WEST JAVA THERAPY AND HEALING CENTER FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN AGES 2-15 YEARS OLD USING ART THERAPY APPROACH

• Main Author: Amalia, Sarah
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/51301
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Autism and other mental disabilities have been and most probably will be stigmatized all over the world. Even though researchers, activists, and psychologists has deemed autism as a learning disability, most people still perceive it as an incurable “disease” that cannot be treated. However, with proper therapy and guidance, children with autism can outgrow most symptoms of autism. This study aims to educate the public in better understanding autism disorder and how providing a therapy center would positively impact the public of Indonesia. To understand the effect of autism disorder, surveys to several small autism centers were made as well as conducting interviews with key-people who has multiple experiences dealing with autism disorders. They all believed that when treated correctly and as soon as a diagnosis is prescribed, children will benefit greatly from therapies and counseling. The most common therapies used are Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Family Therapy. However, a trend of creative therapies such as Art Therapy and Music Therapy has risen and would benefit children when combined with other therapies. These types of creative therapies will unlock children’s skills that otherwise would not be noticed. By combining results from surveys and online studies on different types of autism centers, this report shows a depiction of a creative-based center for autistic children. These results suggest that having a therapy center in Indonesia would further help children with autism, give them a safe environment to grow, as well as teach the public about normalizing autism.