The Ada study: Access to Dance for Autistic adults

Autistic adults can experience more physical and mental health conditions than non-autistic adults, including depression, social isolation, loneliness, and obesity. Being active through dance may help autistic people with these issues.

There are many ways to try dance: at home, in social settings, and in dance classes. Dance could be something that professionals called ‘link workers’, who work in GP practices, refer people to through ‘social prescribing’ (where social activities can be prescribed instead of medication, e.g., gym membership, a weight-loss club, etc.). But little is known about how to make it easier and accessible for autistic adults to engage in dance.

We conducted three studies (an online survey, interviews and focus groups) to explore autistic adults’ experiences of dance in different settings:

• in your own space, e.g. at home (on your own, with a partner, or by joining an online class);
• in social settings (e.g. a salsa night, nightclub or party);
• at dance classes (individual dancing, e.g. tap or ballet; partner dancing, e.g. ballroom or Latin; or group dancing, e.g. line dancing or sequence dancing).

Physical activity is good for physical and mental health. However, autistic adults participate in physical activity less frequently than non-autistic adults. Recreational dance has similar benefits, can be done independently with few resources, and in several settings. Yet little is known about autistic adults’ experiences of dance or what helps to make dance accessible and enjoyable for them. We therefore needed to do research to understand more about autistic adults’ experiences.

Our aim was to:

1. Explore experiences of dance (including benefits, barriers, and facilitators) in autistic adults. We were interested in experiences of dance in different settings (at home; in social settings; in dance classes) and why people may not dance.
2. Develop resources to support: autistic people to engage in dance; link workers to recommend dance at home or make referrals to dance classes or socials; and dance teachers and organisations to be more aware of the needs of autistic adults.

The involvement of autistic adults and people in relevant professional roles (some of whom were autistic) was of vital importance for this project.

This project involved the following people and activities:

• Dr Emily Corsellis, an autistic PPI (Patient and Public Involvement) co-applicant
• A PPI group of five autistic people
• A stakeholder group of twelve professionals (five link workers, four dance providers (some of whom are autistic), one dance movement therapist, and two GPs)
• The online survey was co-designed by autistic people and pilot tested by 15 autistic adults before being refined and launched
• Autistic filmmaker Sophie Broadgate (Pikaia Films) has produced short films based on the project findings
• Seven autistic adults feature in the films as dancers and/or interviewees

The following feedback was posted on social media by an autistic person who participated in the online survey:

“FINALLY a survey where my answers don’t skew the data! All surveys need to be made by autistic people. I didn’t get mad at any point because I could explain my answers and context. And the questions had context! CONTEXT FOR ALL.”

In this project we have completed the following studies:

• Study 1 – online survey: To explore experiences of dance in different settings (at home, in social settings, in dance classes), including why people might not dance, benefits, barriers, and facilitators for dance. 122 autistic adults completed the survey. 83 (68%) were ADHD as well as autistic.
• Study 2 – interviews: To explore the themes from the survey and people’s experiences in more depth. 16 autistic adults took part in interviews.
• Study 3 – focus groups: To obtain feedback on prototype films and written materials. The films and materials were designed to increase awareness about autistic experience, dance as a potentially fun activity that supports physical and mental health, and adjustments that can be made to make dance more accessible and inclusive for autistic adults. We ran focus groups with 6 autistic adults, 9 dance professionals (including dance teachers, some of whom were autistic) and 10 social prescribing link workers.

Dr Kelly Birtwell, University of Manchester

Dr Claire Planner, University of Manchester

Dr Christine Rowland, University of Manchester

Dr Stephanie Tierney, University of Oxford

Professor Vicky Karkou, Edge Hill University

Dr Emily Corsellis, Independent Researcher / Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Contributor