A study on dance/movement therapy to improve core symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of dance movement therapy in reducing restricted repetitive behaviors and enhancing social skills in children with autism in a non-clinical setting. A total of 28 children with autism from an intelligence rehabilitation center in Shanghai, China, were selected for the study. They were divided into a dance movement therapy experimental group (17 children) and a control group (11 children). The dance movement therapy experimental group received intervention training for 11 months. Relevant scales were used to assess restricted repetitive behaviors and social skills in children with autism and the changes in these children before and after the intervention training were evaluated. After the dance movement therapy intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in the scores on the ABC Symptom Scale, the RBS-R Scale, the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). In contrast, the control group did not exhibit significant changes. Dance movement therapy has a positive effect on reducing restricted repetitive behaviors and enhancing social skills in children with autism. • DMT reduces repetitive behaviors in children with ASD. • DMT enhances social responsiveness and communication skills in the intervention group vs. the control group. • Over 11 months, children in the DMT group improved in behavioral assessments (ABC, RBS-R, SRS, SCQ). • DMT is a cost-effective, integrative ASD treatment combining somatic, cognitive, and social elements. • This study shows DMT can boost social adaptation skills in autistic children.