This course is aimed at dance educators, dance/movement therapists, dance/movement therapy students, and others who want to learn how to use dance and movement activities to support toddlers, children, and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
In this didactic and experiential course, participants learn about characteristics and identification of autism spectrum disorder. Four experts in the field of dance / education and dance / movement therapy present a variety of educational and therapeutic approaches to engage the strengths of children with ASD and address relationship, behavioral and learning issues through dance.
For those seeking DMT Alternate Route credit, a minimum of one introductory DMT course is a prerequisite.
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Tina Erfer, MS, BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT, is a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, National Certified Counselor and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. For over thirty-four years, she has worked as a dance/movement therapist in educational and psychiatric settings, with children and adolescents with special needs. She has served as Coordinator of the Hospital School Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has given numerous lectures and workshops at various agencies and universities and has also provided many staff developmen ...
Tina Erfer, MS, BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT, is a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, National Certified Counselor and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. For over thirty-four years, she has worked as a dance/movement therapist in educational and psychiatric settings, with children and adolescents with special needs. She has served as Coordinator of the Hospital School Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has given numerous lectures and workshops at various agencies and universities and has also provided many staff development and training sessions. Tina supervises and trains graduate students and entry-level dance/movement therapists. She has published on her dance/movement therapy work with children who have emotional challenges, and children with autism. Tina served for eight years on the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA); and is also past President of the New York and New Jersey Chapters of the ADTA. She is the Coordinator of the Alternate Route Dance/Movement Therapy Training Program at the Harkness Dance Center of 92nd Street Y in New York; as well as a faculty member in this program in New York City and in Montreal, Canada. She is also on the faculty of the Dance/Movement Therapy Training Program of the Inspirees Institute of Creative Arts Therapy, in China. Tina is the recipient of the American Dance Therapy Association 2015 Exceptional Service Award.
Dr. Suzi Tortora, Ed.D, BC-DMT, CMA, LCAT, LMHC, received a B.A. with honors in Child Study, along with teaching certification (K-8 and special needs preschool to 7 years), from Tufts University. She received her M.A. degree in dance therapy at New York University. Dr. Tortora received her doctorate in Early Childhood Education with a specialization in infancy development from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is an ADTR, which is the advanced level accreditation certification of the American Dance Therapy Association. She is also a Certified Laban Movement Analyst ...
Dr. Suzi Tortora, Ed.D, BC-DMT, CMA, LCAT, LMHC, received a B.A. with honors in Child Study, along with teaching certification (K-8 and special needs preschool to 7 years), from Tufts University. She received her M.A. degree in dance therapy at New York University. Dr. Tortora received her doctorate in Early Childhood Education with a specialization in infancy development from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is an ADTR, which is the advanced level accreditation certification of the American Dance Therapy Association. She is also a Certified Laban Movement Analyst (CMA); a Kestenberg Movement Profiler (KMP); has studied Body-Mind Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen; authentic movement with Janet Adler, anatomy, kinesiology and ideokinesis with Irene Dowd; and received certification in Yoga for the Special Child with Sonia Sumar. Her postgraduate continued professional education courses include Dr. Greenspan’s Infancy and Early Childhood Intervention training course, and numerous Zero-to-Three Training Institutes.
Dance/Movement Psychotherapy with Infants and Children
Diane Duggan, PhD, BC-DMT is a NYS licensed psychologist, board certified dance/movement therapist and dance educator. From 1973 to 2013 she created and taught therapeutic dance programs for students with multiple disabilities, autism, intellectual and learning disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders. Much of her work is based in choreography, and her students have performed at Lincoln Center, Central Park, South Street Seaport, St. Mark’s Church, NYU’s Frederick Lowe Theater, and the Apollo Theater.
Dr. Duggan has an MS in Dance Therapy from Hunter Colleg ...
Dr. Duggan has an MS in Dance Therapy from Hunter College (1973) and a PhD in School/Child Psychology from New York University (1998). She studied Effort/Shape with Martha Davis, Irmgard Bartenieff, Miriam Berger, and Betty Meredith-Jones. She studied infant and toddler movement and behavior with Dr. Judith Kestenberg at the Center for Parents and Children.
From 1976 through 1980 Dr. Duggan served as Communications Chairperson on the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association. She is the co-executive producer of the film Dance Therapy: The Power of Movement (1979-82). She was the Dance Therapy Program Chair for the Joint Creative Arts Therapy Conference 1984-85.
Dr. Duggan has created and taught graduate courses in dance therapy at Adelphi University (2/78-2/86), CW Post College/Long Island University (1/84-8/87), Hunter College Dance Therapy program (9/84-5/92), and Hofstra University Art Therapy program (6/99-7/08).
Dr. Duggan has taught in the Dance Education MA program at New York University since 1994. She has taught in the 92nd Street Y Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) and Dance Therapy programs since 2006, including at the National Dance Therapy Center at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal.
While she continued to run her therapeutic dance program, Dr. Duggan was tapped to be a member of the three-person New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) District 75 Positive Behavior Support Team from 1997-2007. In that capacity she created and taught professional development in Positive Behavior Support (PBS) and Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) including a three-day workshop for dance educators. As a senior trainer in Life Space Crisis Intervention she trained staff in special education and general education programs. She consulted with schools throughout the NYCDOE to create school-wide PBS programs and individual behavior plans for students with serious, persistently challenging behaviors.
Dr. Duggan has written book chapters and journal articles on her work. She is co-author of Dance Education for Diverse Learners: Special Education Supplement to the Dance Blueprint. From September 2017 until the present she has worked with NYCDOE’s Arts for Students with Disabilities initiative, creating materials for on-line resources and teaching professional development for dance and other arts educators. She is an Arnhold Mentor for beginning dance educators and is on the editorial board of the NDEO journal Dance Education in Practice. She is a member of the Dance/NYC Task Force on Dance and Disability. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Dance Education Association in 2016.
Catherine Gallant, MFA was the assistant director at 92NY Harkness Dance Center from 1994-96 just as DEL was beginning and has been on the faculty of the Dance Education Laboratory since 2003. She has presented her work at The 92nd Street Y, New York Harkness Dance Center, WestFest and American Dance Guild. Recently Catherine Gallant/DANCE performed in Ireland and in Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Catherine is also the director of Dances by Isadora which, since 1989, performs, teaches and collaborates with dancers throughout the world. They have appeared on the Jacob’s Pil ...
Catherine Gallant, MFA was the assistant director at 92NY Harkness Dance Center from 1994-96 just as DEL was beginning and has been on the faculty of the Dance Education Laboratory since 2003. She has presented her work at The 92nd Street Y, New York Harkness Dance Center, WestFest and American Dance Guild. Recently Catherine Gallant/DANCE performed in Ireland and in Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Catherine is also the director of Dances by Isadora which, since 1989, performs, teaches and collaborates with dancers throughout the world. They have appeared on the Jacob’s Pillow’s Inside/Out Series, Battery Dance Festival and at Green-Wood Cemetery. Catherine appears in the US version of Jerome Bel’s Isadora Duncan. She began her study of the technique of Isadora Duncan in 1982 with Julia Levien and is a founding member of the Duncan Archive. Catherine is the dance educator at PS 89 in Manhattan. She and her students were featured in the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, PS DANCE! Ms. Gallant is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory and holds an MFA in Dance from Temple University.
DEL Foundations
Dance Therapy Program
Dr. Cecilia Fontanesi, PhD, MS/MPhil, R-DMT, CMA, RSME
A Survivor-Centered, Polyvagal-Informed Approach to Dance/Movement Therapy
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