SENSE Theatre Research Program

The investigator's goal is to address the need for the development of social interventions for youth with autism in an innovative intervention, SENSE Theatre. The intervention blends established behavioral strategies with theatre techniques that emphasize the involvement of peers, play and performance. The resulting synergy extends promising pilot studies in a randomized group experiment.

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to evaluate and extend the impact of a peer-mediated, theatre-based intervention on children with ASD with an emphasis on social functioning. The 10-session program incorporates theatrical approaches, trained typically developing peers and established behavioral strategies. Previous studies using pre-post designs have reported improvement in several skills, such as face memory, theory of mind and social cognition. A primary objective of this investigation is to utilize a true experimental design while evaluating social ability across multiple levels of analysis including neuropsychological, cognitive, behavioral, and functional outcomes.