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Lindsay Page
SE 5570
Article 1-Interventions and Treatments
9/16/16

Koch, et al. summarize a unique approach for the intervention of young adults
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through movement therapy. The study set out to
prove that movement therapy could aid in the development of psychological well-being,
body awareness, self-other awareness, empathy, and social skills within the participants.
The study used Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) modalities and was comprised
of 31 participants with varying severity of ASD. The breakdown of these participants was
as follows: six participants with severe symptoms, fifteen with moderate severity, and
three with mild severity. The median age of the participants was 22 and no one under the
age of sixteen was permitted. The participants did not undergo any other therapies while
being part of the study and were required to stand and move for one hour each session
(Koch, et al, 2015, p.340).
The study implemented a mirroring approach of Dance Movement Therapy to
foster a trusting relationship between the patient and clinician. This type of DMT relies
on embodiment theories as explained by Koch, et al. (2015):
Embodiment Theories emphasize that Autism Therapy should strongly focus on
interaction on the non-verbal level to strengthen inter-subjective reciprocity,
address timing issues, and build basic social skills from scratch (p. 339).
I have found in my experiences that movement and non-verbal play provide a
bridge for students with ASD to collaborate and interact with others.

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While at The Hunter School I directly observed students with ASD with moderate
to severe diagnoses participate in Theatre Classes, Drum Circles, and Mindfulness work.
I saw improvement in some of the same areas as Koch, et al investigated. These students
improved their psychological well-being, body awareness, and social skills.
For example, my husband taught a theatre class at The Hunter School. In this
initial session, the group focused on physicality through various improvisational
activities. One student with ASD started the session under a table, frightened and
uncomfortable. Once the group started an activity called "Machines" (a collaborative
exercise where each student creates movement together), this student started to slowly
move from under the table to join the group. He took a risk socially and participated for
the rest of the activities. This change in behavior was unexpected and clearly
demonstrated growth in his body awareness and social skills in one session.
In juxtaposition, though I was pleased to read that the hypotheses were mostly
proven (all but one was founded), the "Limitations and Future Research" section of the
study outlines validity issues. One of the issues investigated was that The Intervention
Group received more attention than The Control Group. It could be argued that the
growth of The Intervention Group was based on the additional attention received.
Additionally, the authors discuss the sample size being too small (Koch, et. al., 2015, p.
346).
Since I have had personal experiences observing these types of approaches, I'm
interested in reviewing the new research that comes out of these types of studies. I firmly
believe that applying non-verbal movement therapies to the intervention of students with
ASD can help them live fuller and more productive lives. Koch, et. Al. (2015) quote

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discouraging statistics from Klinger and Williams (2009) that, "...only about 8% of
people with autism reporting having reciprocal friendships." Additionally, Child-AutismParent-Caf (2012) states, "only about 6% holding paid fulltime jobs" (p.338)
I hope that more studies like this occur and help students with ASD grow
psychologically and socially.

References
Koch, S. C., Mehl, L., Sobanski, E., Sieber, M., & Fuchs, T. (2015). Fixing the mirrors:
A feasibility study of the effects of dance movement therapy on young adults with autism
spectrum disorder. Autism, 19(3). doi:10.1177/1362361314522353