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Sally has autism and her mom enrolled her in her first dance class. She’s very excited, but she is unsure about how the class will go. When she walks in, the lights are very bright and there are distracting mirrors everywhere. She sees all of the other students chatting. She is unsure how to approach anyone and does not have any friends in the class, so she stands off to the side, alone. When the teacher begins the class, she plays very loud music. Sally is overwhelmed by the noise and cannot focus on what the teacher is saying. She starts to get upset. At a point that seems random to Sally, the class transitions to a different activity. The teacher never mentioned what was going to come next, and suddenly all of the dancers were in the corner. Sally spends the whole class focused on where she should be and when. She barely gets any time to dance. When her mom picks her up, she asks Sally how it went and Sally replied, “I hate dancing!”��

The prevalence of autism across the globe has been on the rise in recent years. While debates reside on autism’s existence and causes, research across time in the United States suggest the prevalence of autism to be approximately 24.7 per 1000 children, ages 4-8, within the 2014-2016 period (Chiarotti & Venerosi, 2020). Today, there are estimations that more than 1 in 36 children are affected by autism, with boys being four times more likely to have autism than girls (Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Zeidan et al., 2022). Given dance to be both a leisure and competitive physical activity with rich historical significance across the U.S., and likewise other cultures and demographics across the globe, 35% of girls and 8% of boys generally participate in dance (O'Neill, Pate, & Liese 2011). Regardless of these gender distributions, autism affects dance participation. In this way, neurodivergent learners of dance are compromised in the traditional dance environment with many of the considered normal dance teaching and learning practices.��

The traditional dance environment looks like a large room with lots of mirrors, bright lights, and loud music. Traditional teaching strategies involve imitation, modeling and lots of repetition. Teachers generally employ visual techniques like demonstrations and physical approaches like constraints and manipulations of the dancer’s body for dance students to move their body to the flow of music. Dances often work with partners or in groups to craft their sequence and coordination of movements that make up the dance. These sequences of movements making up a dance often last several minutes (i.e., 2-5 minutes) that require focus and long and short-term memory. Given that autistic children can be challenged by sensory inputs and indirect social communication in a strict, neurotypical world, the approaches to dance don’t set neurodivergent learners up for success.����

How can Sally say she hates dancing when she never got the opportunity to participate? What if the class had been more structured and the teacher was aware of Sally’s needs for support?

Limiting Sensory Information��

To allow neurodiverse learners to be fully integrated into dance class, the environment needs to be set up for their success. One recommendation for instructors to facilitate dancing with neurodiversity is to limit the sensory inputs in the dance studio or class. These modifications include changes to the environment that can provide students with fewer distractions and sensory experiences while they engage in dance classes. For example, students with auditory sensitivities can wear headphones during class to minimize the sounds of their classmates and the music. Studios may also want to consider lower lighting and having mirrors on only one wall of the studio, to reduce visual stimulation. Some students may feel uncomfortable wearing the traditional tight clothes, so other options like loose t-shirts and shorts may be appropriate for neurodiverse students.��Maintaining consistent locations for learners to practice their dance movements may also reduce sensory information provided to neurodiverse dancers.��

Neurodivergent Dance Instruction

Other strategies to facilitate neurodiverse dancers include ones directly employed by the teacher in relation to instruction. Teachers could make transitions clearer and smoother by providing photo schedules before and during class that have visual representations of the parts of the dance class and the actions. Photo schedules may include pictures, cartoons, or symbols to show dancers where to go and what to do, ahead of time and in the moment. Poly spots or other physical markings on the floor can support students as they learn where they need to stand and move and sequence the flow of the movements in the dance from one to the next. If the dancers are more sensory seeking, teachers may want to increase time on tasks to maintain a “busy” body during class. For example, giving dancers movements to do while waiting their turn to move across the floor. Dance classes are generally structured for lots of time on task, but small implementations like movements and stretching while waiting may help. Dance studios and classes may also consider bringing in assistant teachers or volunteers who can help facilitate transitions and make instructions clearer for neurodiverse dance students. As dance instructors interact with neurodiverse dancers directly, it is recommended to speak clearly and directly. It is not necessary to make eye contact with dancers if they are paying attention. Feedback that is direct and includes their name will most likely be more helpful than general comments to the class. Cues and attempts at engagement that include the interests of the dancers may help keep neurodiverse students engaged and paying attention throughout instruction. For example, if a dancer is really interested in frogs, a teacher could say “jump as high as you can and bend your knees when you land like a frog.” Every neurodiverse student (and neurotypical student) is different from their peers, so not all practices and modifications will be helpful for all. In this way, experimenting with approaches might be worthwhile with the caveat of limiting sensory information and gradually adding new things as neurodivergent dancers become more comfortable.��

Conclusion

Dance instructors should not be apprehensive to implement new changes for the betterment of the learner and the class. Getting to know dance students and allowing them to express their interests and preferences is the first step to creating a dance studio supportive of a neurodiverse learner. Considering and using the strategies above, dance teachers can build environments and cultures that are inclusive to neurotypical and neurodiverse dancers, alike.��

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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Data and statistics on autism spectrum disorder. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.��

Chiarotti, F., & Venerosi, A. (2020). Epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders: a review of worldwide prevalence estimates since 2014. Brain sciences, 10(5), 274.

O'Neill J., Pate, R., & Liese, A. (2011). Descriptive epidemiology of dance participation in adolescents. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 82(3), 373-80. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2011.10599769.

Zeidan, J., Fombonne, E., Scorah, J., Ibrahim, A., Durkin, M. S., Saxena, S., ... & Elsabbagh, M. (2022). Global prevalence of autism: A systematic review update. Autism research, 15(5), 778-790.

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