Effectiveness of Drama Therapy on Social Skills of Autistic Children

Objective: Autism spectrum disorder severely damages children’s social skills, cognitive functions, and emotional self-regulation. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of drama therapy on the social skills of children with high-functioning autism. Methods: The research design was experimental with a pre-test, post-test and a control group. The statistical population included ۱۲۰ children with high-functioning autism in special education centers in Isfahan City, Iran. For this purpose, ۴۰ children with high-functioning autism disorder were randomly selected by purposive sampling method and using Morgan’s table. Then, they were assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received a drama therapy program, and the control group was placed on a waiting list. The children’s instructors completed the Matson social skills questionnaire at pre-test, post-test, and follow-up three months later. Results: Analysis of the results using repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the drama therapy was effective on the participants’ social skills in the experimental group (P<۰.۰۵). Conclusion: Drama therapy will improve their social skills and performance in this field. Therefore, this study’s findings might be helpful as practical strategies for practitioners in the field of autism.

Keywords:

Drama therapy , Social skills , Autism , Social action , Interaction