Musings of a Dance/Movement Therapist

Social Thinking ~ Autism Resource

In checking out conferences to exhibit and sell the Octaband, I found what looks like a wonderful resource for people who work with people with autism. Michelle Garcia Winner leads workshops and conferences and with her team has written many books on the subject.

I was particularly drawn to a book entitled Politically Incorrect Look at Evidence-Based Practices and Teaching Social Skills, A by Michelle Garcia Winner.

"The concept of teaching social skills shortchanges the dynamic process that actually produces social skills. This issue is most acutely seen in students with autism spectrum disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, PDD-NOS, nonverbal learning disability (NVLD) and those who are undiagnosed but who are disrupting the classroom. These individuals struggle daily within an education system that is ill-suited to meet their needs. This book is for adults who are looking for strong background and recommendations for best practices for teaching social information to higher level students of all ages on the autism spectrum and with related disabilities."

On the other hand, the book Whole Body Listening Larry at School by Kristen Wilson and Elizabeth Sautter may teach what it purports to teach, that is "how two siblings, Leah and Luka struggle to focus their brains and bodies during the school day. Kindly, a peer mentor helps to explain to these students how they need to use their eyes, hands, feet, heart, brain, etc. to listen in group environments to not only access the information but to work as part of a group" but is a disappointing way for me to think about the concept of "Whole Body Listening". I understand that when one is listening to others speak, we need to listen fully. However, as Winner suggests above, our "education system ... is ill-suited to meet their needs." As a culture and within our education system, we so ignore our bodies. I hope that in their book, Wilson and Sautter teach the children first to listen to themselves through their bodies, and then to listen to others.

I am particularly drawn to this topic as it seems that people with mid to late stage dementia are quite expert at reading nonverbal communication. They have much to teach the rest of us. However, that doesn't mean that they are good at "social thinking" as they may not have the ability to consciously empathize with others.

Dance Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients

This article was posted on March 3, 2010 in a blog called Alzheimer's disease: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment.The article offers a synthesis of a number of articles using several resources. Unfortunately there's a bit of confusion between dance therapy and music therapy it seems. 

Projects that focused on free and creative expression have had similar benefits. A weekly project in which 8-10 participants used props and various musical genres encouraged people to move however they wanted, rather than follow a routine.Observations included participants engaging and improvement in mood and relationships among participants and between participants and their caregivers. Building relationships led to an increased sense of self and self esteem. One participant in this study remembered things from her childhood and her personal qualities and thought that she had been “got together again.” This type of dance also allowed emotions such as grief, anger, and loss to be tackled and reflected upon, allowing people to celebrate life again.

I recognize the quotation "got together again" from the work of fellow dance movement therapist, friend and colleague Heather Hill in Australia from her graduate thesis, I believe.

The reason that I refer to people with dementia rather than Alzheimer's is that it seems that the Alzheimer's Association has coopted the diagnosis. As I understand it, it is not until a autopsy that one knows if a person had Alzheimer's disease or not. In addition, a person may have a number of dementias simultaneously. There are people who, upon autopsy, apparently have the neurological symptoms in the brain, i.e., plaques and tangles, but not the cognitive symptoms. On the other hand, there are people who have the cognitive symptoms and not the plaques and tangles. 

 

Excerpts of Dance Therapy in Video on Alzheimer's Care at Melabev

Please pardon the request for money in this video. While the scenes are not consecutive, it is possible to see a little of what a Dance Movement Therapy group with people with dementia might look like by fast forwarding to the scenes where you can see folks moving.

 

Come Boogie with the Boomers

Heidi Ehrenreich is a very fun dancer, dance teacher and clinically savvy dance movement therapist. She is offering a class this fall in Easthampton, MA. If I lived closer, I'd be there in a heartbeat. She taught a large group of dance therapists zydeco dancing at our conference in New Orleans in 2004 before we headed out for the clubs. What great fun.

The Kinesthetic Sense

"Poet, writer, activist Eve Ensler lived in her head. In this powerful talk from TEDWomen, she talks about her lifelong disconnection from her body -- and how two shocking events helped her to connect with the reality, the physicality of being human."

 

Eve Ensler brings her considerable passion to Ted Talks as she poetically makes the connection between her body and her home, Mother Earth. This is the realm of dance/movement therapy.

