Applied Theatre Research and Autism Network

The Autism Theatre Network was created to unite professionals and parents interested in using theatre to help individuals with autism. ATN is the first network to bring people from around the world together to strengthen theatre-autism work. The collaborative work of network members will be used to develop best practices; create new techniques; spread the word about theatre interventions for individuals with autism; generate data to support claims of effectiveness; and ultimately increase the quality of life for individuals with autism. Parents; professionals; and researchers are always searching for new ways to help individuals with ASD; and there is a growing interest in using theatre to do so. Theatre activities can be used to teach emotion recognition; emotion expression; non-verbal behaviors and gestures; listening skills; eye contact; conversation skills; strategies to handle social situations; and several other critical social skills. Practitioners and parents are using masks to promote eye-contact and social skills; creating exercises to train individuals to refine observation skills; teaching body awareness through movement; building friendships through performance projects; etc.