T A B I
The Autism Bridge Initiative
While facilitating the exploration of neurodiversity and inclusion is central to my mission, as a dance artist I also strive to create access to creative movement and dance process for all individuals.
​
Victoria McGuigan, Director
About The Autism Bridge Initiative
​
The Autism Bridge Initiative came about through a melding of my passions as a parent, artist, and educator.
Offering four tiers of programming, TABI provides education to promote inclusion throughout the lifespan.
This work has found me!
It has evolved and continues to grow in directions I hadn’t imagined.
As a dance artist and dance educator of over 30 years, educating children and youth populations in dance technique and the creative process of making dance, has been the primary focus of my teaching.
My own methodology in teaching choreography to children involves exploring their ideas and guiding them to research, experiment with movement expression, and to ultimately develop their own choreography.
Guiding undergraduate dance majors to become dance educators through coursework and mentorship is another aspect of my work, as is teaching pre-service K-12 educators to utilize the arts as vehicles through which to teach academic content.
However, when my son was diagnosed with autism at 21 months of age, my work as an artist as well as an educator began to expand further as a response to seeking opportunities for his education and enrichment.
Noting the cavernous blind spots in the world of inclusion for special needs individuals, I began to create workshops to teach my son’s respective peer populations about his differences to enable them to begin to understand and therefore be better equipped to include him in meaningful ways.
Dancing Our Difference Workshop​
The Dancing Our Difference workshop engages neuro-typical children and youth populations with engaging dance theater processes. Within these processes we explore diversity/neurodiversity and promote peer inclusion.
​
​
​
Sensory Processing Disorder Presentation
The Sensory Processing Disorder Presentation is a group training created for educators, other professionals, and parents. The training is designed to facilitate the recognition of the varied expressions of sensory challenges.
This presentation offers insights into Sensory Integration/Sensory Processing Disorder awareness, and also offers tools for creating sensory accessible environments.
​
​
​
Dance For Special Populations
Dance for Special Populations gives access to individuals for whom dance classes are often not offered.
Dance for Special Populations also addresses the unique needs and abilities of a sensory diverse population and provides movement frameworks for teaching and learning within these groups.
​
​
​
​
DIR and Dance
DIR and Dance offers one-to-one dance sessions exploring movement development and movement dynamics.
Through this approach developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a DIR practitioner establishes a fundamental relationship and a core of trust with each individual child. Through dance movement, the exploration is guided by the child's own motivations and interests. Dance in this context is utilized as a vehicle toward achieving social-emotional growth via the individual’s own movement expression.
​
One-to-one session recordings.
Victoria and her student Caroline utilize a creative movement 'Puzzle Dance' as a frame for movement exploration.
About Victoria
VICTORIA McGUIGAN BFA, M.ED, DIR-Floortime Practitioner
Victoria developed the dance program at the Temple University Music Preparatory Division, now in its 25th season. She has performed as a company member with Ann Vachon Dance Conduit and Brandi Floreen and Dancers, and as an independent choreographer for ICE (Independent Choreographers Exchange). In recent years  McGuigan’s work has evolved to include diversity and neurodiversity training inspired by her son Asher. Offering diversity awareness and inclusion facilitation workshops via several tiers of education,
her work promotes a basic tenet of embracing difference.
Testimonial
Barbara Allegra Verlezza, Associate Professor of Dance
Kent State University, Ohio
March, 2020
Years back, I had the good fortune to attend a National Dance Education Conference session presented by Victoria McGuigan on ‘Sensory Processing’. I was so deeply impressed with her presentation that my colleague and I invited her to present webinar sessions in 2017 and 2019 for our undergraduate university course, Teaching Dance and Movement for Nontraditional Populations. They were highly successful in every way. On both occasions, the students submitted surveys commenting on her depth of knowledge, her accessibility as a presenter and educator (even more impressive because of the virtual/remote learning mode), and her ability to provide factual information in tandem with appropriate and related personal anecdotes of her own experience as a parent. A word that was used often in their reflections was ‘passionate’. They were truly moved by her presentation, and subsequently, incorporated her teachings into their class assignments and projects. Victoria McGuigan has much to offer--simultaneous practical and educational information delivered with genuine humanity. She has an open invitation into my classroom anytime!
Contact The Autism Bridge Initiative
Curious for more information about T.A.B.I programs? Don't hesitate to reach out!