Autistic Kids Prove Their Drama is Therapeutic

When drama coach Elaine Hall found out her adopted son Neal had autism, she used acting to connect with him. The method was successful and inspired Hall to form “The Miracle Project,” a theater group for children with autism and their non-autistic peers. On March 25 “Autism: The Musical”, a documentary based on Hall’s program, debuts on HBO. We caught up with Hall this week to talk about her treatment approach.

MSN.com: You specialized in teaching acting to children working in film and television. How did you figure out your theater background could help your own son?

Hall: I’d been working with children my entire life, inviting them to honor what they are doing and how they are feeling. The traditional approach to treating autism felt counterintuitive, it was the opposite of letting them express who they are. When that didn’t work for Neal, I sought the help of Dr. Stanley Greenspan who suggested I join Neal’s world. He helped me see that everything I had learned in my previous life as an acting coach could benefit my son. Instead of stopping the behavior, I would join the behavior. Neal would spin and I would turn it into ring around the rosy. He would flap his hands, and I would fly around the room with him.

MSN.com: When did this lead to a turnaround for Neal?

Hall: We started a whole training program in my house. The speech and language therapist trained my troupe of actors, writers, musicians and dancers. We worked with Neal 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 10 months, doing what he did. He was severe. For a long time he would stack cars, and we would sit for hours with him, side by side, stacking cars. Then one day he handed Tom, a lighting designer, Tom’s favorite car and an interaction started. From there we introduced adult directed activity for 30 seconds. That built to a minute, then five minutes, then 30 minutes, to the point where Neal was able to go back to school.

MSN.com: Working with one child sounds more manageable than working with a group of children. How do you handle a roomful of kids behaving like Neal was?

Hall: When these kids walk into the room, they are completely accepted for what they do. We let them do their thing, and have one of the instructors join them. Kids that are more severe bring their own aid, so they don’t hurt themselves. Then gradually we ask them to join our activity.

MSN.com: How does it move from that into a group performance?

Hall: For the first six to eight weeks of the program with new kids, its all about how do we deal with this behavioral challenge, this sensory challenge, this emotional outburst. By the eighth or ninth week we have this group and they are all working together. Then it’s about the play, who is going to be what role. We find the strength in each child so each child can shine. We also incorporate their interests and experiences. In “Autism: The Musical,” one of the children was experiencing a lot of bullying in the school, so we incorporate that into a piece called “Sensitive”.

MSN.com: Why theater? What makes that work so well for autistic kids?

Hall: As an actor you have to learn to listen, be aware, go with the moment. The kids learn socialization, self-acceptance, movement, and verbalization—all the skills they learn in therapy. They learn body awareness, a sense of where they stop and another child begins. For kids that are minimally fluent, we have a lot of non-verbal games and exercises. This is a microcosm where they can practice, a place where everyone knows your name, everyone is saying ‘Oh my gosh Neal did the movement across the floor with everybody today.

MSN.com: Any challenges working with autistic kids versus non-autistic children?

Hall: Sounds. Our kids are sensitive. When people clap, it is disturbing. They will also take things literally. One boy is an amazing artist in real life, and we had him playing the part of Van Gogh. The character playing his mom had a line saying ‘I don’t know what to do with him.’ He was hurt because he thought what she said was real, so we had to change the line.

MSN.com: Has this translated to real-world success?

Hall: Theater does for autistic kids what it does for any child. It helps them to grow in confidence, socialization, a sense of themselves and an awareness of others around them.
It seems to help them interact more successfully in the typical world. We have one parent who said that her son never really cared about other kids. He didn’t notice if they were there or not. He now comes to class every week, hugs people, wants to know why they aren’t there and when they are going to be there. Another boy started a new school, and wrote a letter on his own to his teacher, saying ‘I want to tell the class that I have Aspergers so they don’t think I’m weird.”

MSN.com: Can other parents learn these methods or join a similar program?

Hall: We are creating a how-to package that people can preorder on our web site and we are starting a training program in July so people can be certified to become a miracle coach. We are also creating a CD of music for children with autism, releasing 2 songs at a time, available on iTunes, starting April 3rd, .

MSN.com: Is there a take-home lesson here for parents of children with autism?

Hall: I’m hoping that they will take home hope. Anything is possible for our kids. These kids have a message. We need to slow down and listen to them. Listen to the child that doesn’t speak. Allow our children to be themselves. Accept and love them, whether they are cured or not cured, for exactly who they are right now.

Jean Weiss is a regular contributor to MSN.com health and fitness.

Ken Haller, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and associate professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO.