Many individuals with autism struggle with social situations. Small talk seems exhausting, boring, and ultimately unnecessary. Building rapport with a stranger makes customer service difficult, so employment in a service-driven society is a challenge. As an advocate for individuals on the spectrum, I look for ways to help reduce social pressure in my classroom so that my students gain confidence and know what to do in social situations. I am currently researching live theatre and improvisation as a means to accomplish this goal. There are already some improvisation troupes made up of individuals on the spectrum and advocates, and there are several improvisation training programs.

Second City, is a famous comedy theatre in Chicago where actors like Joan Rivers, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, John Candy, and Dan Akroyd (just to name a few), got their start. Now, they have an improv training program for individuals with ASD.

https://www.secondcity.com/classes/chicago/improv-for-asd/

The Autism Support Network’s Robin Fox shared an article about the importance of learning improvisation skills.

http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/autism-life-and-learning-improv-2578292
Here are some examples of improv classes and how they work with students with ASD.

http://www.hideouttheatre.com/improv-for-kids/building-connections

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI7MlWAZCu4


Amy’s Bio: Amy is the director of the NextWork program. Amy shared information about improvisation classes. If you would like to support an improv group, please contact Amy at awadsworth@columbusserves.org