Early in my first months of teaching my students with Autism, I discovered that hula hoops held a special power. One day at the end of class, we’d been working hard on structured activities with variable success: lots of cajoling of individual students, with them alternately joining and wandering away from our activities. Exhausted, I […]
Entries Tagged as 'autism'
Defining success
November 23rd, 2011 · Comments Off · Autism
Success is defined differently when I’m teaching dance to my students with Autism. Given the very unique ways in which these students interact, there’s a feeling of victory when a student joins me in what I’m modeling, allows me to help, follows my lead, works with me. If every one in our small class moves […]
Letting go
May 29th, 2011 · 3 Comments · Uncategorized
Today’s horoscope — Today is an 8. Write down your thoughts, even if they don’t make any sense, to make space for the new. You may discover that your skills are worth more than you thought. On the days when I read my horoscope, my engagement with it lasts all of about 10 seconds, as […]
Tags:autism·choreography·curriculum integration·performance·reflection·teaching
Lest anyone think it’s a straight path…
April 4th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Autism
I’ve had some pretty consistent successes, in my 2nd year of dance for students with Autism. But there are days… Friday last week, the class fell apart. There were a lot of absences, from colds & such, so only 5 students out of the usual 8 were even available for class. Of the 5, only […]
Stunning silences, astonishing pauses
March 30th, 2011 · 5 Comments · Autism
So here’s the post that’s been in my head for a couple of months, even though I’ve been too busy to get it down. Now’s a good time for it, since I’ve been reflecting today on what it was like when I started teaching students with Autism. The stunning silence happened back in January. I […]
Structure: students with Autism
March 30th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Autism
Still thinking of how I got started teaching dance to my students with Autism… I was asked how to structure a class or lesson. But for the first year-and-a-half, the structure of my classes for the autistic students was totally different from my other lessons for kindergarten through 5th graders. I mostly alternated structured activities […]
Getting acquainted: students with Autism
March 30th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Autism
Not much time, but I must reply to a comment left on my blog… “I will be teaching a dance class for children with Autism starting next week. There will be 6 kids ages 6-10. Honestly, I have been attempting to plan the first class, but unsure where to start. Some children are fairly high […]
Children with autism: dancing together
January 18th, 2011 · 6 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
They arrive every day, my students with autism, barefoot & ready. I don’t always have a great idea of how I’m helping them, but it’s no longer so daunting as it was at first! We’ve come a long way. Each of my 2 classes is a little older this year & more experienced with school. […]
Turning corners
May 18th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
It’s the end of the year. Although I’m too busy to be blogging about it, we’re turning a lot of corners! “Can we practice our part of the dance during recess?” Corner turned: kids are taking ownership in their upcoming performance. “What are we going to wear?” Corner turned: they’re starting to think like an […]
Dancing – and constantly growing — with autism
March 31st, 2010 · 10 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
OK, so today has been my days for multiple appointments: doctors, dentist, Apple one-to-one, exercise, lecture. And in between, in the fractional hours when it’s easier to stop at a cafe than to drive home, I’ve been collecting my thoughts… Next week I’ll start my 7th month of teaching dance to 16 students with autism, […]