Book Review: Acting Antics - Autism and Drama Therapy

If you're interested in implementing a drama therapy program for tweens and teens with Asperger syndrome, this is the book to buy. If you're interested in going beyond the specifics outlined in the book, however (existing scripts and games) you may need to dig more deeply into the "theater" section at your local library.

Disclosure: I know the author of Acting Antics personally. In fact, my son Tom actually took one of her acting classes in Pennsylvania. So I can testify to the warmth and energy that Cindi brings to her work.

Knowing Cindi's program, I can tell you that the book will allow you to actually reproduce her precise methods in your own setting. Tom and the other actors in her group actually did several of the exercise described; many of the kids got a good deal out of the experience. Since Tom's experience, Cindi successfully launched a non-profit agency dedicated to drama therapy for kids with Asperger syndrome, and has been expanding her offerings dramatically (pun intended!).

Having enrolled my children in other acting classes, however, I was disappointed at several aspects of this book. First, it doesn't offer users clear tools for finding and/or developing additional scripts or activities. Once you've used the activities in the book, you're done. Second, it doesn't include much in the way of unscripted, improv activities that could build skills ranging from eye contact to joint attention to non-verbal communication skills. Lastly, Acting Antics is clearly geared to a very specific group: young teens and teens with Asperger syndrome. Younger children and/or children with different or more profound communication differences will not be well served by the activities in the book.