As a teacher in a kindergarten class for students with autism I find this article very interesting and true. Dance and music can have such a positive impact on how a child with autism can function. Although not every child will progress with dance the same, the motor skills they learn with dance can help tremendously. I wonder what differences dances other than ballet could have on children as well?
Dance if taught with an understanding of the developmental stages of an individual's physical body can be therapeutic--- as all movement can; at any age, as a hobby, as a passion into a professional career. This article by Michele Hollow brings to light the connection between the nervous system and the muscle-skeletal as well as the fluid system—all connected by the fascia.
I have taught students who went on to professional careers and I have taught students who attended Harvard and Cambridge. I had a young man who was diagnosed with Asperger's; his behavior lin class was more exemplary than many other students who were 'normal'. So, Rahul's placebo effect for the autistic seems too generalized of a statement to a narrow culture—Dance teachers, in general, are not thriving businesses such as GNC—they tend to be self-employed and patching a schedule of teaching together in order to pay their bills.
I would hope that Rahul would try to see is that developing movement classes for the autistic may be able to open up insights into how to work with individuals diagnosed with autism.
(And the greatest present positive example of someone with a form of autism is Greta Thunberg; she is doing a dance through life!)
In medical research, there is a name for this well known phenomenon, it is called the placebo effect. It is not the dance that is helping them, it is the attention. In fact if you google Yoga therapy for Autism, Equestrian therapy for Autism, Dog therapy for Autism or Music therapy for Autism you will get articles with results such as these. I understand the frustration of parents who want their children to live a life as close to normal as possible and are willing to do whatever is within their means. These dance instructors are also earnest people who believe they are helping others while making a few bucks. They are also not misleading people as some of the others such as the ones selling Chelation Therapy or Bariatric Oxygen Therapy. Whole industries and large companies such as GNC are based on selling us the placebo affect. The real issue is that nobody understands what causes Autism and nobody has a clue how to cure it (yet). As one of the biggest public health problems more research is needed and not enough is being spent, especially by the government to fund it. Real breakthroughs come with scientific insight, in the meantime, dance is good for everyone, and I wish I could dance too, but I was born with two left feet!
@Rahul
As you might guess, I teach tai chi (taiji). I was also born with two left feet. Tai chi (and qigong) have managed to introduce me to having two feet, one left and one right. That's not a placebo. It can do the same for you.
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@Rahul
Your argument is both besides the point and incorrect. If you are correct that it is the attention that autistic kids get in dance rather than the dance itself, it still speaks to the attention being effective. Therefore it's not a placebo. Greater attention is driving the Improvement based on your hypothesis.
Whether you are right or wrong doesn't really matter, and it doesn't matter whether it's Placebo or attention. The key thing is that parents are seeing Improvement in there child's condition while further research delves into the mechanism of disease.
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@Rahul "It's the attention"? This is the tell that you've never spent much time with people with autism. And if you did, you didn't seek to understand them as human beings. Most kids with autism are so confused by adult attention that they don't seek it. In fact the "attention seeking" behavior is usually a fight/flight/freeze response that is beyond their control, triggered by being overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. How appropriate would your behavior be if there was a fire alarm going off that no one else heard and no one was shutting off and you had no idea how long you'd have to be subjected to it, with everyone telling you that you're fine and you need to calm down? The view that you give here is perpetuating an offensive old trope that kids with autism are intentionally manipulating those around them with their behavior. Perhaps instead of "attention" you could think "connection." Meaningful connection being something that all human beings, neurodiverse and neurotypical alike, crave and need in order to thrive.
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My 10 year-old autistic nephew dances uncontrollably for 40sbebop. Dance comes to him so naturally when few other things do.
My son who just turned 18 has music therapy every Monday. He is Autistic-non verbal. This is one of the highlights of his week! Rachel..his MT does dance, plays instruments with Quinn participating by strumming the guitar as she plays the notes to letting him play the instrument of his choice. He sometimes verbalizes while they sing songs. He picks out music on the I phone and does other musical/dance lessons as well.
I guess I'm saying...it is a good therapy and he has been doing it for 3 years now. I get such a kick out of them dancing to B52's Love Shack!
Please acknowledge that there are professional Licensed Creative Arts Therapist with a Masters or Doctoral degrees who practice Dance/Movement Therapy, Music Therapy, Drama Therapy and Art Therapy, etc. There’s an abundance of research in those fields supporting the application of these therapies. This is not new! Please see the research, eg at ADTA.or for example.
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2 things.
Wow.
And I'm sure this sort of "therapy" needs more money. How?
