Improv, Acting, and Social Skills for Kids (Ages 8-11) with Autism!

At The Miracle Project, we refer to the volunteers who work within our classrooms as “Co-Actors.” Co-Actors are an essential component of The Miracle Project’s philosophy and mission to build a fully inclusive neurodiverse environment where everyone belongs.

As a volunteer, you will play a role as a peer mentor alongside the participants in class. You will meet each participant where they are at and model positive collaboration with the instructors and other participants.

Co-Actor responsibilities include:

• Enthusiastically participate in all class activities, supporting participant engagement.
• Be paired up with one or more participants to provide gentle encouragement and camaraderie.
• Arrive 15 minutes before class and remain 15 minutes after class to plan, debrief, and collaborate with Teaching Artists and fellow Co-Actors.
• Attend assigned programming weekly.
• Be a friend!

Using improvisation, theater games and role-play techniques, participants in our “Improv for Interaction” Social Skills Groups practice skills needed for positive social interaction. Participants will increase their capacity to focus, take and follow direction, and ease anxiety. Themes addressed in this class include:

• Initiating conversation and play
• Building communication skills
• Self-regulation and comfort
• Identifying emotions
• Communicating wants and needs
• Turn-taking and following simple directions
• Participating in non-preferred activities
• Two-way communication with peers
• Initiating conversation and play
• Pretend play
• Community safety