Autistic adults’ experiences of dance, and co-creation of short films to increase awareness about autistic experiences and how to make dance more accessible
Kelly Birtwell, Christine Rowland, Stephanie Tierney, Emily Corsellis and Claire Planner.
Thursday, 26 March 2026, 7pm to 8pm
Hosted by Claire Ashmore
Join us for an exciting ONLINE SEMINAR as part of Three NIHR Research Schools' Mental Health Programme Seminar Series.
Speakers: Kelly Birtwell, Christine Rowland, Stephanie Tierney, Emily Corsellis and Claire Planner.
This event will share findings from the Ada project (Access to Dance for Autistic adults). Being active through dance can help to support physical and mental health, and for some people, it could be more enjoyable than other forms of physical activity. The Ada project has had community involvement throughout and explored experiences of dance in autistic adults, including:
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dancing in your own space, e.g. at home (on your own, with a partner, or by joining an online class);
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dancing in social settings (e.g. a salsa night, nightclub or party);
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dancing at dance classes (individual dancing, e.g. tap or ballet; partner dancing, e.g. ballroom or Latin; or group dancing, e.g. line dancing or sequence dancing).
Through an online survey and individual interviews, the team explored why autistic people dance, the benefits, barriers and facilitators for dance in these different settings, and why people may not dance. Based on the project findings, they developed resources to support: autistic people to engage in dance; social prescribing link workers to recommend dance at home or make referrals to dance classes or socials; and dance teachers and organisations to be more aware of the needs of autistic adults. The team worked with autistic filmmaker Sophie Broadgate to create three short films to share general aspects of autistic experience, experiences of dance, and adjustments that can be made to dance environments so they are more accessible for autistic adults. At this online event, the team will share a brief summary of the research findings along with the three short films, which may be of interest to a range of healthcare and dance professionals, as well as autistic adults.
Queries? Contact: Claire Ashmore – c.ashmore@keele.ac.uk