Can ASD child do musical theatre?

[Angelkid]

Hello everyone,
I am wondering if it is worth letting my DD try musical theatre classes?
My DD is gifted musical child but she has ASD. She does not have any learning or behaviour problems. She has excellent eye contact and academic excellence. However, she is very sensitive and sometimes quite emotional.
She is 10 years old and in year 6. She has grade 5 in piano, grade 5 violin, and grade 5 singing. She has already quit the choristers because there is favouritism from day 1. Please see my other thread if interested.
My DD is quite tall and chubby in her age, also she has never been to any dance or drama lessons. Because of her ASD, her body co-ordination isn't great. Her PE and Games are 'working towards expectation' on her yearly school reports!!!
She is very into musicals, she can memorise the whole piece of phantom of the opera and sing the songs in tune.
She has one to one private lessons on piano, violin and singing already. She has also joined school orchestra. She doesn't interested at pop/rock music.
Can anyone suggest anything that she can explore? We are based in the North, but we can travel to London areas in the school holidays.
Thanks.

[CatatonicLadybug]

Oh yes, get her a trial lesson somewhere near you and see how she gets on! It may indeed be right up her street from the description she’s given, and there are plenty of ND kids who participate in theatre. This makes a lot of sense to me because standing up in front of a giant crowd of people gives the average person fear, so it tracks that people who are fueled by it might have minds that work a little differently to average! It is a place that can celebrate all kinds of people.

Of course it’s not some perfect world either so consider contacting a school and giving them the same description: child has a special interest in musical theatre and is a gifted musician. She doesn’t have dance training and her coordination needs development, but she would like to give this a go. If there are any specific ASD issues you would want the teacher to keep in mind, you can mention that too and see how they respond. Some schools are great with it. DS goes to a programme that awards scholarships specifically for autistic children who want to perform, and teachers have specific guidance etc, so it can be a very supportive place. If it doesn’t sound supportive and rings alarm bells, then I would say move on to the next place and try there. You’re looking for somewhere with the attitude of dance and drama can help build her coordination, not a place that expects lots of dance technique when they walk in the door. (And it definitely can help build coordination! Many a happy dancer has struggled for marks in PE over the years!)

Unfortunately I don’t have northern knowledge for specific schools, but trial lessons are a very standard thing across the industry, so that’s what I would ask for. Some offer a free trial but most will offer a trial where you pay just for that day’s lesson without any obligation to continue. You shouldn’t be made to sign up for a full term without seeing if it will work for her. If you think she’ll need a few lessons to settle, discuss that with them in advance and see if they will accommodate. Half a term would be too much but two lessons totally reasonable IMO.

As far as favouritism, try to prep her that some kids will have been there a while and already in their patterns so yes, it may seem a little awkward at first but it should be better soon. And it shouldn’t be horrible - standard making new friends stuff fine, any sort of teasing not fine, and you then feed that back to the school.

There are summer options in London but they tend to be five days solid so a bit like jumping in the deep end. See how she gets on with a weekly lesson first and if she loves it, then you have a next step.

Hopefully someone will come along with names of specific places closer to you. All the best.

[sunflowerdaisyrose]

My daughter the same age is autistic and musical theatre is her whole world. Her theatre school are so supportive and tell me there is a disproportionate number of neurodivergent people in the industry.

I'd ask on your local fb pages for recommendations of theatre groups and then call some to see what you impression you get and arrange a trial, we have quite a few locally and all offer a slightly different experience in terms of what short of shows/how inclusive/length of rehearsals so hopefully you find the right fit.

[allhailthebrain]

There is absolutely no reason why not - take a look at local opportunities (maybe your local theatre has a stage school?) and also perhaps at things like NYMT (National Youth Music Theatre). My kid loved doing day long workshops with them when younger and now auditions for their productions each year and heads off for residential rehearsals! But we started with a trip to London as a family, and incorporated their workshops into our plans.

You will get a feel for whether a local group is the right place for your daughter when you start talking to the person running it. I am sure you'll just know!

[gulpygulpygators]

There’s even a new musical on Broadway where all the cast members have ASD, so that should definitely not limit her https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/meet-the-cast-of-how-to-dance-in-ohio-on-broadway#

[mustardrarebit]

Try a PQA free taster lesson, if you have one nearby. Ours are brilliant with SEN.

[mybrainisfull]

OP - my DD has ASD and loves musical theatre. She went to our local independent saturday theatre school (similar to Stagecoach) from age 7 -18. She will go back this summer to help with the summer show I'm sure.
She befreinded people a year younger than her, but has made friends for life.
Just ask to go along for a free trial session, and let them know about anything they can do to help her feel comfortable.
Good luck to her!

[Alakazam8]

Will pm you later as in very similar circumstances but dd a bit older!

[doesanybodyhaveamap]

We know countless incredible MT performers who are autistic, both in professional and non professional circles. We've found the MT world to be the most
inclusive, accommodating and supportive place for our quirky ones (also musically gifted). Go for it!

[Angelkid]

Hello all, my DD has decided she will do drama club/ musical theatre when she is in senior school.
She goes to private singing lesson and her teacher is very understanding which I am very pleased. Her teacher is trying to teacher how to ' act' while singing. We just hope to boost her confidence when she stands on the stage.
I have googled some free trial lessons of MT schools, unfortunately their timetable aren't very suitable for us.

[allhailthebrain]

Acting through song is a great skill and good place to start - I hope she enjoys it! Good luck with the next steps when they come along too x

[mollyfolk]

My child is in musical theatre and there are lots of neurodivergent kids there.