Therapeutic Group Session for Autistic

As I am with an autistic centre, I am trying to check whether I am at the right track or not. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Dramatherapy Group: Beginning

Session no: 1 of 4 sessions

Duration: 45 mins to 1 hour

Target group of children: mild to moderate autism

Age : Adolescents

Main aims of session:
1) Communication skills - more able to express themselves
2) Social skills - interact more among themselves
3) To build up team work.

Group of 8 children

1. Introduction (5 mins) - searching for friends name
Equipment: Plastic fruits
• Get all children seated in a circle, allocate 1 type of fruits to each child.
• Children to introduce themselves and show their fruit
• Children needs to remember their friends’ fruit
• Now facilitator will place all the fruits into a bag.
• Children will takes their turn to pick the fruit from the bag.
• If the child knows who the fruit belongs to, she will call out the name.
• If the child do not knows, he will ask for help by asking, “Whose fruit is this?”
• Continue until all names are called.


2. Drawing – 10 mins
Since this is the 1st session, I was thinking to ask the children to draw something that symbolise themselves.
Posted question to the children:
• Now let’s do something special today, we are going to draw, you can draw anything.
• You can draw things that are happy, sad or exicting things.
• You can colour it with many colours or you can choose 1 colour.
(The reason for this drawing is that, I would like to know what type of mood are they in, in coming to this session. I know some of the children are not very happy in coming. I was hoping that in the session 4 which I intended to end the group therapy, I will again ask them to draw and would like to compare with the drawing from the 1st session and I am hoping to get a different answers)

3. Warming up games – 10 mins
Motion ball – equipment : ball
• Children in a circle, 1st child start to throw the ball.
• Children need to call out the friend’s name before throwing to him/her.
• Once the children have completed a full circle of throwing the balls, add a second ball and repeat the motion.
• This game creates a pattern of motion – children will have concentration and focus.

4. Obstacle course – 10 mins
Hula Hoop relay – equipment: hoop and stick
• Divide the children into 2 teams, a hula hoop for each team.
• Start by establishing a course – straight line to a goal (which I placed a cone)
• When the race begin, the 1st player rolls the hoop using the stick – along the straight line, reaches the goal, make a ‘U’ turn and rolls the hoop back to his/her teammate and passes the hoop to him/her.
• The race will continue until all children have completed the course.

5. Calming down – 10 mins
To releases tension – relaxing.
• Children to lie on the mat with a pillow under their head, close eyes breathe in and breathe out
• Open eyes, roll eyes left to right then up and down.
• Grip and release right hand and repeat on the left hand
• Lift shoulders, try to touch their ears for 3 times.
• Gentlely turn their heads from left to right for 3 times
• Yawn then pout like a fish
• Wrinkle their nose
• Wriggle their fingers
• Then gentely roll on to your right side and slowly get up.


6. Closure
Reinforce the session by questioning :
1. Do you like this session?
2. Which activity you enjoy most?
3. Today _______ (name of the child) has been a good boy. I will give him a sticker.