The theatre is a visual, auditory and kinesthetic experience for students, which makes it a valuable venue for fostering the skill and creativity of self-expression. Children with learning differences can be nourished educationally, as well as socially, through the experience of drama.

In a drama class, a child can be a princess, a dinosaur or a cowboy. Through improvisation, the possibilities are endless. As a drama teacher, I find that most children are happy to use their imagination and, unlike adults, they have an easier time letting go of inhibitions. This applies to children with learning differences as well. While I have seen children with learning differences be more cautious at fi rst, once they receive a bit of encouragement they are very willing and excited to explore their imagination through guided improvisation. A favorite exercise is “movement stories.” I have the children listen to a story and “act” it out as I read. Because it’s a group exercise, the spotlight is not on one particular child. The key is to make children feel comfortable to explore and to express themselves.

Creating a safe space
The first goal is to create a working space that is free of judgment. Before drama exploration can begin, all students must know they are supported by the whole group. A lack of trust or the sense of being judged can stifle creativity. Improvisation is a drama exercise where there are no wrong choices, only stronger or more effective ones. This promotes confidence in a student’s ability to solve problems and act on his decisions. A group dynamic of trust, where everyone is respected and encouraged, should be established early.

An experience for the senses
Drama provides a multi-sensory experience for students. While watching classmates perform, students see how others interpret and express the emotions of a particular dialogue or scene. Along with this visual stimulation, there is strong auditory input as students discern the varying intonations and inflections in their classmates’ voices. Many children with learning differences have a difficult time understanding the social cues that are inherent in facial expressions and voice tones. Drama classes offer these students the opportunity to “practice” seeing and understanding complicated emotions and feelings. Movement is also an integral part of theatre. An actor expresses emotion with his whole body, not just his face and voice. Children learn to use their bodies on the stage as a way of self-expression and to communicate with their audience.

Movement is explored by running, jumping, skipping, crawling, twirling – essentially any type of movement is welcome on the stage. A child’s ability to follow multi-step directions can be improved through movement exercises. For example, the directions may sound like, “First, let’s jump high. Great, now higher and faster. Wonderful, now let’s crawl low to the floor. Can we go any lower? How about crawling sideways…” These types of exercises provide a child with practice on listening to a direction, responding appropriately and then anticipating the next direction.

Another way to use movement is to add an emotional layer to the physical movement. This is especially beneficial for children with learning differences who have trouble with social cues. The exercise may begin with, “We are going to explore happy and sad today. Let’s make our faces look sad (the teacher demonstrates). Can we look sadder? Let’s make our shoulders look sad. How would we walk sad? Great! How would we run sad?” The kids must make decisions about how their body movements (kinesthesia) will best express the emotion and/or content of the scene. At the same time, their movement on the stage provides proprioceptive (movement in response to the environment) stimulation as they figure out how to use their physical setting to communicate ideas and feelings.

Building character on and off the stage
Students with learning differences may experience some challenges with acting. They may find it difficult to memorize lines, or they may not possess a strong self-awareness of how their body moves on stage or how they sound vocally. This causes difficulties when trying to learn and remember scripted stage movements or explore character development. Experimentation should be encouraged by giving positive comments and suggestions, rather than judgments, and including the students in the decision-making process. During an improvisational exercise, the teacher will often go through the exercise with the students as a participant and encourage them to explore how they want to express themselves. If they are exploring an emotion such as anger, the teacher will show what her face might look like if she was angry and at the same time ask them to make their faces show anger. Guiding students by talking through the exercise allows them to think “outside the box” and develop problem-solving skills while nurturing creativity.

The unexpected response to a direction is one way that a student may think “out of the box.” For instance, if exploring pantomime, the students may be given “magic clay.” They would then be prompted with, “OK, this is magic clay and can turn into anything you want it to be. But, it has to be able to fly.” A typical response would be a balloon or bird. But, if a student creates a spaceship, gets inside and pretends to take off to a distant planet, then he has reached the next level of creativity. Students with learning differences may initially find this area of drama challenging, but because they participate in the problem-solving aspect of theatre, they learn to find ways to make the character and scene work.

