I had the opportunity to observe a dear friend and colleague leading movement groups with preschoolers this past week. The children and the teachers had a great time with the Octaband.
After the class one of the mothers contacted me by email. The classroom teacher had told the mom how enthusiastic her son was about participating
with the Octaband! The mother told me that her son has had a lot of trouble adjusting to preschool and complains about going to school each day and
does not like to take part in activities.
She expressed appreciation that her son was able to have the experience with the Octaband that he did, saying that when he came home from school, he couldn't stop talking about how much fun
it was!
Dance movement therapy with children with autism:
The mother also asked me for insights about her son's participation in the group. I told the mom that as a dance movement therapist, I was intrigued by her son's movement, which I saw as both expressive and communicative. When he first
entered the room and the children were invited to join the circle, her child turned
his back to the others and did a repetitive, idiosyncratic movement with his
hands near his mouth. When the teacher called him by name and invited him to join the
others in the circle, he was able to do so. At one point early in the group, the teacher asked each child to lead the others in the movement. This young boy began hopping
from one foot to the other, rotating in a circle. When the teacher and the other
children followed his lead, he seemed to become more energetic, excited and
happy, with a big smile. When the leadership passed to the next person, his
attention was immediately distracted by objects on a shelf nearby.
My interpretation of this child's movement and behavior
was that he was: (1) clearly expressing himself through movement, although the
meaning of his movement was not necessarily readily apparent. (2)
highly responsive to the medium of movement and dance. (3) highly
responsive to the individual attention, and mirroring in particular. (4) He
seemed to be expressing his difficulty with transitions about being an
individual and being in relationship to others.
I designed the Octaband as a prop to
encourage individuality and group cohesion at the same time. Other movement
props are good for individuality or
cooperation. I would guess that her son enjoyed it specifically because it allowed
him to be an individual and connected to others at the same
time. Children also love the Octaband because it is very colorful,
stretchy and feels good to the touch.
I recommended that the pediatrician refer her son to a dance movement therapist and that she encourage
the preschool to continue to provide the creative movement classes for the
children. Movement is so vital for young children whose primary mode of
communication is movement - which is all of them, even though some are also
verbal.
For more about dance movement therapy with children with autism, here is a resource provided by the ADTA (American Dance Therapy Association).
Order from Amazon through the ADTA website, and a percentage of the proceeds goes to the ADTA, whose purpose is to
"establish, maintain, and
support the highest standards of professional identity and competence among
dance/movement therapists by promoting education, training, practice, and
research. The Association provides avenues
of communication among dance/movement therapists and those working in related fields,
and increases public awareness of dance/movement therapy."
For more about dance movement therapy with children, I highly recommend Suzi Tortora's book
the Dancing Dialogue: Using the Communicative Power of Movement with Young Children.
Recent Comments