ITA Drama Therapy Beneficiary, Author, and Adult with Autism Gears Up for Our Conference
The strength in the lineup of presentations that ITA has secured for this year’s 3rd Annual Integrated Creative Arts Therapy Conference, Cultivating Identity Creatively, lies in its variety. ITA is proud to host a diverse panel of presenters over our two-day educational excursion that will open the gates to a late-spring surge of awareness and knowledge for its attendees.
Along the conference’s weekend timetable sits A Whole New World: A Series of One-Act Dramatic Follies for Autism Awareness. Presented by James Williams, the series of one-act improvisational skits will educate its audience through entertainment, honing-in on the unique and difficult-to-define set of issues faced by youth on the autism spectrum. Williams, a former recipient of ITA’s drama therapy and person with Autism, adopts a considerably methodical approach to his presentation design despite its improvisational manner. Throughout his work body, Williams has steadfastly carried and incorporated the belief that “the best way to communicate truth is to present it as fiction.”
The quote comes from the biographical section on the back cover of Williams’s 2003 publication, Out to Get Jack. In addition to his experience traveling around the United States presenting lectures, workshops, and seminars on autism, Williams is also an accomplished author. An impressive number of esteemed pieces have been published under Williams’s name, including two novels, a picture book for children, and the website www.jamesmw.com, which features archived documents from his preceding speeches.
On June 8th at 5:30pm, ITA will be honored to introduce James Williams during our conference’s Networking Reception at Adler University. From William’s performance, attendees will observe firsthand how portrayal and play can be utilized to build causal awareness, and will further be invited to put on their critical thinking caps while regarding A Whole New World for use in clinical practicum.
To learn more about James Williams, visit him online at www.jamesmw.com. To learn more about Williams’s presentation or the content of other Cultivating Identity Creatively presentations, you may download our conference brochure at www.itachicago.org/conference.