The effect of an infant dance class through media with parental guidance on self-stimulatory behavior among autistic children
International Journal of Development Research
The effect of an infant dance class through media with parental guidance on self-stimulatory behavior among autistic children
Received 28th June 2020; Received in revised form 11th July 2020; Accepted 17th August 2020; Published online 23rd September 2020
Copyright © 2020, Todd Eller, PhD and Elizabeth Thrower, PhD. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
One of the areas that has remained unexplored in educational research is the effect of dancing and music on self-stimulatory behaviors among autistic children. According to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 54 children are diagnosed with autism. The Diagnostic Statistical Manual as well as the National Institute of Mental Health includes “repetitive behaviors” as a symptom of autism. These behaviors are commonly known as “self-stimulatory behaviors” or “self-stims” (MayInstitute, 2020). The setting of this study were the homes of autistic children and their parents or caretakers. The study consisted of 18 children ages 4 to 14 years of age. The recorded online classes included Baby First TV programs including Mama and Me: Sing Along and Zumbini Time. Parents were instructed by behaviorists how to utilize the videos and pre and post-test measures compared on self-stimulatory behaviors.
