Shakespeare's Heartbeat

Drama games for children with autism

Kelly Hunter author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:11th Nov '14

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

This paperback is available in another edition too:

Shakespeare's Heartbeat cover

Children on the autistic spectrum experience varying degrees of difficulties; all of which can be understood as a disassociation of mind and body. Expressing feelings, making eye contact, keeping a steady heartbeat and recognizing faces are all part of the autism dilemma which can be poetically explored by Shakespeare.

Over ten years, Hunter worked with children on all points of the spectrum, developing drama games for the specific purpose of combatting autism. These unique games, derived from specific moments in the plays, shed new light on how to teach Shakespeare to children, using the drama as an exploration of how it feels to be alive.

Shakespeare’s Heartbeat is a step-by-step guide, detailing how to demonstrate, play and share these sensory games. The book includes:

  • Games based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • Games based on The Tempest
  • Tips and advice for playing one-on-one with the children
  • An afterword describing Hunter’s journey from performer and practitioner to creator of this work.

Shakespeare’s poetic definitions of seeing, thinking and loving reveal the very processes that children with autism find so difficult to achieve. This book provides an indispensable learning tool for those wishing to encourage children’s eye contact and facial expression, improve their spatial awareness and language skills and introduce them to imaginative play.

"For me – working in a special school – there is so much material here that is of huge benefit to children who struggle with social interaction. This should be on the shelf of every SEN teacher as there are activities here that would work on many levels for children both verbal and non-verbal, ASD or not." - Lucy Ellen Rix, Teaching Drama

ISBN: 9781138016972

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 344g

250 pages