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Medicine and Health Sciences

Lesley University

Theses/Dissertations

Autism

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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Neuroqueering Art Therapy: Bringing Neurodivergent Gender Diversity Into The Creative Arts Therapy Room: A Literature Review, Avital Eisen May 2024

Neuroqueering Art Therapy: Bringing Neurodivergent Gender Diversity Into The Creative Arts Therapy Room: A Literature Review, Avital Eisen

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Recent research across disciplines has established the significance of the overlap between neurodivergence and gender diversity, a truth long espoused by the community. Acting on this research, some mental health disciplines have begun addressing neurodivergent transgender and gender diverse people as a unified population in their research, but the field of art therapy has not yet followed suit. Theoretical frameworks of intersectionality, queer theory, and disability justice highlight the importance of centering the unique experiences and needs of neurodivergent gender diversity. Using these frameworks, this literature review synthesizes community knowledge with art therapy research on both neurodivergence and gender diversity, …


An Evaluation Of A Developmental Individualized Relationship (Dir®) And Creative Arts Therapies Program For Children With Autism, Faith Thayer Jan 2016

An Evaluation Of A Developmental Individualized Relationship (Dir®) And Creative Arts Therapies Program For Children With Autism, Faith Thayer

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study evaluated a Developmental Individual Differences Relationship-based (DIR®) creative arts therapy (CAT) program for children with ASD. The study was intended to assess whether the program met its stated goals to stimulate individualized social-emotional growth for children with ASD. The study was motivated by a central research question: Do DIR®-based creative arts therapies promote the social-emotional growth of children with ASD? A summative, longitudinal program evaluation research design was used to examine the program’s fidelity and outcomes. The evaluation included assessments for pre- and post-test quantitative standardized measures for data collection and analysis. The study also collected data from …


Musical Echolalia And Non-Verbal Children With Autism, Krystal Leah Demaine Jan 2012

Musical Echolalia And Non-Verbal Children With Autism, Krystal Leah Demaine

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

Typical imitation skills that are integral to language and social learning do not readily develop in children with autism. Echolalia, an echoing or imitation of speech sounds, has historically been considered a non-meaningful form verbal imitation. Since music is intrinsically more meaningful than language for children with autism, musical echolalia may offer path to communication for non-verbal children with autism. This research study sought to identify a potential existence of musical echolalia among nonverbal children with autism. Twelve non-verbal children diagnosed with classic autism, six boys and six girls, aged four to eight, who had no formal musical training or …