THERAPY AND REHABILITATION.
Some pioneers worked with Devi Lal Samar (Founder of the 1952 Padma Shri Cultural Institute) to use puppets in physical and mental therapy.In another exercise with a troubled boy who had dropped out of school, puppets were used as a substitute for class work.
With stuttering children, the nervousness they had when speaking in front of a group made them stammer and get stuck with certain consonants. These same children could successfully tell a story with the help of manipulated glove puppets behind a curtain that kept them hidden from public view.
Puppets are also used in therapy to treat physical disabilities, especially for those who do not have any of their limbs. They are usually very frustrated in life with these deficiencies, as in the case of the deaf, dumb and blind.
In an experiment involving a child without legs, the wire puppets were constructed with loose legs, so that the puppets could move with gentler movements.
This child could present a show with a musical narrative in an autonomous way, since he had a very sweet voice.
Another blind child but with all his limbs intact, used glove, stem and thread puppets, manipulated by himself and an assistant, interpreted the dialogues perfectly and sang songs much better than those with sight.
Fig.60
