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���������� Note: The two articles below offer frameworks for how arts and media can combat the stigma of disability through popular art production. Teaching all people they have a voice and something to share is an integral aspect of not only recovery, but of society’s ability to create a richly diverse fabric of culture and community.

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Unusual Drama School in Rome Is Set to Expand

New York Times; Gaia Pianigiani, 9/3/2014

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ROME — Changing people’s perceptions of mental illness has been a longtime mission for Dario D’Ambrosi, an Italian avant-garde actor and author. For the past five years, he has led��, or the Pathological Theater, an innovative drama school here that offers classes to people with mental disabilities. Now Mr. D’Ambrosi is trying to turn his school into a full-fledged university.

Next month, he plans to open a program that will offer a three-year diploma in the performing arts to those with diagnoses of disorders including schizophrenia, manic-depression and autism as well as Down syndrome.

“It will be a real revolution,” Mr. D’Ambrosi said, referring to the program as “a university for the mentally disabled.”

Mr. D’Ambrosi, 55, has focused on working with the mentally ill for decades.

“Now my hope has become to be able to help mentally disabled people with stagecraft more than with drugs,” he said. After years of teaching evening courses, Mr. D’Ambrosi decided to step up his efforts and showed his educational proposal to the government of the Lazio region, which agreed to fund the first year of operation and is providing space adjacent to the drama school for daily classes. A psychologist will assess applicants and their emotional status, and students who are found suitable for the workload will attend courses in acting, screenwriting, music composition, set design and costume making, depending on their capabilities and needs.

Mr. D’Ambrosi has also applied for other funds from European institutions to finance the second and third year of this certificate, which is already officially recognized at the regional level. He also hopes to obtain the education ministry’s approval as a state-recognized university.

The Pathological Theater has not only taught students the works that they perform before paying audiences, but it has also taught them to express their feelings onstage, and to travel the world. Mr. D’Ambrosi’s students have staged their annual productions in places like Wilton’s Music Hall in London, where the company did a version of “Medea” last year, and the Franco Parenti Theater in Milan.

“I’ve always wanted to be an actress, but my pathology never allowed it to me,” said Marina Starace, 55. “Now my dream could become true.”

Yet Mr. D’Ambrosi’s project doesn’t aim only at granting his students a diploma comparable to that of other European drama schools. It also encourages a new culture for people with mental disorders. “University programs for disabled people have many limitations in Italy” because the coursework is the same regardless of the students’ abilities, said Antonella Giannaccaro, the 23-year-old medical student who drafted the university’s bylaws with Mr. D’Ambrosi. “But if the entire class is special, they all have a better chance at studying and really learning a skill.”

In Italy, the mentally disabled have full access to public secondary schools and a right to be supported by qualified teachers, but after graduation most stop studying. Many face the challenge of attending university classes without customized courses or the support of a tutor.

“Here, they will have the chance to study, to learn a craft based on their passions,” said Monica Schweiger, whose son Giorgio, 21, whose grave learning disability surfaced when he was 4 and who often asked his mother to save money to pay for his university education, she said, as she had for his older brother. “Every time he’d ask, it broke my heart,” Ms. Schweiger recalled.

The school’s methods have no proven scientific success, but “medicine doesn’t resolve everything,” said Vincenzo Esposito, a neurosurgeon who has followed the theater’s work for years. “These people are socially accepted. They travel the world. They are happy in what they do. Many would argue that this is more important than being healthy.”

Walter Procaccio, a psychiatrist who is studying the theater’s courses, sees the experiment as important. “Recognizing their ability and not their disability” is promising, he said.

Many of the students said they were enthusiastic about the prospect of a three-year program. “I think it could help me grow and live my life with more determination,” said Cristiana Saporetti, 49, who is affected by manic-depression, adding that attending drama school had changed even the timbre in her voice.

Some students have already had serious training, like Valerio Serafini, 26, who has been on Italy’s����team. “Running has taught me the rules,” he said. “Theater has taught me emotions. Like anyone else, we need both.”

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Comic Book Stars World’s First Hero With Autism

NBCNews; Hallie Jackson, 9/1/2014

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Extraordinary superpowers, high-flying villains and fearless, world-saving heroes are the stuff of countless comic books. But the newest star to hit the comic circuit is different than most.

Michael is a comic book character with autism – a hero with a mathematical mind, artistic gift and an abundance of compassion. Face Value Comics says he is the first hero with the disorder among comic books.

The creator of the series, Dave Kot, hopes his books can help people on the autism spectrum better understand the world around them.

“Because some kids with autism may lack sufficient eye contact, they miss subtle cues growing up in life,” Kot said. “This is an opportunity for kids to have a hero like themselves.”

That’s why Kot and illustrator Sky Owens made sure Michael and the other comic book characters are drawn with vivid facial expressions, in order to provide a kind of playbook for those who struggle with social cues.

“When he was sad, who comforted him and how? Or why were they sad? How did other people respond? Can I do that, too, with my friends?” Kot explained. “In those small steps that a lot of us take for granted are very basic social building blocks.”

“One of [Michael’s] greatest powers and abilities is his own understanding of his emotions,” Kot said.

The comic books are resonating with people in the autistic community everywhere, helping kids like Brian Rasmuson understand they’re not alone.

“I think these comics help people see that autism isn’t just a disability,” Brian said. “It’s not all of who you are, but it’s a special part of who you are. Whenever I read this comic I think of that part of me.”

For more on Face Value Comics and how the books are impacting people in the autism community, watch tonight’s NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

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