In a room with large mirrors, beats blast and tots and teens transform into dancers every Saturday at the Mary Collins Community Center in Miami Lakes.
Differences and diagnoses don’t matter for children who may have varying degrees of autism or whose parents suspect they might. All are accepted and given an opportunity to express themselves, says Audrey Lynn Amadeo, founder of Arts for Autism, the non-profit organization that offers free movement therapy to approximately 45 children.
During a recent dance class, Amadeo encouraged little ones to perform a step their peers could mimic, telling them, “Give me your name and a dance move.”
When it was one girl’s turn, she shyly hid her face in the crook of her elbow. Amadeo transformed the child’s timid display into a dance move, and all the children followed her lead.
The teacher sprinkled lessons during the class: A review of colors; the days of the week; numbers and popular children’s songs.
Kids sometimes act out frustrations by rolling on the floor. They may also run in circles or climb furniture, but parents and Amadeo keep them safe.
Despite what Amadeo calls “controlled chaos,” breakthroughs happen and smiles abound.
Connections are made, among the children as they socialize and in their young brains when dance routines spark a verbal or visual response.
“They don’t get chances to shine in the school setting. They are not the kid that everybody is going to copy,” Amadeo said. “They’re not the kid that’s going to be center stage.”
Still, she feels the children should know, “‘I can still participate. I’m creative too. I have something I can contribute, too,’” Amadeo said.
“Because that’s a lot of parents’ concerns,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, but my kid doesn’t talk and they can still take your class?’ You don’t need to talk to dance,” she said. “That’s the beauty of dance.”
During the lesson, some kids like to be cradled in a parent’s lap while others join in and raise and lower their arms, touch elbows and knees and march with Amadeo.
Some who may be sensitive to loud music at first gradually get accustomed to it.
Amadeo’s main goal is for the kids to have fun and be social in an environment that is free of stigmas that they may face as children with special needs.
The therapy comes as the young dancers watch their reflections in the mirrors, practice moving limbs across their bodies in a coordinated way and imitate dance steps. Teens learn actual choreography.
“The moves that are chosen are to strengthen communication from the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere of the brain,” Amadeo said. “It literally activates the whole brain when you have music going, pairing it with a word.”
Progress may be slow but is possible, she said. Sometimes a child may say his or her name for the first time, and that’s monumental progress.
Other successes are more subtle, such as when a child makes eye contact.
“That’s everything for me,” said Amadeo, who started the classes in 2013 in a program called Spectrum Dance Therapy. “It really has fulfilled me, filled my cup like nothing else. This population, this just really resonates with me.”
Amadeo is a board-certified behavior analyst and said she has an undergraduate degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University and earned a master’s degree in developmental disabilities from Nova Southeastern University. She has taught salsa, bachata and samba dance to adults and eventually combined all of her interests when she launched Spectrum Dance Therapy.
She said the town recently began funding one of the three classes she teaches. Two other classes are supported by donations.
Vivian Levy is vice-chair of the Miami Lakes Special Needs Advisory Board. Her teen son Ryan, who has autism, has attended Amadeo’s dance therapy classes for nine years.
“Our mission is to create a model town for inclusion,” she said. “We want to give these children and adults the opportunity to … express themselves just like anybody else.
“As a parent, that’s what you want for your child, for him to fit in,” Levy said. “That’s what he wants for himself, too. He wants to fit in. He wants to be like everybody else. That’s something that this class does.”
Anaely Rodriguez of Hialeah has twin 6-year-old daughters Emma and Emily, who were diagnosed with autism last fall. During class the girls learned the word ‘Saturday,’ their mother said.
“They call it ‘dance party,’” Rodriguez said. “They look forward to it. This has been a blessing.”
The pandemic delayed education for many children, including those with learning disabilities.
“It’s been very, very rough because they haven’t had the regular socialization [during the pandemic], but everything is falling into place,” Rodriguez said. “Also, for the siblings, this is very important.
We struggle at home making [the twins’ older brothers] understand.”
Amadeo allows her students’ siblings to join in. Rodriguez said she and her husband rejoiced in watching all of their children play together during class. Although dance therapy meets a need, parents say they still struggle to find after-school care and other activities.
“I don’t know if there ever will be enough resources,” said Chrissy Johnson, who has driven as far as Deerfield Beach for programs suitable for her “mildly nonverbal” daughter Raveyn, 14.
The Miami Gardens teen has attended Amadeo’s classes for six years.
“It’s the highlight of her week,” her mother says. “Her social skills have tremendously increased. She loves to dance, she loves to sing.
“It started off a little rough in the beginning, but surprisingly, she was able to observe and take it all in,” Johnson said. “When she graduated to the older kids’ class, she was right on point with all of the dance moves.”
Her child found a community and is no longer a loner, Johnson says. Parents, too, have found solace in meeting other moms and dads who understand what it’s like to raise a child with special needs.
Kimberly Trelles’ 4-year-old son Gabriel has “fallen in love with the program” and although autism affects his ability to focus, he’s improved, she says. The beginning of his journey was difficult, as he was practically nonverbal until about age 3, his mother said.
Seeking help during the pandemic has been a “nightmare,” she said.
“I wish I could tell myself back then that ‘everything is going to be OK, and you’re going to see your child blossom in a whole new light,’” she said.
“The fact that Miami Lakes even has programs like this is so amazing,” Trelles said. “I really do feel like the town is getting more inclusive day by day.”
Partnering with the town, Amadeo is hoping to provide a fee-based academic and arts program for kids of elementary school age who have autism, as well as a job readiness and advocacy program for adults who are on the spectrum. Amadeo plans to launch those courses once eight or more students register.
Upcoming Resource Fair
Arts for Autism and the Miami Lakes Special Needs Advisory Board are planning a fundraiser and resource fair April 23, when a free dance therapy trial class will be offered. It will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mary Collins Community Center, 15151 NW 82nd Ave. Those who attend may register for the next free six-week dance therapy program that begins May 7 for children older than 3 years and young adults.
Summer camp available
Arts for Autism is also offering a six-week summer camp at Mary Collins Community Center, June 20 – July 29, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, for children ages 5 to 10. The cost is $250 per week for town residents, $275 per week for non-residents. For more information call 305-209-6192 or visit https://www.spectrumdancetherapy.com.
In the photo top left: Kids, parents and instructors at a recent Arts for Autism class at Mary Collins Community Center in Miami Lakes. From left: Luke Tanos; parent Ashley Rodriguez; Aaron Fabelo; parent Michelle Hernandez; Karter McPherson; assistant Kendra Sanchez; Isley Bolanos Cardona; parent Johanna Cardona; Gabriel Trelles; assistant Thalia Santos; lead instructor Audrey Amadeo, who is at center and waving; Oliver Popritkin; Ayden Quintana; parent Alex Quintana; Lucas Galindo; Leah Galindo; Ed Sanabria; Samuel Gonzalez; Gigi Silfa; Olivia Fenelon; parent Krystal Giraldo; assistants Berenice Avecilla and Raymond Delgado and Belle Rodriguez. Photo by Nina Carillo.