This study sought to determine the effectiveness of portrait drawing as an art therapy intervention for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a way to improve communication and social skills as well as increase an understanding of facial expressions and social cues. Participants consisted of two females with ASD from a center for autism at a major university in the southeast United States. The participants took part in six weekly art therapy sessions where the Face Stimulus Assessment (FSA) was administered as a pre and post test. A modified version of the Formal Elements of Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) was used to score the FSA drawings. Additionally, questionnaires based on the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) was used to measure the impact of portrait drawing on the participants' weekly behavior. The sessions incorporated the concept of the 'Interactive Square' (Bragge & Fenner, 2009) as an approach to art therapy with the more structured directive of portrait drawing. The participants were asked to create self-portraits before drawing the researcher's portrait. Next, participants with ASD engaged in portrait drawing with neurotypical peers. Qualitative and quantitative results showed the portrait drawing is an effective technique for adults with ASD. Quantitative and qualitative data are discussed. Artwork is used to illustrate the qualitative data. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2015. / June 23, 2015. / Art Therapy, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Communication, Interpersonal Relationships, Portrait Drawing, Social Skills / Includes bibliographical references. / Marcia Rosal, Professor Directing Thesis; David Gussak, Committee Member; Theresa van Lith, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253081 |
| Contributors | Harris, Chelsea (authoraut), Rosal, Marcia L. (professor directing thesis), Gussak, David (committee member), Van Lith, Theresa (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Fine Arts (degree granting college), Department of Art Education (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (124 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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