Autism Movement Therapy (R) Method

Joanne Lara, MA was a professional dancer before becoming a classroom education specialist and university professor. She was the founder of the nonprofit organization Autism Movement Therapy®, based in Los Angeles, California, which certifies, trains, and licenses dancers, educators, parents, and professional service providers in AMT. Joanne was a Core Adjunct Professor at National University in LA, California and taught weekly Autism Movement Therapy classes in Van Nuys, CA, where she had a private ABA behavioral consultation practice. She produced the documentary Generation A: Portraits of Autism and the ARTS, was the executive producer of the LA musical event Temple Grandin & Friends: Autism Works Now and was a columnist for Autism Asperger's Digest and Sensory World.

Autism Movement Therapy ® Method: Waking up the Brain! is a groundbreaking work and a joyously life-affirming book. Here, the dance studio is both a classroom as well as a warm, safe, and fun community, fostering the development of the participants' awareness from the inside out. Unlocking the unknown potential of those on the autism spectrum through dance and music, it offers new hope and real answers for those often pre-judged as incapable of change and a clarion call for the absolute necessity of arts education in child development.