The
Therapeutic Benefits of Ventriloquism:
Whilst many people may think you are mad
for talking to yourself, there are many well researched benefits that practicing
ventriloquism can bring. In a documentary tracking her life’s work, the famous
comic ventriloquist Nina Conti spoke quite movingly about the role that
ventriloquism has played in her life, and how her dummies help her to make
sense of her emotions and deal with grief, love and everything in between.
Overcoming
Shyness:
Daniela Hadasy, from the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Israel, uses ventriloquism as one part of her drama therapy. She uses her puppets to communicate with children, particularly those in hospital, who may find it easier to address the humorous personas of the puppets. In this way, they can get out their concerns and anxieties, which in turn can lead to a better treatment. It can be quite intimidating for a child to speak to an adult, especially in a formal setting and the ventriloquism helps to break down a barrier.
Children with autism, or who have issues surrounding shyness, can gain similar enjoyment from interacting with a dummy. This can be particularly effective if the dummy represents a famous character, one they are familiar with. On the other side of things, learning ventriloquism can be a way for an anti-social child to learn communication skills, as they will feel less restrained if they are speaking through the dummy. The dummy, as many of you will be aware, can act as a vessel for many aspects of your personality that you may feel do not fit or require further studying.
Daniela Hadasy, from the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Israel, uses ventriloquism as one part of her drama therapy. She uses her puppets to communicate with children, particularly those in hospital, who may find it easier to address the humorous personas of the puppets. In this way, they can get out their concerns and anxieties, which in turn can lead to a better treatment. It can be quite intimidating for a child to speak to an adult, especially in a formal setting and the ventriloquism helps to break down a barrier.
Children with autism, or who have issues surrounding shyness, can gain similar enjoyment from interacting with a dummy. This can be particularly effective if the dummy represents a famous character, one they are familiar with. On the other side of things, learning ventriloquism can be a way for an anti-social child to learn communication skills, as they will feel less restrained if they are speaking through the dummy. The dummy, as many of you will be aware, can act as a vessel for many aspects of your personality that you may feel do not fit or require further studying.
Speech
Therapy:
Another way in which children can benefit
from time spent with a dummy is an aid to speech therapy. With conditions such
as stuttering, taking the time to consciously think about what is being said
and how you are going to say it can help reduce the occurrence of the stutter.
It acts as a way of implementing the auditory feedback that comes to most
people naturally.
One of the earliest TV ventriloquists, Paul
Winchell used this method himself to overcome a stutter that he had suffered
with for most of his life. He went on to enjoy great fame, years before science
could confirm the efficacy of what he had put into practice.
Dementia:
It is not only children who can benefit
from ventriloquism led therapy. In the June/July 2012 issue of the Australian
Journal of Dementia Care, James Baldwin writes about a study ran on patients
with dementia, monitoring their level of interaction with friends and family,
staff and puppets. Astonishingly, the dummies saw a 28% increase in patient
interactivity, showing that shyness, anxiety and depression can all lead to us
becoming withdrawn. As mentioned before, Baldwin draws attention to the role of
the dummy as an avatar, that can be treated as human without having to worry
about human interaction.
This is by no means an thorough analysis of
the benefits that working with dummies can bring, but cases like the ones
talked about should make us optimistic and encourage us to keep looking at ways
that our work can have a positive impact on others.
