Social Workers’ Play Offers New Take on Asperger’s Syndrome
Sally Dana and Danny Krueger star in "Arousal," a play by social worker George Pfirrmann.
Social worker George Pfirrmann, MSW, LCSW, was inspired to become a playwright after working with military families in Germany.
He was particularly impressed by the resilience of the spouses who had to keep families intact while their mates were deployed to battle zones.
So when Pfirrmann returned to the United States he wrote about his experiences working with the military and began studying playwrighting. His hard work has paid off.
His play “Arousal” won Best New Comedy at the San Francisco Fringe Festival last September. And this week it got a favorable write-up in this Huffington Post article on movies and plays about people with Asperger’s syndrome.
“Arousal” is about a young man with Asperger’s syndrome who visits a call girl who is an immigrant from Ukraine. Both have problems communicating but end up helping each other overcome social isolation and loneliness.
Pfirrman has a private practice and has worked with clients with Asperger’s, a type of autism that can make it difficult for sufferers to interact socially. Pfirrmann also trains doctors in cognitive behavioral therapy at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.
“It was great to see (my play) come to life,” he said.
Pfirrmann, who earned a master’s degree in social work at Rutgers University, wrote an expanded version of “Arousal” and is now working to get the play shown in other theaters.
“It’s a play of the heart,” he said. “There’s a lot of heart in it.”
click here to go to the National Association of Social Worker’s “Help Starts Here” consumer Web site and read a Q&A about Asperger’s with social worker William Shryer, DCSW, LCSW.
Advertisement
1 Comment
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I am a dual Masters student of Social Work and Criminal Justice and have a child with Ausberger’s. I am feelilng isolated that there are not enough services to accomodate my son or I am not aware of how to handle his issues with schooling. People don’t seem to take me very seriously when it comes to talking about Ausberger’s. I have him homeschooled currently due to being unable to go to regular school. He was bullied at two different schools and he was told he was the problem and it wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t caused the problems that got him bullied. I am very unhappy with the fact that there are not enough specialized programs that allow my son to be with other children that are more like him. I think the problem is, he is very high on the reading and writing level, but he cannot do math and he becomes frustrated. He gets angry and then he gets made fun of for throwing the fit which results in him being dismissed from class. The teachers in mainstream school classes don’t want to take the time to deal with a child with special needs. He would get RSP for Math, but he would miss out on other parts of the class.
I am not sure how to handle it, but I am going to a workshop in February on The Autism Spectrum. I am needing to get in touch with services in San Bernardino to help me with getting my son tested beyond what school does and find out what direction to go in. He is in 6th grade but I cannot continue to teach him at the level that he will receive the proper amount of attention to his problems.