Special Interests in Art Therapy with Autistic People: A Neurodiversity-Positive Approach to Empower and Engage Participants

Special Interests in Art Therapy with Autistic People: A Neurodiversity-Positive Approach to Empower and Engage Participants

Introducing the Special Interest Communication Theory (SICT) Facilitative Framework, this guide will help you to support autistic clients and meet their needs through special interests and pop culture. Turning away from a culture that has often sought to suppress autistic special interests, Stallings asks that therapists meet autistic children and adults on their own terms. Creating an autism positive environment and engaging with special interests - from video games to K-Pop - builds rapport and helps identify therapeutic goals. Jessica Woolhiser Stallings combines this practical guide to her evidence-based framework with an overview of the history and applications of therapies and arts therapies used with autism. From a perspective that respects autistic self-advocacy and the role of art therapy in supporting individual emotional health, this guide offers tools to address anxiety, social interaction, communication, identity and more. An autism positive approach to art therapy using autistic people's special interests Dr Jessica Woolhiser Stallings is a clinician and leading expert in the application of art therapy with autistic individuals. She teaches at Emporia State University, Kansas, where she assisted in developing an interdisciplinary autistic certificate program for professionals. She was the co-recipient of the Rawley Silver Research Award for a research proposal on evidence-based practice in art therapy with individuals with autism.