Exploring the Effects of Dance as a Therapeutic Media to Assess Attunement in Co-Occupation between Primary Caregiver and Infant
Faculty Advisor Name
Amy Russell Yun
Description
This presentation shares findings from a five-week intervention group designed to explore the effects of therapeutic dance-based activities on the parent-infant bond. Dance was chosen as a therapeutic activity because it promotes simultaneous involvement of both the parent and child in a shared co-occupation. Dance involves non-verbal communication and relies heavily on vision, touch, and trust, all of which are in an infants’ repertoire. In the occupational therapy literature, co-occupations are defined as activities in which two or more persons are simultaneously engaged in related experiences (Pickens, Pizur-Barnekow, 2009). Co-occupations involve shared meaning; they include dimensions of shared physicality, shared emotionality, and shared intentionality. Engagement in occupations over time create habits which can either contribute to or detract from health, well-being, and development.
Exploring the Effects of Dance as a Therapeutic Media to Assess Attunement in Co-Occupation between Primary Caregiver and Infant
This presentation shares findings from a five-week intervention group designed to explore the effects of therapeutic dance-based activities on the parent-infant bond. Dance was chosen as a therapeutic activity because it promotes simultaneous involvement of both the parent and child in a shared co-occupation. Dance involves non-verbal communication and relies heavily on vision, touch, and trust, all of which are in an infants’ repertoire. In the occupational therapy literature, co-occupations are defined as activities in which two or more persons are simultaneously engaged in related experiences (Pickens, Pizur-Barnekow, 2009). Co-occupations involve shared meaning; they include dimensions of shared physicality, shared emotionality, and shared intentionality. Engagement in occupations over time create habits which can either contribute to or detract from health, well-being, and development.