In 1994, the New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Woburn, MA "eliminated" the Movement Therapy Department which had been delivering mindbody medicine for 20 years to people with brain injuries, chronic pain, cancer, strokes, Multiple Sclerosis, etc. I was one of 14 dance movement therapists who made up that department. We were eliminated, not because we were ineffective, but because expenses needed to be cut. That night, I wrote an impassioned letter to the Board of Directors of the hospital. I later used that letter as the basis for a letter to the editor which was printed in the Newton Tab in December 1994. I reproduce that letter below.

The Kinesthetic Sense

As a dance therapist and teacher, I am strongly committed to helping dance play a more integral role in learning and in health. In my work for the past 18 years, it has become increasingly apparent that the field of dance is under-represented in our school systems and our society. This is both a result of, and a contributor to, our societal mind/body split.

In our schools, we learn that we have five senses. That theorem is untrue. Those five senses teach us about the world outside of ourselves. However, we have many more than five senses. In particular, dance teaches us about the kinesthetic sense, which informs us of the world inside. The kinesthetic sense is our internal muscle sense, which tells us where the parts of our bodies are located in relation to one another, as well as whether our muscles are tense or relaxed. In my work in the field of mental health and rehabilitation medicine, I have found the need to teach people on a daily basis how to breathe properly, how to use their kinesthetic sense to improve sitting and standing posture, and how to move with greater ease. I have discovered that, for the most part, people ignore their kinesthetic sense, which ultimately erodes health and self-esteem.

I believe we do our children a great disservice by not teaching them about, and through, the medium of the kinesthetic sense. Becuase we learned to breathe, sit up, crawl, move, and stand without teaching, we didn't know that these were subjects worthy of studying. These bodies we move through are worthy of being studied, both from the inside and out. Children should be studying how the human body moves and functions, and discovering their responsibilities in creating and maintaining optimal health. This includes mental health as well as physical health. Through attention to the kinesthetic sense, children can learn to become more aware of their emotions and alternative ways of communicating, including assertiveness skills. Children can learn to manage their stress without reliance upon drugs and alcohol. By having learning grounded in the body through the medium of dance, children will learn more respect and responsibility for their bodies, which are their first homes, and from there can learn more respect and responsibility for their environmental homes. 

I believe that to the extent that history is the study of battles won or lost they are not "social" studies, but "anti-social" studies. It is vital that we and our children learn not only to "compete" in a global economy, but more importantly, "cooperate," with the other peoples of the world and with our environment. That means having a much greater ability than we have had thus far for tolerating, and even appreciating differences. The arts and dance are the subject areas which most directly address the relationships of opposites. Differences need not be polarized. They can be in harmony or in discord, in synchrony or not. Without stillness in dance, movement has little form or meaning. Without polarity, our sense of aesthetics would be unfulfilled. In dance, we learn to embody opposites. Perhaps if we could study the cultures of the world, the dance, the music, the art, the poetry, the drama, we might learn how to live with, instead of against each other.

To the extent that we want children invested in life-long learning, children's internal realities must be validated. They must learn to appreciate what they learn through their own senses, as well as what they learn from others. Inasmuch as dance elevates the mundane to the extraordinary, it is a wonderful foundation for building self-esteem.

Eve Ensler disengaged from her body because of trauma. There are way too many of us who have. I believe the perpetrators are also disengaged from their bodies. Dancing is a way of honoring our bodies, and the stories they have to tell, while at the same time slowly reengaging. Our bodies are, in fact, miraculous. But more on that later.

 

Who Will Be America's Favorite SYTYCD Dancer?

Life has been very busy lately. Just back from the Pioneer Network conference which was an extraordinary experience. Writing about it will require more time than I have right now. I took a break in doing an assignment due for my first class in Laban Movement Analysis, Module II, which I begin tomorrow at Lesley U. I am so excited to be taking this class which I have wanted to do for over 30 years.

During my break, I watched a tivo of last week's SYTYCD results show. I loved Nigel's description of how the 3 dancers dance, Caitlynn from her head, Melanie from her heart, and Sascha from her soul. I'm sure it's different watching them dance live as compared to watching on a 2 dimensional screen. Still, I think he's selling Melanie short. I think that she dances from her body, heart, mind and soul. I described her dancing recently as the embodiment of intuition. She seems to move fluidly from one source to another, which is why I think she should win, even though I think that Sascha is fabulous, as is Marco. I look forward to seeing them all dance on tour. I do wish they expanded the choreography though, so that each dance would be longer and more in-depth.