Elisabeth Thomas
Germany
Research Article
Body image in autism: An exploratory study on the effects of dance movement therapy
Author(s): Sabine C Koch, Jessica Gaida, Ria Kortum, Birgitt Bodingbauer, Elizabeth Manders, Elisabeth Thomas, Maik Sieber, Angela von Arnim, Dusan Hirjak and Thomas FuchsSabine C Koch, Jessica Gaida, Ria Kortum, Birgitt Bodingbauer, Elizabeth Manders, Elisabeth Thomas, Maik Sieber, Angela von Arnim, Dusan Hirjak and Thomas Fuchs
Body image has rarely been investigated in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Recent advances in embodiment research on nonverbal improvements in Autism Spectrum Disorder have encouraged the investigation of this topic. In the context of the clinical study of autism and schizophrenia in the Heidelberg Node of the TESIS-network, we investigated the effects of dance movement therapy (DMT) on body image in autism with the Body-Image- Sculpture-Test a projective test from clinical body psychotherapy. We applied the Body-Image-Sculpture-Test as a primarily nonverbal test in which the participants’ task was to form a human figure from clay within ten minutes and without visual feedback. Ten young adults with autism spectrum disorder participated in the Body-Image-Sculpture- Test before and after ten weekly sessions of dance movement therapy in a professional rehabilitation and training institu.. View More»
