Drama Therapy and Storymaking in Special Education

Many aspects of drama therapy make it an ideal technique to use with students with special learning needs. This practical resource book for professionals covers the broad spectrum of students attending special needs schools, including those with attention deficit disorder, autism and Asperger syndrome, and students with multiple disabilities. Paula Crimmens places therapeutic storymaking within the context of drama therapy and offers practical advice on how to structure and set up sessions to be compatible with special needs learning environments. She shows how story sessions can address issues of self-esteem and self-mastery, and how their use in groups is invaluable for building social and communication skills. The book includes traditional stories from around the world as session material, and includes guidance on how to devise stories relevant to older students, as well as a review of recent research into the effectiveness of drama therapy in engaging and retaining the attention of students with an intellectual disability. 'Disorganized children' may display a range of behaviours symptomatic of, for example, ADHD, autism and conduct disorders, but they often fail to meet all the criteria for a clear diagnosis. In this book, psychiatrists, speech, family and occupational therapists and neurodevelopment specialists present a range of behavioural and psychological strategies to help disorganized children improve concentration and performance in the classroom and deal with a variety of behaviour and social interaction difficulties. The authors also provide information and interventions for dyslexia, dyspraxia, OCD a 1. Getting Started -- 2. The Use Of Traditional Stories -- 3. Helping Others -- 4. Dealing With Change -- 5. Working As A Team -- 6. Trickery And Stealing -- 7. Stories Of A Special Child -- 8. Unlikely Heroes -- 9. Competitiveness -- 10. Trust -- 11. Devising Stories : A Guide To Using Stories To Explore Themes In Everyday Life -- 12. Using A Visual Storyboard With Students With Autism -- 13. Drama Therapy And Engaging The Attention Of Students With An Intellectual Disability : A Research Study. Paula Crimmens. Includes Bibliographical References. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web. Aimed at professionals working with children with special needs, this title covers the spectrum of students attending special need schools, including those with attention deficit disorder, autism and Asperger's syndrome. Crimmens places methods of using therapeutic storymaking, within the context of drama therapy