Speakers included Kelly Birtwell, Christine Rowland, Stephanie Tierney, Emily Corsellis and Claire Planner.
The event shared 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 can be more enjoyable than other forms of physical activity. The Ada project had community involvement throughout and explored experiences of dance in autistic adults, including:
- dancing in your own space, e.g. at home (on your own, with a partner, or by joining an online class);
- dancing in social settings (e.g. a salsa night, nightclub or party);
- 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 danced, 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 could be made to dance environments so they were more accessible for autistic adults. At this online event, the team shared a brief summary of the research findings along with the three short films, which were of interest to a range of healthcare and dance professionals, as well as autistic adults.
Please note this webinar included three short films and, due to internet connectivity issues, the playback was not as smooth as it should have been. The films could be accessed as standalone recordings along with other information and materials on the project website: https://www.autism.manchester.ac.uk/research/projects/ada/
Catch up:
You can find more Mental Health Seminar videos on the SPCR YouTube Channel.