A child who experiences difficulty with motor skills can improve those skills through pantomime (acting without words) exploration. Students learn to “show” and “tell” an audience what an object is and does by utilizing their fine and gross motor skills. Sometimes students focus on a small movement or small object, such as pretending to knit or write with a quill pen. In contrast, exploring the drama room and making their bodies fill up as much space as possible allows the children to work on gross motor skills. Pantomime is also used to tell a “story” without speaking. For kids who are self-conscious about speaking or who lack confidence in their verbal skills, pantomiming frees them to perform without anxiety.

For a child who is timid, unsure or lacking in confidence, drama provides the tools to learn self-expression and communication skills. It also helps children make sense of how people react and respond. Improvisation presents students with the challenge and opportunity to think quickly, to act on impulse and to react to their surroundings. There is no right answer, no script and no predisposed idea of what they are to do. The ability to think in the moment and make choices is a “real life” skill that is valuable for every student. Students find improvisation fun since it offers an “anything goes” platform for creativity and imagination.

I once had a student who had self-proclaimed stage fright and did not want to perform in class or in a play. She was reluctant to participate and was visibly nervous. Once she could see that no one person would be on the spot to “perform,” and that we were all engaging in the exercise together, she felt more comfortable about participating. I used group games and exercises to build her trust in me and in the class members. Once a child feels safe, she is more willing to engage with the group and participate. As a drama teacher, I have learned that the focus should be not on the child’s shyness or anxiety, but on the exercise at hand and guiding the child one step at time. Through the course of the school year, this shy, quiet student performed in two plays and gained enough confidence to even make meaningful suggestions during the rehearsal process!

I want my students to know they are all equally important and needed in the creative process. Through drama instruction, even those students who struggle in traditional classes show an amazing capacity for creativity and insight. Using drama as a conduit, children with learning
differences can transcend the difficulties they may face daily in their classes, sports teams, social life and home. The are able to tap into the person they see themselves to be.

Tracey Buot is an art and drama teacher at Sophia Academy.

Post from: Kids Enabled

%%POSTLINK%%

All the World’s a Stage: The Benefits of Drama

While some children navigate the social world and make friends with ease, others struggle and feel left out. Many parents, knowing the importance of successful relationships, worry about their children’s present and future happiness.

There are many ways parents can use family time to help build and strengthen a child’s social skills. The following seven practical home-based methods can be used to teach and nurture social and nonverbal communication skills.

Talk about it
The best way to talk to a child is to listen to him. Many parents tend to problem-solve and lecture, which often leaves children feeling frustrated, confused and unwilling to share. Parents are left wondering why their child won’t discuss his perceptions, thoughts and feelings. Instead of criticizing and lecturing, it is beneficial for parents to find a way of talking about issues and potential strategies that involves active listening, clarifying feelings (“so what I hear you saying is…”) and collaborative problem solving. Asking open-ended questions, rather than yes/no questions, encourages the child to examine how he feels and to formulate possible strategies for himself.

Well, when I was your age…
Parents can show empathy and understanding by sharing some of their own childhood struggles. Some adult situations are also appropriate for sharing. For example, if a child is struggling with bullies, a parent could share an experience in which someone at the office was being rude and intimidating. Being honest about how the situation made them feel (scared, embarrassed, stupid) is paramount. If parents focus only on the positive, instead of talking honestly about how they and the child feels, they send the message that negative feelings are bad, or unworthy of discussion. Parents shouldn’t let their child’s possible feelings of shame toward social issues keep them from initiating discussions about it. The best time to initiate conversation is when the child expresses some kind of dissatisfaction about his social situation. And remember, the best initial reaction is to listen carefully.

