effectiveness of drama therapy on social skills of autistic children

Objective: autism spectrum disorder severely damages children’s social skills, cognitive functions, and emotional self-regulation. this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of drama therapy on the social skills of children with high-functioning autism. methods: the research design was experimental with a pre-test, post-test and a control group. the statistical population included 120 children with high-functioning autism in special education centers in isfahan city, iran. for this purpose, 40 children with high-functioning autism disorder were randomly selected by purposive sampling method and using morgan’s table. then, they were assigned to the experimental and control groups. the experimental group received a drama therapy program, and the control group was placed on a waiting list. the children’s instructors completed the matson social skills questionnaire at pre-test, posttest, and follow-up three months later. results: analysis of the results using repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the drama therapy was effective on the participants’ social skills in the experimental group (p<0.05). conclusion: drama therapy will improve their social skills and performance in this field. therefore, this study’s findings might be helpful as practical strategies for practitioners in the field of autism