Theatre as a tool to reduce autism stigma? evaluating ‘Beyond Spectrums'

ABSTRACT

Drawing from ‘intergroup contact theory,’ which states that direct contact between groups can reduce biases, we developed a theatrical intervention to provide members of a college community with positive contact with autistic people and their stories. Autistic people helped create and perform the piece. Audience responses revealed reduced stigma towards and increased knowledge about autism following the performance. Audience members reported that the performance was informative and effective, with the potential to transform attitudes toward autism. Future theatre-based anti-stigma interventions should develop increasingly more collaborative, immersive and entertaining ways of addressing misconceptions and fostering high-quality contact with diversity.

KEYWORDS:

• Theatre
• autism
• stigma
• knowledge
• intergroup contact theory

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank George Sanchez for guiding Anthony in developing and directing Beyond Spectrums. We are grateful to Jennifer Straniere for her invaluable help planning the performance and assessment without which we would have struggled to collect the data described in this report. We are thankful to the people who contributed to the text of the play, the actors, and the audience members. We are thankful to Brian Melendez for reading through the script with Anthony (his mentor) and providing constructive ideas. This study was funded by a grant to the last author as part of a broader initiative to improve the college experiences of autistic students, Project REACH, from the FAR Fund.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by FAR Fund: [Grant Number 72105–03 05].

Notes on contributors

Anthony Massa

Anthony Massa received his undergraduate degree from the College of Staten Island. In college, Anthony mentored autistic college students through Project REACH and developed his honours thesis, Beyond Spectrums. He is seeking to pursue a master’s degree in Performing Arts Management to create theater that can improve acceptance of diversity.

Danielle DeNigris

Danielle DeNigris is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Prior, she served as Coordinator for Project REACH (a peer-mentorship programme for autistic undergraduates) at the College of Staten Island, CUNY. Her research is two-pronged: (1) experiences of autistic undergraduates and (2) development of temporal cognition in children.

Kristen Gillespie-Lynch

Kristen Gillespie-Lynch is an Associate Professor of Psychology at CUNY. In collaboration with autistic people, she co-constructs and evaluates supports to empower autistic people and reduce stigma. She developed and directs a participatory mentorship programme for autistic college students, Building Bridges Project REACH, and assesses autism trainings and stigma internationally.