Learning Through Improv: A Local Nonprofit’s Fun Approach To Teach Students With Autism

Shenanigans teacher Taylor Kristan improvises a phone conversation with one of her students. Shenanigans is a camp that teaches kids ages 8 to 12 the art of improvisation. The camp serves students on the autism spectrum who need low levels of support. However, the program doesn’t require that kids have an autism diagnosis to participate.

Autism Improvised

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can affect a person’s social and communication skills and behavior.

“It means that the ways the person sees and processes and uses social information, as well as some of the challenging behaviors and different behaviors the person may have, really kind of add up to say this person needs adaptations, they need extra help in communicating and interacting with the world,” says Catherine Rice, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University and director of the Emory Autism Center.

People on the autism spectrum often have remarkable talents. They can also struggle with self-expression.