Yesterday Anna Kennedy OBE recorded another of her regular radio show’s for Women’s Radio Station in Covent Garden. Anna’s guest was Ali Golding the Founder of Movement Works and this weeks pre record show will be aired on Monday 8th October at 3 pm. (www.womensradiostation.com)

Both Anna and Ali have a love for dance and they both discussed the huge benefits dance can have for autistic individuals. It not only helps physically, socially and emotionally but through Ali’s intentional evidence based interventions she is of the opinion it can improve brain function including speech & language and global learning.

Anna asked how the children are able to concentrate for an extended period of up to 45 mins. Ali explains this is due to the way the sessions are structured and delivered, harnessing the power of movement and music to bring the whole brain to attention.

Some specific outcomes have included previously non verbal children speaking for the first time and parents noticing their children are much more likely to engage in other physical and social activities they were formerly not able to manage, such as riding a bicycle.

Anna asked what exactly is MovementWorks :

Ali Golding shares it is a groundbreaking practice-based research organisation advocating the importance of movement for optimal child development. Drawing on educational theory, therapeutic practice and dance science, MovementWorks provides dance-movement education programmes and events that support early years and SEND educators, children and their families with researched movement practice.

It has been supported by the Royal Society of Arts recognized as project having “real world impact” and cited by the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Arts, Health and Well Being. MovementWorks is currently partnered with Greenwich University in leading a new study on the impact of our work for children with ASD. Ali as the Creative Director together with Ms Lara, Founder of Autism Movement Therapy have recently presented their research at the worldwide Movement and Cognition Conference at HARVARD University.

To support their in-school intervention programmes “MovementWorks” is proud to announce a new community outreach initiative starting with a new Autism Movement Therapy® Class 4.15 -5.00pm Friday’s Term Time.

For further information please see http://www.movementworks.org/

At the end of the programme both Anna and Ali talked about their love of BBC Strictly. Anna talked about her experience on Peoples Strictly and Ali is supporting her good friend Danny John- Jules on this years Strictly whom she has known for years .