Fostering Interaction Among Individuals With Autism

Social Interaction Skills in Clients With Autism

Social interaction is very important for every human being. It is important for maintaining our physical and mental health. For instance, social interaction helps safeguard people against the detrimental effects of stress by aiding them cope with life. Good social interaction based on friendships and family is important for leading a happy and fulfilled life. Autism often impairs non-verbal and verbal communication as well as social interaction. Social interaction among autistic people is complicated by physiological problems of shifting attention. Autistic people often require more time than non-autistic people do to shift their attention between visual and auditory stimuli. As such, they find it hard to follow fast changing and intricate social interactions (Bauminger et al., 489). People suffering from autism find social situations very nasty as they face various challenges when interacting with other people. Therefore, it is important to develop social skills in clients with autism.

One can develop social interaction skills with clients suffering from autism using drama therapy. Drama therapy entails the systematic and deliberate use of theatre/drama processes to achieve psychological change and growth. Drama games engage the autistic client either in group work or individually. For instance, passing the clapping game around a group requires eye contact between the members besides using nonverbal clues: this facilitates the development of social interaction skills. The mirroring game also develops social interaction skills when a client mirrors the movement of his/her partner. This requires close observation and mimicking of the partner's movements. Using the improvisational role using Comedia Dell Arte ideas also helps in developing social interaction skills among clients suffering from autism. These ideas revolve around the six primary emotional states that cross race and culture: happy, angry, sad, disgust, surprise and afraid. People with autism do not discern facial expressions and nonverbal social cues, thus hindering their social interaction. As such, using these emotions will help clients with autism to discern nonverbal clues.

Drama therapy is effective because it is experiential, spontaneous, and playful. Drama therapy helps in developing social skills, increasing socialization through plays. Drama therapy also increases emotional reciprocity among clients with autism through drama games. It also increases behavioral awareness through drama games, improvisation, and dramatic play. It also increases decoding skills and body language awareness as well as the ability to reduce hyperactivity and inattention as well as sustain cognitive focus.

Using videotapes also allows autistic people to harness their social skills. Watching videotapes enables them to advance their public speaking skills. They also become aware of the easily quantifiable cues like rustling papers and yawning to indicate boredom. Moreover, one can develop the social interaction skills of autistic people by helping them develop their talents such as custom cabinetwork, commercial art, and car fixing (Grandin, 1). This not only gives them an intellectually satiating career, but also makes them feel good about themselves due to recognition and admiration. This also boosts their self-esteem and helps them develop their social interaction skills.