’s reflections in the light of their subsequent knowledge and experience. The conclusion brings together some of the common threads arising from their encounters and considers how these might be relevant to current and continuing art therapy practice in the field of autism. Psychodynamic Art Therapy Practice with People on the Autistic Spectrum is a thoughtful consideration of where art therapy meets autism and the particular challenges that arise in the encounter between the autistic client and the therapist. Presenting honest reflections arising from lived encounters and highlighting general principles and experiences, this book aims to orient other practitioners who work with people on the autistic spectrum, in particular art therapists and art therapy trainees.

Introducing the Special Interest Communication Theory (SICT) Facilitative Framework, this guide will help you to support autistic clients and meet their needs through special interests and pop culture. Turning away from a culture that has often sought to suppress autistic special interests, Stallings asks that therapists meet autistic children and adults on their own terms. Creating an autism positive environment and engaging with special interests - from video games to K-Pop - builds rapport and helps identify therapeutic goals. Jessica Woolhiser Stallings combines this practical guide to her evidence-based framework with an overview of the history and applications of therapies and arts therapies used with autism. From a perspective that respects autistic self-advocacy and the role of art therapy in supporting individual emotional health, this guide offers tools to address anxiety, social interaction, communication, identity and more.

Using extensive examples from practice with a range of client groups, Dramatherapy and Autism confronts the assumption that people with autism are not able to function within the metaphorical realms of the imagination and creativity. It demonstrates that not only are people who function along the spectrum capable of engaging in creative exploration, but that through encountering these processes in the clinical context of dramatherapy, changes can be made that are life enhancing. Bringing in cutting-edge research and practice on dramatherapy, Dramatherapy and Autism aims to contribute to developing the theory and practice of creative arts therapies interventions with clients with autism. The book is part of the Dramatherapy: approaches, relationships, critical ideas series, in which leading practitioners and researchers in the field develop the knowledge base of this unique discipline, whilst contextualising and acknowledging its relationship with other arts and therapeutic practices. Dramatherapy and Autism will be of interest to a broad spectrum of readers, such as dramatherapists in practice and training, arts practitioners and academic researchers engaged in multidisciplinary enquiry.