Philosophical anthropology, neuroscience and quantum physics agree that human being is characterized by an innate predisposition to socialize and share emotions with other persons. Despite that, some people seem to lack this social and emotive competence. This is the case of children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). They generally find it very difficult to interact with other persons and even to look them in the eyes. The British neuroscientist Simon Baron-Cohen defines their brain as a Systematic brain, characterized by extremely poor familiarity with emotions, empathy and social interactions, at odds with typical development (TD) persons’ Empathetic brain. Some important authors, such as the neuroscientist Antonio Damasio and the psychiatrist Francesca Erica Poli underline a fundamental link between our emotions and our awareness, which they define as the summit of a process of gradual emergency of a complete and autobiographical Sense of Self from our subconscious. Emotions and feelings represent two fundamental levels of this process and, therefore, a preferential key of access to the full awakening of our own emotional consciousness. In the light of this, storytelling can be consider as a therapeutic instrument, that means an instrument able to activate a process of gradual inner transformation and awakening in the participants. In the first part of this research, developed on the theoretical grounded, I compare different type of educative storytelling for autistic school-age children, most of all computer-based stories, such as Emotiplay, by Baron-Cohen, Social Stories and comic conversation by Carol Gray. By contrast, the second part is an empirical one and describes a project of experimental storytelling personally implemented with two autistic twin brothers, aged nine, for two consecutive school years (fourth and fifth grade). The project was meant to achieve two objectives: an euristic one, which was defining the fundamental characteristics of a therapeutic storytelling specific for autistic children, and an educational objective, which was promoting the growth of a self-emotive consciousness in all the participants, autistic and non, and educating them to verbalize their emotions and feelings. I used a phenomenological method, to investigate autism spectrum disorders suspending the judgment about autistic people (children in particular) as persons with poor social skills (especially empathy) not able to feel complex emotions, and I adopted a dialogical-socratic approach, which let all the participants’ emotional experiences naturally emerge from their subconscious. In the first phase of the project, the autistic children and their TD classmates were involved in a series of six sessions focused on exploring their own emotions starting with their exterior manifestations (occidental approach). Each session consisted in three moments: reading an episode of the story that I specifically wrote for the children (Leo and Cloe’s mill of colours); conversing in circle (Socratic method) or drawing comic conversations and writing a personal emotional experience (autobiographical account). The second phase of the project was articulated in five sessions aimed to lead children to recognize the sentimental cause of their emotion and to develop a greater introspective faculty (oriental approach). For this purpose, storytelling activities, focused on the story Raffi l’aquila bianca, were combined with those of Mandala Art Therapy. The qualitative analysis of all children’s works allowed me to corroborate the thesis according to which autistic emotional deficit doesn’t consist in an irretrievable lack of emotions, but in a correctable/reducible lack of emotional consciousness.

L’antropologia filosofica, le neuroscienze e la fisica quantistica concordano nel definire l’essere umano come un essere intrinsecamente sociale, naturalmente volto alla relazione e alla condivisione delle proprie emozioni. Talvolta, però, questa dimensione socio-emotiva tipicamente umana sembra essere fortemente compromessa, come nel caso dei soggetti con disturbi dello spettro autistico (ASD), i quali faticano a stabilire relazioni e un contatto visivo con le altre persone. Baron-Cohen descrive il cervello autistico come un Systematic brain, caratterizzato da una scarsa o assente familiarità con emozioni ed empatia, a differenza del cervello Empatico delle persone a sviluppo tipico (TD). Alcuni autori, tra cui il neuroscienziato Antonio Damasio, individuano un nesso fondamentale tra emozioni e coscienza, definendo quest’ultima come l’apice di un processo di progressiva emergenza di un senso del Sé compiuto (o autobiografico) dall’inconscio. Le emozioni e i sentimenti costituiscono due stadi intermedi fondamentali di questo processo e, quindi, una chiave di accesso privilegiata al pieno risveglio della propria coscienza emotiva. Da tale punto di vista, lo storytelling si rivela essere uno strumento terapeutico, in quanto capace di attuare nei partecipanti un processo di progressivo risveglio interiore. A conclusione della prima parte di questa ricerca, a carattere teorico, si propone un confronto tra le varie forme, già sperimentate, di storytelling educativo per bambini autistici in età scolare, tra cui: storie a computer (Emotiplay, di Baron-Cohen), Storie Sociali e conversazioni a fumetti. La seconda parte, invece, a carattere empirico, presenta un progetto di storytelling sperimentale personalmente ideato e attuato per due fratelli gemelli autistici nel corso di due anni scolastici successivi (quarta e quinta elementare), in un contesto classe inclusivo. Il progetto vantava un obiettivo euristico, di accrescimento delle conoscenze nell’ambito dello storytelling terapeutico, e un obiettivo educativo, consistente nel fornire a tutti i partecipanti gli strumenti necessari per maturare una buona consapevolezza emotiva e imparare a riconoscere e verbalizzare emozioni e sentimenti personali. Si è scelto di adottare un metodo fenomenologico, sospendendo quindi il giudizio sulle persone autistiche come soggetti incapaci di provare emozioni, e un approccio dialogico, che ha permesso ai partecipanti di lasciare emergere il loro sapere implicito sulle emozioni e alcune esperienze emotive significative registrate a livello inconscio. Nella prima fase del progetto, i due bambini ASD sono stati coinvolti in un ciclo di sei incontri, incentrati sull’esplorazione delle loro emozioni a partire dalle rispettive manifestazioni esteriori (approccio occidentale). Ciascun incontro rispettava la medesima sequenza di attività: lettura di un episodio della storia scritta dalla ricercatrice per i bambini (Il mulino dei colori di Leo e Cloe), conversazioni socratiche o conversazioni a fumetti, produzione di un racconto autobiografico da parte di ciascun bambino. La seconda fase del progetto (cinque incontri) è stata concepita per aiutare i bambini a riconoscere i sentimenti generatori delle proprie emozioni e ad acquisire così una maggiore capacità introspettiva (approccio orientale). A tal fine, le attività di storytelling, incentrate sulla lettura di Raffi l’aquila bianca, sono state accompagnate da attività di Mandala Art Therapy. L’analisi qualitativa di tutti gli elaborati ha permesso di corroborare la tesi secondo cui il deficit emotivo tipicamente autistico si configura non tanto come una mancanza di emozioni, quanto piuttosto come una mancanza, peraltro riducibile, di consapevolezza dei propri vissuti emotivi.