Practice, practice, practice!
This may sound overly simple, but the most important intervention strategy for children who struggle with social skills is to practice at home. Social skills training and coaching does not require advanced technology or extensive reading. A successful approach to remediation at home involves modeling positive social behavior (taking turns, showing empathy, self-control).

• The dinner (or lunch or breakfast) table is a great venue for practicing conversational skills. Everyone can contribute to the conversation (what did you do today? how was the test?). Again, ask open-ended questions that encourage lively conversation (did anyone get in trouble today?). This provides an opportunity for kids to work on expressive skills, and for parents to model conversational skills.
• Parents can help kids anticipate specific situations where the required social skills may be trickier (a visit to Grandma’s house, visiting a friend in the hospital, a new doctor). Talk about what is expected from the child in the way of behavior and conversation. Help the child practice greetings, and help him formulate answers to anticipated questions.
• Take advantage of situations that occur while out in public or on TV. Discuss how well the person(s) handled the social situation. What could have been done differently?

Reading the signals
Some children can miss important nonverbal clues such as facial expression, voice tone, body gestures and cues about personal space. Emory University psychologists, Marshall Duke and Stephen Nowicki, authors of Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success, have demonstrated that nonverbal communication is vitally important, operating mostly out of our awareness and improving with awareness and practice. They coined the term, “dyssemia,” which refers to a deficiency in the ability to interpret nonverbal communication cues.

Playing games (like Charades) which require attention to nonverbal cues is a great way to strengthen this social skill. Car trips provide an excellent opportunity for games that involve voice tone or “how you say what you say.” The idea is to use a specific phrase and to explore how the message changes when it is expressed in different ways. Mirroring, where one person faces the other and matches his movements, is another excellent activity. Other suggested activities include discussing nonverbal communication in movies, people watching, and talking about how people are feeling based on their appearance and actions. Our culture is full of unspoken rules, like how to act in an elevator or where to tap someone to get their attention. It can be both fun and informative to look out for and discuss these conventions.

Symbols of social success
Metaphors or symbols are a good way to talk about social skills and to make them memorable. For instance, rubber bands symbolize flexibility and a penny that has been used in a coin toss can represent sportsmanship. These can be saved in a toolbox that is kept at home and reviewed later. Other examples include little anchors that represent the concept of anchoring yourself and “googly” eyes that refer to making eye contact. Some parents list the icons on the refrigerator for everyone in the family to note when they have used a skill. Other parents pull out the toolbox full of icons before the child goes into a predictable social situation and asks which of these the child might need.

Providing social opportunities
Parents can be proactive in enhancing their child’s social world. They can make sure their home is an inviting place for potential friends. While every family’s situation is different, having fun and engaging activities to do at the house can help. Some activities involve an investment of time and money (swimming pool, pool table, exotic pet or trampoline), while others simply take creativity and input from your child (a fun play space, basketball hoop, new board games). Parents can also provide activities like visiting local attractions, taking hikes or bike rides, attending sports events or cooking out for their child and potential friends. By creating a family social life, where relationships with children in other families provide safe opportunities for social skills practice, the awkwardness and struggle of socializing is minimized.

Play dates
How can a parent maximize the potential for a successful play date? Some planning is a good idea. While some children can create a good time for themselves and their guests, others need help. Consideration of possible activities before the visit can improve the quality of the play. Monitor the play and be prepared to intervene (or mediate) if things aren’t going well. Parents are advised to keep the visit short, especially with a new friend. Some children are not used to relating to peers for extended periods of time, and it is always b*-etter to end the play date while the children are still having fun! Many children struggle with basic social skills such as listening, making conversation, being a friend and playing games. Parents should take a common-sense approach toward finding fun ways to practice the relevant skills. Careful observation, listening, modeling, respectful coaching, straight talk and planning create an effective approach to remediation of social skills deficits. Parents who put anxiety and frustration aside, and employ patience and creativity with their children, will be the best guides for social success.

