Spot light
on
Theater programs offer
kids the opportunity to shine.

12 Washington FAMILY MARCH 2021



THEATER
has always been a big part of Leah
Wolfson’s life, so she was excited to find classes
for her young son with people who understood
his unique challenges.

Wolfson’s son is on the autism spectrum, and
he’s learning important life skills through his
theater classes at Imagination Stage in Bethesda,
such as cooperation and social interactions.

For example, he can make suggestions and see
which ideas the teacher and students like and
which they don’t. In theater class, he can practice
navigating tricky situations while having fun.

“It’s a really great laboratory for kids with
particular needs to try out different things,”
Wolfson says. “My child benefits and others do
too from having their challenges normalized.”
Scott Turner, teaching artist and Access and
Inclusion Coordinator at Imagination Stage,
describes theater as a safe place where children
with disabilities can be comfortable to be
themselves and enjoy the process of learning
skills without the formality that is expected in
an academic setting. He has seen his students
increase their confidence by learning to have fun
and be silly and practice reciprocal conversational
skills in a lighthearted setting.

The key, according to Turner, is working
with students individually. Understanding
that children have different levels of need,
Imagination Stage does not operate from a “one-
size-fits-all mentality,” says Turner. “We talk to
families to develop that secret sauce together.”
Turner recalls a unique situation with a
student who came to Imagination Stage as
an “eloper,” someone who runs away from a
situation. The starting goal was getting him to
stay in the classroom for a small amount of time
that increased, just a little, every week. After
several years of work, this student was able to
enter the building, check in at the table and walk
into his class “ready to go,” Turner says. “He’d
taken so many classes at that point, he was
teaching the teachers and making suggestions.”
When Lilly Sherman started taking Imagination
Stage dance classes at 5 years old, her family knew
right away that it was a good fit. Lilly has Down
syndrome, and the school provided an extra adult
in the classroom—not an assistant. Just that
little extra put Lilly and her parents at ease. Now
14, Lilly has taken many more dance and stage
make-up classes at Imagination Stage and
participated in a month-long theater camp.

Imagination Stage teachers know when
to give extra help without hovering,
By Shannon Levitt
Pinecrest School
N U R T U R I N G C U R I O S I T Y, CO N F I D E N C E,
A N D A L O V E O F L E A R N I N G S I N C E 1957
• Preschool Age 3 - Grade 6
• Diff erentiated Instruction
• Small Classes
• Challenging Academics
• Positive Social &
Emotional Development
Annandale, Virginia
703.354.3446 • pinecrestschool.org
THE BETHESDA
MONTESSORI SCHOOL
20 RUNNER-UP
RUNNER-UP 1 8
For 38 years,
teaching ages 3-6
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8am – 6pm
7611 Clarendon Rd.

Bethesda, MD 20814
301-986-1260 Exceeds MD covid-19 precautions
Email us to tour the school
admissions@bethesdamontessori.com www.bethesdamontessori.com
FRENCH • • •
SPANISH Spring Bilingual
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Established in 1967
“We plant seeds that spring to life!”
Accepting applications
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www.spring-bilingual.org 301-962-7262
admissions@spring-bilingual.org PHOTOS BY JEREMY RUSNOCK PHOTOGRAPHY;
BACKGROUND: MASTER1305 / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
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