Research: “Who’s There?”: Shakespeare and the Dragon of Autism

Authored by Renino, C. in English Journal, Volume 99, Issue 1, p. 50-55, (2009).

Article summary (posted May 25, 2010):

Parents may use their expertise to connect with and stimulate the minds of their children with autism.

In this article a father and English teacher describes how Shakespeare inspired the thoughts of two boys with autism. The author notes that normal and autistic are single points on an autistic spectrum. All of us have moments when we tune out or show poor social skills. He notes that the study of Shakespeare provides a good way for all children to learn that words do not always have simple meanings. The study of Shakespeare also gave the two boys the gift of words and showed them the beauty and joy of words.

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You can access the original abstract and the complete paper is sometimes available for free via Google Scholar (look for entries that say "PDF" or "HTML" on the right side of the page).
autism, father, parent, social skills groups, teacher
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