The New Image Dance Studio

In another first for The Autistic Journalist, I will be analyzing two reporters covering the same story after a Google News search uncovered another article on Barbara Delgado’s Miami Dance Project summer camp at the New Image Dance Studio. As I mentioned in my last post, Delgado is certified as an autism movement therapist.However, we get a closer examination via Nadege Green ofThe Miami Herald that NBC Miami couldn’t allocate resources for.

Green’s story is more descriptive, using words in place of action shots in Diana Gonzalez’s version. We learn more about the nine students enrolled in Delgado’s autism therapy dance class and the “curriculum” students take to address their autism spectrum disorder. One student, legally an adult, often leads class in combinations and spends part of her day in another studio with dancers who aren’t autistic.

We learn the students enjoy the classes enough to not notice the “therapy” part. In fact, dancing is only part of the day’s activities in Delgado’s class. Yoga, body strengthening exercises, crafts and activities to improve written and oral skills are also incorporated (two of them can assist in maximizing dancing ability, while the other two help maximize social ability).

Green also shared the origin of Delgado’s journey from certification to starting an autism dance class: Delgado offered a free autism movement therapy dance class on Sundays before starting the summer program, citing a desire to create a space where autistic kids feel no different from their neurotypical counterparts. Hugs and high-fives are shared frequently to help foster a supportive environment. Ultimately, her goal is to start a professional dance company for autistic dancers.

Green can share a lot more and employ some novel storytelling techniques because she had a larger space to report her story than Gonzalez. Unless assigned column space is quite small, written articles will generally have more detail than television stories when covering the same topic. In particular, print journalism is primarily about word choice; feature stories seek to give readers a sense of visualization by observing details about the subject being covered. Photos can supplement this form of storytelling, especially on the Internet where limits are lifted. However, the story’s effectiveness solely rests on the writer, and Green handles the task well by profiling multiple students involved from start to finish. Whether the students speak themselves or parents speak for the less verbal participants, the quotes published in the story suggest Green asked the students why the joined the program and what they like about it, reinforcing the summer camp’s idea of not pointing out the supplementary mission plans of the dance class.

While Gonzalez’s electronic version highlights the “non-traditional” form of autism intervention on its own, Green’s story spells out how the program does more to assist autistic children beyond improving their dance skills. Readers considering joining the program themselves may now understand other forms of therapy are not sacrificed with the class.

A curious element to the story itself is when Green began reporting on Delgado’s dance class. The Miami Herald story was published the same day as NBC Miami’s was, although NBC Miami posted their version online a few hours before The Miami Herald, suggesting the paper either submitted the story for publication in its traditional form either Monday or Tuesday of this week. Given the time frame, it’s very unlikely that either journalist picked up the story by getting hold of the other’s beforehand, and there’s usually no rivalry between a print and television news outlet. How the class was discovered may not be known, but with two reporters discussing the same class, the reporters could have picked up the story through a press release or a mutual contact that happened to know both Gonzalez and Green or their superiors.

Green’s advantages in reporting for The Miami Herald certainly doesn’t mean written articles are superior to television stories. The two stories only illustrate the differences between the two media. I wouldn’t expect additional stories on Delgado’s autism movement therapy sessions with the summer class wrapping up on Friday, but other reporters in Miami and beyond may draw inspiration to find “new” forms of autistic intervention to dissect for the audience. Dancing may not be the magic solution, but Delgado’s contributions may redefine how to treat autistic children.

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Mike Peden

Mike Peden brings a rarely discussed perspective on autism news: he was diagnosed with the disability in 1991. His explorations on autism led to an Alliance for Community Media Hometown Video Award in 2008 in the Documentary - Public Awareness category, and he currently deciphers evolving trends in autism coverage.