As the autism spectrum is very wide and effectiveness of therapies differ from person to person, parents and volunteers working in this space try many different therapies hoping to see improvements. Even a very small change will bring smiles on their faces. In today’s poster we will try to understand Dance and Movement Therapy.
Dancing is something most children like. It is fairly easier to induce persons with autism to dancing, compared to other therapies / interventions. Dance and Movement Therapy (DMT) is the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance to support intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body. It helps individuals achieve emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration.
According to many papers published in International Journal of Neuroscience, DMT has been found to be very effective as a therapeutic approach for persons with autism. DMT promotes creative expression, toleration of physical touch, maintenance of eye contact, and social engagement. In addition, DMT has been effective in relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety and increasing positive affect, such as smiling, laughing, feeling hopeful, acceptance from self and others, and feeling strong. DMT significantly increases serotonin and dopamine levels, the feel-good hormones.
When Pratibha was around 12 years old, we were looking for some activity for her in addition to her “special school”. Somehow got her into learning Bharatnatyam. About 6 years of fairly rigorous training, Pratibha did her Bharatnatyam Arangettam. These 6 years we saw tremendous changes in Pratibha. In addition to dance, there was one more therapy happening with Pratibha at that time. The children staying in our building as well as other buildings in our housing society, used to come home around 5 in the evening, and pull out Pratibha, take her down and make her play, make her talk and give her ‘unconditional love’ in abundance. These two - dancing and socialisation with other children - together worked wonders on Pratibha. A timid girl, with no confidence even to look into eyes of others, and hardly speaks, transformed into a ‘chatterbox’ and an extrovert. A transformation that happened in about 8 years. Definitely the rigorous dance training that she went through all these years must have worked on her as “Dance and Movement Therapy”, without us knowing it.
Concluding this post with a quote “I love, I laugh, I dance, I don’t label, I don’t judge, I don’t count my chromosomes”.
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