ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND LEARNING FROM PHASE ONE
The pilot allowed us to test this three way partnership, from which we have established that by joining forces we can create holistic approaches to the development of people with autism as practitioners, participants, artists and audiences.
We learned that there is a great hunger for these activities, not only from participants with autism, but their teachers and carers, who would like these activities to be a regular offer. There was also a great appetite from drama practitioners and artists to continue working in partnership with people with autism in the development of new projects and performance ideas.
The pilot has given everyone involved, from staff at the partner organisations, to the freelance artists and teachers, greater confidence in working with people with autism, and provided a theatre toolkit they can employ in future.
The partners continue to plan a further four years of joint artistic, creative and educational exploration.
We learned that there is a great hunger for these activities, not only from participants with autism, but their teachers and carers, who would like these activities to be a regular offer. There was also a great appetite from drama practitioners and artists to continue working in partnership with people with autism in the development of new projects and performance ideas.
The pilot has given everyone involved, from staff at the partner organisations, to the freelance artists and teachers, greater confidence in working with people with autism, and provided a theatre toolkit they can employ in future.
The partners continue to plan a further four years of joint artistic, creative and educational exploration.
'An environment where I can create and be free, it feels like home. This is definitely the place I want to be. I'm going to unleash my creativity. That's who I am, what I like to do.' |
For autistic people, talking about their experiences and coping mechanisms is in itself hugely valuable, but to be able to present that as a creative piece is hugely important and powerful. |
'It's been quite surprising for me, to see some of the kids joining in with things I thought they would never join in with.' |