…which is not readily apparent when he’s in dance class. Mark is a kindergartener with autism, in a class of eight non-verbal 5- and 6-year-olds who are also not very responsive to visual cues yet. He rarely follows my lead in dance. When coaxed one-on-one by an instructional assistant, he’ll occasionally try a facsimile of […]
Entries Tagged as 'autism'
Learning about dance & autism, or what to do when you don’t know what to do
October 29th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
With an expanded student population this year, my schedule is pretty crazy — 40 classes per week with 5 different plans per day. Also new is that I serve two self-contained classes of autistic students. Given no previous experience with autism, I’m reading up on it, but I’m also doing a fair amount of learning-on-the-run, […]
Guest Voice: developmental movement for special needs students
October 27th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Autism, Guest Voices
When two autism classes were added to my schedule this year, I was grateful to make contact via Anne Green Gilbert with other dance educators who work with special needs & autistic children. Thusfar, this small support group of colleagues communicates somewhat erratically by email, but what a relief it is to hear from others! […]
New year, new challenge: learning about autism
September 17th, 2009 · 6 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
Perhaps related to economic pressures, our student numbers jumped from 320 to 380 this September. Sixteen of our new students belong to two self-contained classrooms & are diagnosed as severely impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorders. I’m learning quickly & first-hand what that means, since I provide 30 minutes of instruction for 8 of the children […]