Theatre as a social tool for people with Asperger

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This paperwork focuses its interest in the theater as an optimal tool for the development of social skills in young people with difficulties in socialization. People with Asperger syndrome show deficiencies in basic strategies to socialize with other persons. For this reason, during the last decades of the twentieth century have arisen numerous intervention programs based on art as a medium that enables the social development of these people. In this sense, the theater is an artistic resource that contributes to the improvement of relations between the individual and his social environment and, at the same time, orients them in their formation as citizens. In our study, we started from a qualitative methodology to approach a group of young people with Asperger syndrome in the city of A Coruña. Regarding with the qualitative data collection techniques, we have used the interview, the observation and the document analysis to study the phenomenon of study. In addition, these techniques have been used in order to see the dynamics and relationships among young people through theater. As a result we have found a category system that describes the communicative competence among the participating groups, and also, the aspects linked with the social and civic competence. In conclusion, we have seen how theater enables the improvement of social, communication and interactive skills in young people affected by Asperger syndrome.