Effect of dance movements on stereotype and repetitive behaviours of cases with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to observe the effects of dance movements on stereotypical and repetitive behaviours of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).MethodThe sample consisted of 5 patients within the age range of 9 to 16 years. Of the pool of 15 patients, 5 were lying in the range of moderate autism spectrum disorder with a higher score on stereotypical and repetitive behaviours. There were three male and two female patients. The cases were regularly coming to the day care centre of a hospital located in the southern part of India. Participants were assessed by Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) and BASIC-MR Part-B. Dance movement intervention was planned for these five cases.ResultsPre- and post-test scores were taken to observe the effects of dance movements on their behaviours. Fifteen sessions with a duration of 60 minutes per session were given. The results showed improvement in the repetitive behaviour in the sample, in which of these five, three showed greater improvement.ConclusionHence, the result shows that dance movement could be used as an effective method to improve stereotypical and repetitive behaviour in children diagnosed with ASD.

Dance Movement-Based Intervention Reduces Stereotypical Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…The study also revealed no differences between participants' responses to intervention due to their age or gender. This agrees with the results reported by Mishra and Chaube (2020), Lakes et al (2019), and Bachman and Sluyter (1988).…”

“…As explained by (Bremer et al, 2016;Gregora et al, 2018;Howells et al, 2020;Yu et al, 2018), engagement in physical activities brings different benefits and advantages for children presenting with ASD, namely, developing routine and schedules, regulate motor movements, enhance self-efficacy, increase muscles strengths, enhance overall fitness, developmental health, reduce anxiety, and social barriers. Furthermore, dance exercises can activate the new growth of brain cells and facilitate training (Mishra & Chaube, 2020). These results coincide with previous research results such as (Bachman & Sluyter, 1988;Bremer et al, 2016;Gregora et al, 2018;Howells et al, 2020;Lakes et al, 2019;Yu et al, 2018).…”

“…Another case study reported the effectiveness in 5 autistic cases engaged in a dance movements training program consisting of 15 sessions. These results emphasized the effectiveness of training programs in reducing repetitive behaviors (Mishra & Chaube, 2020).…”

“…In this study, we are only interested in the benefits of dance movements-based intervention to reduce stereotypic behavior since most research studies focused on communication and social skills and some psychological health aspects of autistic individuals. There is inadequate evidence in reducing stereotypic behavior because exploring intervention effectiveness is rarely done (Mishra & Chaube, 2020).…”