Prof. Member DTAA, B.Ed; Grad Dip Special Education; Grad Dip Movement and Dance; M.Ed.
Dance therapy experience: children and adults with intellectual disabilities; adult women survivors of sexual assault. Area/s of specialist expertise: dance movement therapy with special needs students in special school settings; assessment and evidence-based practice; movement improvisation. Can offer placements and work at Sunshine Special Developmental School, Sunshine Vic.

Keywords
assessment, evidence-based practice, Hanny Exiner Memorial Foundation, technological innovation, disability, therapeutic goals

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Keywords
professional development, academic writing, stream of consciousness, authentic movement, online tools, DMT technologies

Sue shares her experiences both attending the Conference themed: ‘Creating the Mind-Body Mosaic: Theory, Research and Practice in Dance/Movement Therapy’. Her participation at two presentations is discussed: Firstly: ‘Moving, Sensing, Meaning and the Written Word in Print’ and secondly: ‘Dance/Movement Therapy and Educational Technology: Cross-pollinating Models using e- Learning, e-Research and e-Outreach’. (pp 48-49)

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Keywords
sexual assault, body awareness, memories, associations, transformation, group relationship, inter-subjective

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This research illuminates the lived experience of five women survivors of sexual assault within a group dance therapy program. The setting of the study is an adult therapy program offered to women survivors at the South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault, East Bentleigh, Victoria. Five women, aged in their twenties and all survivors of child sexual assault, agreed to participate in the inquiry. Following a phenomenological-hermeneutic methodology, the study seeks to elucidate meanings attributed by the women to their experiences. The inquiry draws on multi-modal sources of verbal and nonverbal evidence, including audio recordings of session conversations; client journals; one-page summaries written by the women at the conclusion of each session; video recordings; and specific movement observations. In keeping with a phenomenological perspective, analysis incorporates systematic step by step reduction, integration and synthesis of data, all the time remaining true to the women’s wording of their experiences. Copy of thesis available at the ERC Library, University of Melbourne. (p. 25)

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Keywords
children, disabilities, research, assessment framework, non-verbal/verbal communication, connection with others

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The following is a report on a study completed by Sue who was a recipient of the Hanny Exiner Memorial Foundation grant in 2011. Sue used the grant to investigate assessment strategies appropriate to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) assessment framework and which suited her dmt program in a school with students with disabilities. The project included use of the movement assessment tool, ‘Framework for Dance Movement Assessment’, developed by Sue in collaboration with Kim Dunphy, to investigate summative as well as formative assessment processes. Sue’s report to HEMF has been modified for publication in this issue of Moving On. This research was the foundation of an iPad app developed by Sue and Kim: ‘Marking the Moves’: the world’s first iPad app for dance movement assessment, launched in 2015 and now commercially available. (pp 32-41)

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Book Author
Amy Stacey Curtis

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Keywords
cultural differences, values, transcultural, intrapersonal, interpersonal, consciousness

Sue shares a response to her experiencing of Sara Boas’ experiential workshop, that “explored the five elements she has identified which enable the practicing therapist to ‘co-create’ a new cultural form or identity with their client, in order to fully meet their client as they exist in their context.” The exploration included embodying styles of greeting, story telling from various perspectives and embodied identification of different relational positions. (pp 63-64)

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Keywords
Special needs, Existential phenomenology, bracketing, description, equal valuing, authenticity, individuation

This article describes some of the theoretical as well as practical considerations around which a group-based dance therapy program has been developed within a large special developmental school (SDS) in Victoria, Australia.  Central to the discussion is the author’s belief that it is via opportunities for committed, creative exploration of ‘I-self’ that ‘we-other’ has the potential to take on most meaning. Elaboration on workshop notes are also given, as presented at the Dance Therapy Association of Australia’s (DTAA) AGM events in November 2009, Melbourne. (pp 18-21)

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Keywords
intellectual disability, assessment, evaluation, electronic tool trial, teaching & learning, measuring progress

This article outlines a collaborative project being undertaken by two Melbourne based dance movement therapists to develop a framework for assessment in dance-movement therapy (dmt) programs for people with intellectual disabilities. Kim is contributing her developing expertise in evaluation of arts program, program logic and theory of change that is part of the focus of her current PhD research, as well as a background in dmt with people with intellectual disabilities.  Sue brings teacher training, special education and dmt expertise and the opportunity for reflective practice, with day to day experience facilitating a dmt program with intellectually disabled children.  In this article, Kim and Sue discuss their plans, what they are seeking to achieve and how this might be of benefit to dmts, especially those in the disability field. (pp 36-38)

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Keywords
evidence-based practice, efficacy, early intervention, treatment, collaboration

Editor
Vicky Karkou

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Keywords
educational creative dance, school-based dance, special needs education, spontaneous, improvised

A reflection of an unfolding understanding and adaptation of Laban’s Modern Educational Dance, within teaching roles for children in mainstream and special needs education settings. Gives a historical overview of Laban’s influence on the authors’ understanding of how to teach dance in schools, as well as acknowledging early supportive dance education literature in this context. (pp 12-14)

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Keywords
Sexual assault, Female trauma survivors, DMT evaluation, Methodological strategies in sexual assault cases, Clinical treatment

In Dance movement therapy (DMT) practice, clients can express emotional responses that are otherwise confronting to verbalise. The potential application of dance/movement therapy (DMT) in sexual assault cases is discussed in this article. The study aimed to test the suitability of DMT in clinical treatment for female sexual assault survivors. Previous research relying on therapist evaluations, the methodological strategy of this study drew on different qualitative approaches to achieve the most accurate client records. Results of DMT application in this population were body knowledge, positive bodily experiences and feelings of body safety. The conclusive findings for nonverbal strategies in bodily trauma therapy point to further research into dance therapy within the sexual assault field. (pp 2-10)

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