Towson University's new autism studies program is in its first semester and one of the students is using her passion for theater to help autistic adults.
Emma Shipley is one of only five students in this unique autism studies Ph.D. program. And while she's already completed her Bachelor's and Master's at Towson, she says now she's using her love for improv to complete the Doctoral program.
“My Program Director Dr. Kaitlyn Wilson will tell you that I shoved my foot in the door as quickly as I could after I heard about the program,” said Shipley.
It's the first of its kind in Maryland-- the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Autism Studies at Towson University. Emma Shipley, who is a Speech Language Pathologist at as well as an instructor, says the first semester of the program is off to a great start.
"It's important to study autism right now because there's so much we don't know and the statistics over the last 20 years of the prevalence of autism have continued to steadily increase,” said Shipley who is also a student in Towson's autism studies Ph.D. program.
Shipley said her specific research interest for the program is to use her passion for theater improv to strengthen and improve communication skills for autistic adults. It’s something she's already been working on as a teacher at Towson.
"The autistic adults amaze me every time I run a program like this. They gain confidence, they gain communication skills, they gain independence, and I think they gain belief in themselves that they can do something that may be scary or difficult and have fun while doing it,” said Shipley.
Her graduate students practice improv with autistic adults at the newly open Institute for Well Being. It's where the Hussman Center for Adults with Autism is housed.
"So we may be working on one specific theme per week. So we might be building trust we might be working on flexibility, we might be working on nonverbal communication,” said Shipley.
When asked what she hopes to gain from the four-year program, she said knowledge and insight and hopes to eventually train and educate the next generation that will work with the autistic community.
Towson University is also hosting the Autism Speaks Walk on October 8th. One of the largest autism fundraisers to support the needs of those with autism and their families. To sign up to walk to donate click here https://act.autismspeaks.org/site/TR/Walk/NationalCapital?pg=entry&fr_id=7110
