The Impact of South Asian Dance on Engagement, Independent Movement and Social Skills for Autistic Children

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Farmer, C., Brain, A., & Subramaniam, S. (2025). The Impact of South Asian Dance on Engagement, Independent Movement and Social Skills for Autistic Children. Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, 1089313X251391543-1089313X251391543. https://doi.org/10.1177/1089313x251391543

Publication date: 24 Nov 2025 Added to AutiHub: 13 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Claire Farmer *
  2. Ashley Brain
  3. Subathra Subramaniam

Abstract

Introduction: Research postulates that dance has the potential to encourage individual expression, develop interpersonal skills and reduce avoidance behaviours in autistic children. This study aimed to investigate the impact of South Asian Dance on engagement, independent movement and social skills in this population. Methods: Fifteen autistic children (8.14 ± 1.14 years) from a special educational needs and disabilities school in London, UK, their parents and teachers participated in this collaborative, mixed methods study. Children participated in weekly dance classes throughout spring and summer terms. Data was collected via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for parents and teachers and observational notes from dance artists. Findings: Content analysis of observational notes suggested an improvement in focus and engagement for most learners alongside improvements in range of motion, independent movement and reduction of avoidance behaviours. SDQ results were similar to previous studies in autistic children and higher than general population normative data, particularly in hyperactivity and peer problems. Conclusions: Due to the heterogeneity of results and children’s experiences within the dance activity, broad assumptions about impact are difficult. Individual improvements were noted for many learners in engagement, independent movement, range of motion and co-ordination as well as a reduction in avoidance behaviours. This study adds to developing research into dance for autistic children, providing a unique focus on South Asian Dance forms which may provide a wealth of new creative movement vocabulary for teachers and parents.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 13 Sep 2026 21:07.

Cited references
26
With a DOI
23
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
3
1 / 26 (3.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
2 / 26 (7.7%)
References with detected author names
24 / 26 (92.3%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
2
Without a stable identifier
3
References with raw author names still to review
2
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
92
From DOI or external metadata
92
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
2
7 / 92 (7.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 85 / 92 (92.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
2 / 92 (2.2%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 2 / 7 (28.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 2 / 89 (2.2%).
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