Dance

Our 12-week programs, which begin in September and early January have 6-8 children per class. The child/teacher ratio is 2 to 1 ensuring that every child gets the attention they need. Our dance team consists of the teacher, a professional with 30 years of dance experience, trained in Autism Movement Therapy and Positive Behavior Support (PBS), a shadow, skilled in working with children on the spectrum and two devoted volunteers. Most of our support team have dance experience, have studied or are planning on pursuing careers in special care counselling, social work, special education, etc.

The children explore many genres of music and dance such as jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, ballet, and creative dance. The class is modeled after a typical dance class but is modified to cater to children on the spectrum. Specific skills focused on are patterning, listening to cues, eye contact, proprioception, rhythm, counting/recall, cross-hemispheric movement, turn taking, creative thinking, expression, balance and coordination.

For children with an ASD the activity draws them out of their sometimes dark and isolated world promoting expression of emotion, interpersonal bonding, and self-confidence, creating pathways from the non-verbal to verbal.

     It is so much more than a dance class!