Our third in our series from guest blogger Chelsea Weidmann on neurodivergent kids in ballet

In this post, we are talking about low support needs autism. These are the kids that people don’t guess have autism. So why am I writing about ways to support these dancers if no one thinks they need support? Because often these kids are masking their differences, using extra energy to look like they are experiencing the world the same way that their peers are. And while they often aren’t drowning, they aren’t thriving either. To continue with the swimming analogy, it’s like they’re doing laps with ankle weights on. If we can help them take the weights off, their performance will improve.

Autism is both more common than people think and also not as common as other types of neurodivergence. You dancer is probably the only dancer in their class with autism. Their teacher’s knowledge of autism is probably mostly from the media and stereotypes—many of which don’t fit your dancer. Below is high-impact information your child’s teacher may not have:

Stimming helps people with autism focus and emotionally regulate

Ballet culture places an unusually high value on the ability to stand perfectly still when being talked to. But your dancer may take in information better when they are able to move a little. For some kids, stimming looks a lot like fidgeting and for others it’s more stereotypical, like hand flapping. It’s rarely the movement itself that is problematic; rather, it’s the way the stimming distracts or disrupts the class. To complicate things further, each teacher is distracted by different stimming behaviors. 

For example, hand flapping when the arms are low or bouncing up and down on the toes are both easy for me to ignore and don’t affect the flow of class material at all. Verbal stimming or hand flapping with the arms outstretched are much harder for me to ignore. Is it fair that your child will need to adapt their coping mechanism to make the teacher more comfortable? Not really, but the teacher is teaching a whole classroom of kids and their ability to stay focused impacts everyone. A very open conversation between you, your dancer, and the teacher will help you find a stimming behavior that supports your student without completely distracting the teacher—although you both will need to compromise.

People with autism need extremely direct communication

Your dancer’s teacher is probably using tone and eye contact to communicate more than they realize. To help someone understand why an intelligent dancer needs explicitly clear communication, I like to use the analogy of colorblindness. Someone with red/green colorblindness can’t see the brilliant fall leaf colors, even when everyone else in their hiking group 100% “gets it.” The same way, people with autism can’t see the nonverbal cues that are obvious to everyone else. They might have noticed that the teacher was looking at them or that their tone was different, but their brains are not wired to make the connection from what was said (the dancer’s name) to what was meant (Hey Kabir, you’re too close to Carl again. Take two steps to your right.”

Eye contact is not a meaningful signal of attention or engagement for many people with autism

Allistic (non-autistic) people often interpret the lack of eye contact as not paying attention but this is not true. This misunderstanding is a great opportunity to practice direct communication from the teacher by asking, “Anja, are you focused on what I’m saying? I can’t tell because you’re looking at the door.” For a lot of teachers, this directness feels rude. Explaining to them that your dancer won’t interpret it as rude and that it will actually help them is a game changer. You can also remind your dancer to look near the person talking and occasionally make eye contact for about four seconds. It won’t be meaningful to your dancer, but they will understand that it is a social nicety that makes the teacher feel valued.

Autistic brains are wired to be more sensitive to stimuli

For some people, this means they experience emotions more strongly than their peers. For others it’s the intensity of bright lights or the smell of a full garbage can. Your dancer is not being overly dramatic; they are experiencing things a different way. Ask your child if there are stimuli that drive them crazy and brainstorm together ways to lessen or eliminate these issues. If the light through the window at 5:15 pm is glaring, ask the teacher if your dancer can stand at the barre spot farthest from the window. If part of the dress code uniform is bothering them, ask the teacher for tips on how to modify it. For example, waistbands can have a notch cut into them so that they aren’t quite as tight. Sometimes little changes like this have a really big impact. 

Speaking of stimuli, when people with autism get overwhelmed, some of them melt down and others shut down

If your dancer is a melt down type, their teacher may have noticed this. If you have a shut down-style kid, it’s possible that their overwhelm has been misinterpreted as disrespect or disinterest. Like everyone else, when people with autism get overstimulated they need a break to regroup. 

But because they are experiencing things more intensely, they often reach a state of being overwhelmed more quickly. Ask the teacher if there is a code word or other signal your child can use to let their teacher know that they are nearing their edge and need a minute. Also remember to create a plan for re-entry! The goal is for your dancer to be able to participate as much as possible with as little disruption to the flow of class as possible, and that includes rejoining when able. 

There are factors, in addition to emotional readiness, that need to be considered. For example, if your dancer needed 15 minutes to calm down and regroup, they may not be warm enough to safely continue dancing. This is why coming up with a signal and re-entry plan is a teacher+student+parent joint project.

Dancers with autism can and do succeed in ballet. And their talents shine when they are able to have small modifications to support their way of experiencing the world. Dancers with autism have a creative perspective we don’t often get to see, and ballet is more beautiful because of their contributions!

Chelsea Weidmann is a ballet teacher and parent of a neurodivergent child. She is passionate about ensuring that ALL children have access to quality dance education. Learn more on her website.