Specific Teaching Strategies within Dance and Movement Therapy – Program Evaluation for Children with Autism

Terapija plesom i pokretom za osobe s autizmom može imati pozitivan utjecaj na izražavanje i povećanje repertoara ponašanja kod sudionika. Tehnika zrcaljenja kod osoba s autizmom može pozitivno djelovati na razvoj empatije, recipročne interakcije, komunikacije, svijesti o vlastitom tijelu, na smanjenje napetosti, smanjenje učestalosti nepoželjnih oblika ponašanja, ali i na razumijevanje tuđe perspektive. Cilj ovoga rada je usmjeren na vrednovanje procesa primjene terapije plesom i pokretom kod djece s autizmom i korisnost edukacijsko-rehabilitacijskih postupaka u primjeni programa te vrednovanje doprinosa programa terapije plesom i pokretom kod djece s autizmom iz perspektive voditeljice terapije plesom i pokretom. Sudionici ovoga rada su voditeljica terapije plesom i pokretom, grupa djece s autizmom koja pohađa terapiju i asistentica grupe. Kako bi se evaluirao program terapije, korištene su tri metode prikupljanja podataka: polustrukturirani intervju, sociodemografski upitnik i neposredno opažanje provedbe terapije. Rezultati istraživanja govore o učinkovitosti uvedenih intervencija u postojeću strukturu terapije plesom i pokretom te govore o implikacijama za daljnja istraživanja budući da je tema nedovoljno istražena na prostorima Hrvatske.Dance and movement therapy for people with autism spectrum disorder can have a positive influence on expressive language, and help increase the range of behaviors with the participants. When using the mirroring technique while working with people with autism, it can influence empathy development, two-way interactions, seeing other people's perspectives, body awareness, and communication in a positive way and can help decrease the tenseness and frequency of challenging behaviors. The aim of this study is: evaluation of the therapeutic process of dance and movement therapy for children with autism, the use of specific teaching strategies in dance and movement therapy, and the evaluation of the dance and movement therapy for children with autism from the therapy leader's perspective. The participants of this study are the leader of the dance and movement therapy, the group of children with autism who attend dance and movement therapy, and one assistant for the dance and movement therapy. To evaluate the program of the therapy, three methods were used: direct observation of the theurapeutic process, semi-structured interview, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. The results of this study state the efficiency of using specific teaching strategies for dance and movement therapy and discuss implications for future studies similar to this one since this topic is not researched enough in Croatia