The effect of drama activities on speech production in children with dysarthria: a survey of parental perceptions

Taking part in performing arts activities that include vocal activities such as group singing, and drama classes can have psychosocial benefits (Barnish & Barran, 2020). Recent evidence suggests that there are potential therapeutic benefits of such activities for adults with dysarthria (e.g. Abell et al., 2017; Fogg-Rogers et al., 2016). However, there is limited knowledge on whether children with dysarthria might equally benefit from vocal performing arts activities. This report is based on a project that aimed to determine whether children with dysarthria benefit from drama classes in a similar way as adults. For this purpose, a survey was developed and distributed to parents, whose children have dysarthria and participate in drama workshops offered by a small charity in Scotland. Parental reports showed that their children benefit from these activities, not just in terms of psychosocial development such as self-confidence, but also in terms of greater clarity of speech as well as increased communication participation in social contexts.