Dr. Jones specializes in child, adolescent, marital and family psychotherapy and has been leading therapy groups for over 20 years. He is an adjunct associate professor at Emory University. He has also served as a chair of the Division of Child, Family, and School Psychology and a member of the Ethics Committee for the Georgia Psychological Association. For more information, visit his Web site at www.beyondwordscenter.com.

Post from: Kids Enabled

%%POSTLINK%%

Guiding Your Child’s Social Self

There are few experiences in childhood that closely mimic adult life as the joy of winning and the disappointment of losing. Children who compete athletically, academically or otherwise have a unique opportunity to learn how to graciously win and gracefully lose.

Due to a soccer teammate’s injury, our freshman child enjoyed the unexpected opportunity of playing goalie all year. The team had an undefeated season which culminated in a county championship. At the awards dinner we eagerly awaited the accolades we knew our child would receive. Instead, the coach spoke only of the one goal our child gave up that season. He said, “If only he had not let that one goal go in…if only he had caught that one ball…we would have had a perfect season. Better luck next year.” Rather than recognize achievement and effort, the coach chose to focus on “perfection.”

Setting an example
Teaching healthy sportsmanship begins when a child is very young. Parents are their children’s first teachers about winning and losing as they model how they accept their own defeats and disappointments. Showing children how to handle loss without blame or disparagement of the winner is a first step. When playing games with your children, don’t fall into the trap of letting them win every time. A child needs to experience the feeling of losing as well as winning. If you lose a game, exhibit good sportsmanship by showing how to congratulate the winner. We have all observed kids who demonstrate poor sportsmanship at losing with a scowl on the face or a refusal to shake hands, and we know how negatively it affects the whole team.

The joy of victory
Good winners are proud of their accomplishments but do not boast or brag. They are humble about the win, knowing they could just as easily have lost. In our very competitive society, it is more important that children be taught to strive for doing their best rather than strive for winning. That way, no matter what the outcome of the game, the child will grow in self-esteem. In teaching your child to be a good winner, always insist that your child speak to the losing opponent and say something encouraging about his effort.

The agony of defeat
It’s equally important to teach your child how to be a good loser. As adults, we will lose many times and our ability to rebound will be a predictor of how successfully we move through disappointment. If the emphasis is only on winning rather than doing your best and helping your team, then losing becomes devastating. Adults can teach children that losing is a chance to renew efforts and increase performance skills. Young athletes who can encourage themselves onward, and congratulate the winners, will take these skills with them into a healthy and successful adulthood.

Winning and losing with learning differences
There will always be children who lose more than they win and vice versa. For the child who has learning challenges, winning should not be the ultimate goal. The child should be praised for noted improvement in skills, attitude and perseverance. There are far more opportunities for character building when a child learns to use each loss as a motivator for greater success. Parents are the ones who deliver the message about what is of value. If there is constant encouragement for the child who loses more than they win, the child will begin to see importance in effort and improvement. For the child who wins more than he loses, there is frequently the pressure to expect more and more out of the child until he feels that he can never measure up. The child who always wins may have difficulty learning how to lose and may see any loss as a major defeat or setback.

Disappointment can make it easier to focus on loss rather
than the lessons to be learned. When parents teach their children good sportsmanship, they teach their children about dedication, perseverance, humility, empathy and self-worth. Winning and losing will continue into adulthood, but the children who have learned how to handle both make well-adjusted and successful adults.

Mary Jane Trotti M.A., ET/P is an educational therapist at Parkaire Consultants. Her private practice focuses on helping children with neurological disorders be successful socially, emotionally and academically. She works with children both individually and in social skill groups. She can be reached at 404-819-9901.

Jim Trotti M.Ed., NCC, PFT is a nationally certified counselor and personal fitness trainer at Parkaire Consultants. His practice integrates exercise into counseling sessions to show children and teenagers how they can take control over their lives and emotions by employing physical strategies during times of stress. He works with children both individually and in social skills groups. He can be reached at 404-993-8714.

Post from: Kids Enabled

%%POSTLINK%%

The Art of Winning – and Losing