Re-imagining identity : the arts and the child with autism spectrum disorder

dc.contributor.advisorReifel, Robert Stuarten
dc.contributor.advisorSchallert, Diane L.en
dc.contributor.committeeMemberWorthy, Joen
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBrown, Christopheren
dc.contributor.committeeMemberOrtiz, Albaen
dc.creatorDickerson, Karen Waldropen
dc.date.accessioned2010-09-22T21:03:01Zen
dc.date.accessioned2010-09-22T21:03:07Zen
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-11T22:20:16Z
dc.date.available2010-09-22T21:03:01Zen
dc.date.available2010-09-22T21:03:07Zen
dc.date.available2017-05-11T22:20:16Z
dc.date.issued2010-05en
dc.date.submittedMay 2010en
dc.date.updated2010-09-22T21:03:07Zen
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractIn the current literature, little is written about issues of identity in relation to persons with autism. Identity can be defined within a social context, in which individuals are seen as having multiple, changing identities that are expressed in specific, though fluid, social relationships. This dissertation explored the individual arts experiences of four children with autism spectrum disorder in relation to their social identity formation. The dissertation explored three research questions: (a) What are the contextual conditions that aid and make arts experiences salient for the child with ASD? (b) What are the outcomes of arts experiences for children with ASD? and (c) How do these experiences impact the lived experience of children with ASD? Data were collected over four months, beginning in March of 2009 and continued through June, in a private school for children with learning differences in southeastern, Texas. Data included interviews with students, parents and teachers and classroom observations. Qualitative research methodology, specifically, grounded theory was used to analyze the data. Findings were that arts experiences for children with autism spectrum disorder engendered an identity transformation for the participants. The central phenomenon of the study was termed: Re-imagining of the identity of the child with autism spectrum disorder. Through shared discourse of the classroom teachers, arts teachers, and parents, the children participants became identified as “art kids” and “drama kids” within the school community. Re-imagining consisted of re-envisioning the child’s future, re-defining the child by his or her talents versus his or her deficits, and re-interpreting the child’s actions and behaviors.en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2010-05-865en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.subjectAutism spectrum disorderen
dc.subjectArt therapyen
dc.subjectASDsen
dc.subjectAutism in childrenen
dc.subjectAutistic childrenen
dc.subjectChildhood identityen
dc.titleRe-imagining identity : the arts and the child with autism spectrum disorderen
dc.type.genrethesisen

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