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Description
Joshua’s Stage is a theater-based enrichment program for children with special needs. Joshua’s Stage provides developmentally appropriate activities for their students, but they do not address clinical or functional problems. Problem: Joshua’s Stage does not provide specialized programming to meet the needs of neurodivergent children with communication problems and conflict resolution, making it difficult for these children to participate fully. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to create a theater arts communication and conflict resolution program for neurodivergent children to be integrated into Joshua’s Stage enrichment program. A four-week program, consisting of eight sessions, was developed over a 14-week timeframe. It consisted of researching aspects of communication to create themes, researching theater-based activities that could encompass these themes, rough drafts of each session, mentor reviews and feedback, rewriting sessions based off feedback, activity trials, and modifications based on observations and Joshua’s Stage’s staff’s feedback. Four of the eight program activities were trialed, with modifications made to increase comprehension and support, and to maximize participation and enjoyment. These changes to grade down the activity were built into the program as options to meet the children’s needs. The program aimed to increase activity participation by teaching communication and conflict-resolution skills through theater and arts-based activities.
Publication Date
Spring 4-9-2025
Publisher
University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences
Keywords
Theater, Autism, Neurodivergent, Communication, Social-emotional learning
Medical Subject Headings
Education, Learning, Communication, Child, Negotiating
Disciplines
Occupational Therapy
Recommended Citation
Corsair, E., & Gerardi, S. M. (2025, April 9). Learning What to Say Through Theater and Play: A Theater Arts Communication and Conflict Resolution Program for Neurodivergent Children. Poster presented at the Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium, University of St Augustine for Health Sciences. Retrieved from https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/72
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Comments
Poster presented at the in-person OTD Capstone Symposium, held at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences on April 24, 2025.