Monash University researchers are recruiting autistic children to trial a new dance program.
AllPlay Dance is led by Monash University and is a community-based program that focuses on enabling children with developmental conditions to experience dance.
The trial is looking for children aged between 7 and 12 with a pre-existing formal autism diagnosis, living in Victoria.
Researchers will then assess whether participation in AllPlay Dance results in significant improvements in motor functioning among autistic children, compared to a treatment-as-usual waitlist control condition, from pre- to post-intervention.
The trial will be conducted at Monash’s state-of-the-art Brain Park facility and Deakin University dance studios.
AllPlay Dance was co-created by Professor Nicole Rinehart, a clinical psychologist from the School of Psychological Sciences and an international leader in neurodevelopmental disorders, and Dr Olivia Millard, senior lecturer in Dance from the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University.
Professor Rinehart said this new approach to improving developmental outcomes for autistic children aims to break the expensive and time-consuming clinical model and create a radically new model of community-based intervention – where children can go to an innovative dance program to improve outcomes, make friends, and be part of a community.
“The idea that we can not only improve motor outcomes, but in a context that is relational with friends, has a net benefit of developing a skill and also having the confidence to use it in everyday life,” she said.
The trial’s secondary aim is to determine whether participation in AllPlay Dance leads to statistically significant changes in cognitive, social, emotional/behavioural, and parental stress outcomes.
Additionally, the research team will assess the acceptability and feasibility of the AllPlay Dance program post-intervention for families and buddies (dance teachers), as well as whether families continue participating in community-based dance programs and how they describe their experiences at follow-up.
Those interested in participating in the trial can visit: https://redcap.link/AllPlayDanceRCT
For more information, email allplaydance@monash.edu