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I think the most important thing about this article, for me, is that my child, due to behavior and coordination issues, is not always welcomed in litte kids' classes. I will take this article down to our YMCA and use it as support to have them start a dance class for ALL KIDS, where teachers and parents who enroll have open minds and are accepting, so that my son, and others, can participate. Music and movement in group settings bring joy to my autistic son. It gives him an opportunity to connect with others in a modality he actually cares about. I don't need a scientific study to tell me that's good for him, but am happy to have the scientific study in hand to help advocate for dance teachers to provide these classes.
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Movement and dance are vitally important activities for my son who has Down syndrome and autism and who is non-verbal with both receptive and expressive language disabilities. He was trying to dance as soon as he was physically able (he didn't walk until 28 months). Music and dance are his big loves. This is his 12th year in a wonderful dance and ballet program in Milford, CT. I think this year will be his 10th year of performing in their adaptive Nutcracker. For the past 10 years, he has also done capoeira, which is a Brazilian martial art that is a cross between gymnastics, dance, and martial arts and that incorporates music. And he has taken other types of dance and movement classes over the years, including samba for the last 8 years. Some of his classes are adaptive and others are simply inclusive. These experiences have provided invaluable opportunities for expression, and I highly recommend giving children the chance to dance or otherwise move to music.
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My daughter has Sensory Processing Disorder and loves dance, but struggles in regular dance classes due to the large amount of kids and all the sudden movement and loud noises surrounding her. Where can we find out more about Ballet for All Kids and find a program near where we live?
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NYC-based Butoh artist Mariko Endo draws on her many years' experience with dance, Eurythmy, and Noguchi gymnastics training to teach numerous movement/sound/communication classes for people with autism and other diverse populations with special needs through AHRC New York City and has had wonderful results. The students show improvement in communication skills and motor coordination, increased social interaction, and greater comfort with touch (with consent).
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Shout out to all creative arts therapies: music therapy, movement therapy, drama therapy, art therapy, poetry therapy! All CATs do just what this article discusses, engages the mind and body in a creative manner that provides alternate forms of expression. While empirical evidence has been so coming in the field, there are now research studies demonstrating the effectiveness of these techniques.
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I personally know a Movement Therapist in NYC who has seen wonderful results in troubled and/or autistic children through movement therapy. Music is included in much of the therapy. It's a growing field.
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Mark Morris Dance Company has a program for people with Parkinson's as whole body movement has proven beneficial for them. I had a friend with Parkinson's who did aikido. I would see him shake before he got on the mat and then steady up to perform techniques when the class began. He was a great partner who taught me a lot.
Engaging the whole body in learning is a tremendous advantage. Sometimes I play the ukelele or the violin left-handed even though I am right dominant. It is confusing but, I feel, beneficial. Use everything, as another martial arts teacher taught me, and try new things.
As someone once wrote, why walk when you can dance.
PS: The Revolution IS dancing in the streets.
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@gmoke thanks for the shout out! We also run programs for all students (any age), with and without physical and/or intellectual and cognitive disabilities at The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center and throughout NYC as part of our Community Education programs
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There is no scientific evidence that music or dance can do any of the things claimed by readers who have commented. This story is anecdotal, not scientific. We would never accept such anecdotes to support any novel medical therapy or treatment. Feel-good stories are no substitute for evidence-based treatments.
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@Dr. Hank No one is claiming this is a medical treatment. If a parent says a dance or other movement class has helped their child physically or socially, do you have good reasons to doubt them?
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@Dr. Hank
I have a 30 page literature review, Dr. Hank, that lists peer-reviewed empirical studies about the effectiveness of dance and Parkinson's disease. Researchers all over the world have proof.
Jeff Friedman
Director, Rutgers Dance and Parkinson's Program
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@Dr. Hank In addition to comments indicating that this is not put forth as a medical treatment or therapy, it is just this kind of inaccurate, narrow concept about EBP (evidence-based practice) that prevents promising approaches from being implemented to to improve quality of life. What you are saying was said about mindfulness approaches (now a standard part of medical school training), other creative arts therapies (e.g., theatre) that now have an experimental evidence-base. For many creative and expressive arts approaches, they are not put forth as treatments or specific therapies, but they may have therapeutic benefits. Furthermore, the American Psychological Association and the American Speech and Hearing Association note that decision-making in EBP is not strictly confined to the issue of experimental research evidence, but also takes into account the expertise of the clinician and family / patient preferences,
perceptions and values. For more information, go to:http://barryprizant.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/asq15_evidence-based_practice_fall_2011.pdf
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Our daughter was recently diagnosed with Aspergers/ASD, but she has been dancing for many years and focuses on aerial. It is part of her identity now, and she's made friends at aerial whereas she does not have many friends at school. Her dance teacher is a strong mentor and loves quirky kids.
