Autistic adults learn about themselves by acting

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Autistic adults learn about themselves by acting

Tuesday, December 25, 2007 By SUZANNE TRAVERSHERALD NEWS

MONTCLAIR -- Meyer loves to sew. The clothing she wears to Renaissance festivals -- she made it. That satin-y pink-and-blue quilt hanging in the School of the Arts building at Montclair State University -- Meyer stitched up its cascading blocks with silver-and-gold thread.

She drives, she jokes and she has Asperger's syndrome, a disorder related to autism that is characterized by impaired social interactions, repetitive behavior patterns and intense preoccupation with narrow areas of interest. Along with Asperger's, Meyer, 33, has been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Even when she's indoors eating pizza, she keeps her hands covered in a pair of floral gardening gloves.

"I don't like touching things that other things have touched," she explained on a recent Saturday at Montclair State, where she took part in a 12-week theater workshop for young adults with autism.

In the world of ASD, or "autism spectrum disorders," Meyer, who lives in Ramsey, is considered high-functioning -- communicative, funny, clearly bright. She works part-time as an attendant -- or rather a "locker control receptionist" -- in the mother-child locker room at the Ridgewood YMCA-YWCA -- a job that frustrates her.

"I have a fancy long title and a job that could be done by a broken record," she says. "I'm not kidding."

Young adults like Meyer are part of the first generation to receive both early diagnoses and early interventions, says B. Madeline Goldfarb, director of outreach and education for the Autism Center at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. But in New Jersey as elsewhere, Goldfarb notes, programs for adults on the "autism spectrum" that might help them develop their social skills and find meaningful employment are few and far between.

Or, as Ellen Curry, whose daughter, , is 39 and has Asperger's, puts it: "These young people, they get out of school and they have no employment, they have no place to go. It's not fair. The schools do not prepare for the future of these young people."

In an effort to fill some of that void, UMDNJ and the College of the Arts at Montclair State University partnered to develop the theater workshop, a pilot program funded by a $15,000 grant from & . Most participants were referred to the program by Dr. Cartwright, director of UMDMJ's Autism Center, traveling as far as 75 miles each way to get to the weekly sessions. The nine participants, ages 17 to 39, included two women and seven men; autism typically affects more males than females. Curry graduated from college with a major in French and a minor in business; Siegrist, 23, is taking time off after studying biophysics at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

"The individuals who we see in our center are high-functioning, and often brilliant," said Goldfarb. "They have passions and gifts, but they're not able to use them or to take more than a menial job."

The program's founders hoped that "this could be a path to finding employment, social networks, roadways that would otherwise not be open to them, so then they can get a job in something they're really passionate about," Goldfarb said.

Each week, they got a dose of social skill-building disguised in a common interest: theater. Most of the participants enjoyed being in acting or drama groups when they were in school.

"We chose theater because it's so social," said Marie Sparks, director of education and outreach for the College of the Arts. "It's not like a piece or music or painting that you can do almost in isolation. In theater, even in a monologue, you need people behind the scenes, a lighting designer, a director, a writer. So it's really not about one person."

Teacher O'Connor, who has developed arts workshops for people with special needs and has a teenage son with Asperger's, led the group through movement and writing exercises, each week building on the week before.

An issue for many people with ASD is how to feel comfortable in new spaces; others don't like to be touched or have anyone stand too close to them. (When Curry goes to the movies, she sits in the last row and doesn't want to sit next to anyone, her mother reports.) Rather than start the workshop off in a potentially overwhelming black box theater, O'Connor began the sessions in a classroom around a long table -- a safety zone, Sparks said. Gradually, the group moved away from the table into open space, and later into a dance studio, then an experimental theatre, and finally the black box, she said.

Participants also kept a journal at home and shared their entries aloud -- an exercise in sharing their feelings and coming to understand that others have felt the way they do at times.

"There was dead silence for the first couple of weeks," said Sparks, noting that a primary goal of the program was "to get these guys to even talk to each other. But they are creating, really creating work. Individuals that were barely speaking, they are really interacting."

Lines from those journal entries ultimately formed the text for a performance they gave the last day of the workshop called "This Is How I Really Feel ..."

The show began as if it were the first day of the workshop, as the actors walked onstage the way they walked into the classroom on the first day of the program, nervous and full of thoughts like, "I hope that the group will accept me for who I am," or, "I hope this will be worth missing half a day of the Renaissance festival."

The players went on to act out scenes from their lives, as described in their journals: being choked by a teacher, being made fun of in high school, contemplating what life would be like if geeks banded together with geek pride ("they'd be an unstoppable force").

O'Connor said their words underscored something he has taken from his experience with his son.

"We all have challenges," he said. "(Theirs) just happens to have a label attached to it."

"What they've written is so moving," said Sparks. "Everything they have said, I have thought or said at some time in my life."

At the first and last sessions, Goldfarb, of UMDNJ, asked participants to complete questionnaires aimed at creating behavioral and sensory profiles; the Autism Center will compare them in order to assess the program's outcomes from a medical perspective. UMDNJ and the College of the Arts are seeking more funding to continue and expand the program.

"I think they've made tremendous strides in their own personal development," Goldfarb said. "It's really about the process, the dynamic of coming together, sharing feelings, building social skills, looking one another in the eye, greeting each other."

At a lunch break during the second-to-last meeting, the group sat down to eat pizza in silence. People with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty starting conversations or acknowledging others, and for a little while, everyone stared down at their plates and chewed. Tyler Lozano, 17, of Branchburg, broke the silence by asking , 19, of Maplewood, whether he is related to , a girl at his school.

No, responded , who later described himself as "part of the Asperger's syndrome crowd." "I probably would like to meet her," he added, laughing.

"She's too young for you," Lozano shot back.

"How old is she?" wanted to know.

"Fourteen," Lozano said.

Later, described what he liked about the theater workshop. "It gave you an opportunity to really expand what you put your feelings into," he said. "Like the script I was reading: it reflected what I had written in my journals."

Adam Meleo, 18, of Pittstown, said he appreciated the chance to socialize with others with ASD, and to increase his self-awareness:

"Getting to know myself better, my character, what I really am and how everyone else is. They feel the same way because they've been in similar situations. We all want to be who we are. We're somebodies, and we will make it in this world. We just want to be treated the way everybody else wants to be treated."

Reach Suzanne Travers at or travers@....

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