The Effects of a Theatrical Play Programme on Social Skills Development for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a theatrical play programme on social skills development for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Six children with ASD were selected by purposive sampling (M=10.6 years), and their typically developing peers (N=132) (M=10.3 years), attending general primary schools in Greece participated in the study. All participants, both ASD and typical children, attended a theatrical play programme with the physical education regular school programme alongside. A physical education teacher and six integration classroom teachers of six different classes recorded the social skills of six children with ASD after every theatrical play session (16 educational sessions) for eight weeks. Social skills were evaluated using the "Social and Play Skills" checklist of the Collaborative Model for Promoting Competence and Success (COMPASS) by Ruble, Dalrymple, and McGrew (2012). This checklist is composed of three parts: social awareness, joint attention skills and play that facilitate teachers to observe different aspects of social interactions including social skills. Results showed improvement in cooperation, attention, obedience, and empathy in four of the six participants. All six children reduced anxiety risk and repeatability giving a potential promise in improving the social functioning in children with ASD through the cooperation with their peers.