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Thanks, I’m cured.
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Isn't dance a form of expression for most humans who are able to move? And since autistic children are humans, this headline seems very strange.
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@Jean Good point. Activities that engage both sides of the brain can help ANY human integrate and improve their mental and emotional functioning, but autistic children need enormous catchups and these activites can accelerate more noticeably drastically than in others.
Music and dance stimulates different parts of the brain and can help other types of learning. We have so much to learn about how different types of learning can promote child development and also about autism.
These breakthroughs for these kids are such positive news! Hopefully this report will open up opportunities for other kids.
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I am so glad to hear of advances in treating people with certain challenging conditions. I know that listening to music and rhythms from a young age has great therapeutic value in enhancing focus and pleasure. Keep the articles coming.
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Movement such as in dancing heightens sensory input to our brains. Also noted has been how adults with dementia or Parkinson’s Disorder can function better when dancing. Occupational Therapists have been involved in studying sensory experiences and their literature is full of interesting studies leading to therapeutic interventions as well.
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Dance helps everyone in those areas. We are a unique culture that has men who do not dance socially with any frequency. Children do not see it as a "normal" part of life. Yet there are pockets of people doing contra dancing, ethnic dance of all varieties, and a resurgence in Europe of ethnic social dancing. Check out France where every weekend you can find a Fest-Noz somewhere.
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I was taught in college that our nomadic ancestors first settled down in communities so that they could make beer together. As a dancer and anthropologist I am now rather certain that our ancestors came together in community so that they could dance together. My hope is that this wonderful timely article will open widely doors that have been opened for some time without wider notice, to the wonderful healing power of dancing with others.
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My sister is a music therapist for these same sort of special needs kids. I'll be sending this article to her! These programs and underlying research are simply wonderful.
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These kids are so lucky.
When my daughter (who has Aspergers) took a ballet class, first year was ok, but in second year, she struggled a bit, and the high-strung instructor pouted "your daughter has a problem, I can't keep her in my class."
At the time, we did not yet know she was on the spectrum. I'm glad there are better resources now!
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@Mulberry I'm sorry. Just wanted to remind you that you are not alone out there. I have two on the spectrum.
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I have enjoyed reading this article but as a Dance/Movement Therapist it also enrages me. Dance/Movement Therapists have been working with Autistic children and adults for 50+ years helping them not only via dance but also through their ability to form a relationship non-verbally, start from where the person is and track how to negotiate the relationship via nonverbal embodied cues - all of which takes years of training. And does the New York Times EVERY recognize that? NO - they only highlight how dance might be helpful. I would suggest that you look at Janet Adler's video "Looking for Me" which was produced in the 1960's to see how incredibly effective and important Dance/Movement Therapy has been in the treatment and growth of children with autism. Although this probably sounds like a bit of a rant, please understand how frustrating it has been for my profession to have produced such good results from our work in relative obscurity and invisibility and to see how only dance (which is is our heritage of course but for DMT's is informed by so much more developmental and diagnostic knowledge) is credited with treating these individuals.
Julie Miller
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@Julie MIller As the partner of a certified dance teacher that holds two education masters degrees, I totally understand your frustration. My partner has talked about the decades of studies that overwhelmingly show how movement, dance, and choreography improve cognitive function and social communication, and how unwilling school administrators are to listen to the data.
As frustrating as it might seem, at least this article is helping to bring this to the mainstream where people are more open to hearing the message.
Just wait until school administrators see a Times article about the research that shows that dance programs can help improve academic test scores (That is a hint to the editor...)
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@Julie MIller as a father of a six year old son who is on the spectrum and was largely non-verbal until the past year and a half, I thank you, without dedicated pros like yourself I'm not sure what my wife and I would have done with " The Prince", as we call him. through therapy's and thru the recent started use of CBD oil. ( I know it's controversial but we've seen huge strides made), we have found a loving, happy and beautiful soul. Without people such as yourself this may never have happened. Keep up the awesome work you do, it's appreciated way more then you'll ever know.
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@Julie MIller Please don't be enraged. Be glad. This is the place of researchers: to communicate what folks are doing that works. I feel the same way sometimes as a writing teacher who works with under-prepared students, but it's the success some of them have that is the reward. And thank you!
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