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Shakespeare and Autism: A Pilot Study Examining the Treatment Effects and Predictors of Treatment Response of the Hunter Heartbeat Method

Margaret H Mehling, Marc J Tasse and Rebecca R Andridge

This pilot study was designed to explore the potential impact of participation in the Hunter Heartbeat Method, a drama-based social skills intervention, on the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A sample of 10 children with ASD participated in this study. Children were assessed at three time-points: before the start of the intervention (T1), after 14 weeks of participation (T2) and after 42 weeks of participation (T3). Findings from this pilot study indicated that the Hunter Heartbeat Method (HHM) is an intervention that shows promise in impacting social, communication and facial emotion recognition deficits associated with ASD. We also identified the individual characteristics of the participants who were responders and non-responders to the HHM intervention. The results of these findings are discussed.