What is a Dance IEP?
From Caterpillar to Monarch: How Autistic Wings Dance Company uses (Name of Document) to help metamorphize our caterpillars into monarchs.
Autistic Wings Dance Company is leading the way in the industry. One of those ways is developing new ways of bringing a dancer’s support community into the dance studio. Enter what we call “The Dance IEP”. (We are still working on an actual name for the document, since we can’t use “IEP.”) While this paperwork does not have the legal weight an IEP does in schools, we are basing our paperwork off something every parent of an autistic child is familiar with.
Like every other document, the Dance IEP starts with a questionnaire. This questionnaire can be filled out by the parents, or with the help of the child’s autism support team. (For our adult dancers, they can fill the questionnaire out on their own.) This questionnaire includes the usual questions about the child, but we are adding questions specifically about dance.
After the Dance IEP Questionnaire is filled out, the Autistic Wings Dance Company staff, the parents, the dancer, and any autistic care support staff the parents and dancers wish to have present will have a meeting. At this meeting, the Dance IEP will be ironed out. We will discuss the dancer’s exact needs. This will include sensory issues. (Leta hates pizza. She cannot eat pizza without gagging. Her Dance IEP will have this sensory issue listed so Autistic Wings Dance Company’s staff knows not to pressure Leta into eating pizza.) Parents are more than welcome to bring any of their support team to this meeting.
Things that might be included in the Dance IEP include but are not limited to the following
· Dancer has sensory issues with different fabrics and will need to wear a nude leotard for performances.
· Dancer has audio processing issues, and may need to work off video recordings of choreography, not just verbal recordings.
· Dancer has severe dyslexia and cannot read. Any “traditional tests” to progress in ballet will be given orally and separate from the rest of the group.
· Dancer has issues communicating verbally and will need to “Show, Not Tell” to demonstrate they understand ballet terminology.
· Dancer has blood sugar level issues, and needs to eat a snack at specific intervals.
· Dancer has an aversion to being touch, and a workaround needs to be created that acknowledges this issue, while also keeping the dancer safe in class.
· Dancer has issues with fine motor skills and needs help tying dance shoes.
Just like at a school, our dancers will be part of the process. After all, they are the one this effects the most. They should have a spot at the table and a voice. The younger dancers won’t know how to use that voice just yet. The more they are in the room and watching their advocates advocate, the more they will learn to use their voice.
Like with the traditional IEP, our (Name on Document) will include the dancer’s strengths, not just their weaknesses. We want to amplify and nurture their strengths. Not every dancer who walks through our doors is going to become the next prima dona ballerina. Not every dancer wants to be a ballerina. Our job is not to transform a dancer into someone they are not. It is to mold the person they are, with the help of the dancer’s community.
The (Name of Document) will have short term and long term goals. We want some easily attainable goals so that our dancers aren’t always feeling as though they can never accomplish their goals. These short term goals will create a path for our dancers to follow as they achieve their long term goals.
Take for example dancers who have never been in a dance class before. A longterm goal would be learning to isolate each different part of the body. That’s a huge task to accomplish all at once. If a dancer is showing some natural ability to isolate their foot, start with that. Then you slowly add different parts of the body until – before you know it – the dancer can isolate each part of the body.
The (Name of Document) will be kept on file. All teachers working with the dancers will be expected to read the (Name of Document). If they have any questions about what is in the (Name on Document), the teachers can ask for clarification. (And they should ask for clarification.) Parents are our greatest resource at Autistic Wings Dance Company.
One thing both parents and the staff need to keep in mind is that Autistic Wings Dance Company is new and experimental. The first few years will have some growing pains as we blaze a new path. The name for (Name on Document) doesn’t exist yet, let alone the blueprints on how to craft a (Name on Document). Parents – and staff – will need to give feedback for these first few years. What’s helpful and working with the (Name on Document)? What isn’t working with the (Name on Document)? What’s missing from the (Name on Document)? How can we perfect the (Name on Document)?
Autistic Wings Dance Company’s focus on crafting a document that details a dancer’s need is only one of the many things that sets us apart from the “traditional” dance studio. We would love to show you what else sets us apart. Visit us during classes at our temporary location. Or set up a coffee meeting with a member of our staff to learn more about our innovative studio.
PS: If you have a suggestion on what we should call this new type of document, contact us to let us know.