Storytelling e autismo. Uno studio teorico ed empirico / Alessandra Borghi , 2020 Mar 06. 32. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2018/2019.

Storytelling e autismo. Uno studio teorico ed empirico

BORGHI, ALESSANDRA
2020

Abstract

Philosophical anthropology, neuroscience and quantum physics agree that human being is characterized by an innate predisposition to socialize and share emotions with other persons. Despite that, some people seem to lack this social and emotive competence. This is the case of children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). They generally find it very difficult to interact with other persons and even to look them in the eyes. The British neuroscientist Simon Baron-Cohen defines their brain as a Systematic brain, characterized by extremely poor familiarity with emotions, empathy and social interactions, at odds with typical development (TD) persons’ Empathetic brain. Some important authors, such as the neuroscientist Antonio Damasio and the psychiatrist Francesca Erica Poli underline a fundamental link between our emotions and our awareness, which they define as the summit of a process of gradual emergency of a complete and autobiographical Sense of Self from our subconscious. Emotions and feelings represent two fundamental levels of this process and, therefore, a preferential key of access to the full awakening of our own emotional consciousness. In the light of this, storytelling can be consider as a therapeutic instrument, that means an instrument able to activate a process of gradual inner transformation and awakening in the participants. In the first part of this research, developed on the theoretical grounded, I compare different type of educative storytelling for autistic school-age children, most of all computer-based stories, such as Emotiplay, by Baron-Cohen, Social Stories and comic conversation by Carol Gray. By contrast, the second part is an empirical one and describes a project of experimental storytelling personally implemented with two autistic twin brothers, aged nine, for two consecutive school years (fourth and fifth grade). The project was meant to achieve two objectives: an euristic one, which was defining the fundamental characteristics of a therapeutic storytelling specific for autistic children, and an educational objective, which was promoting the growth of a self-emotive consciousness in all the participants, autistic and non, and educating them to verbalize their emotions and feelings. I used a phenomenological method, to investigate autism spectrum disorders suspending the judgment about autistic people (children in particular) as persons with poor social skills (especially empathy) not able to feel complex emotions, and I adopted a dialogical-socratic approach, which let all the participants’ emotional experiences naturally emerge from their subconscious. In the first phase of the project, the autistic children and their TD classmates were involved in a series of six sessions focused on exploring their own emotions starting with their exterior manifestations (occidental approach). Each session consisted in three moments: reading an episode of the story that I specifically wrote for the children (Leo and Cloe’s mill of colours); conversing in circle (Socratic method) or drawing comic conversations and writing a personal emotional experience (autobiographical account). The second phase of the project was articulated in five sessions aimed to lead children to recognize the sentimental cause of their emotion and to develop a greater introspective faculty (oriental approach). For this purpose, storytelling activities, focused on the story Raffi l’aquila bianca, were combined with those of Mandala Art Therapy. The qualitative analysis of all children’s works allowed me to corroborate the thesis according to which autistic emotional deficit doesn’t consist in an irretrievable lack of emotions, but in a correctable/reducible lack of emotional consciousness.
Storytelling and autism. A theoretical and empirical study
6-mar-2020
CALABRESE, Stefano
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