FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 3, 2022
Story by: Leah D. Willis, MBA
Las Vegas, Nevada
-A Special Guest will be visiting Leah Willis Dance Arts! I am very excited to announce, that Dr. Julia Graham will be stopping by to visit our Innovative Arts Education Program on Sunday, February 6, 2022!! This visit is very special, due to the fact that Dr. Graham is herself an accomplished professional Dance Choreographer, Teacher and Performer. What’s even more phenomenal, is her illustrious road into the field of Occupational Therapy. Dr. Graham and I seek to continue to uncover and highlight the connections, outcomes and benefits of Dance/Movement and OT. In our previous work, LWDA has successfully executed programs that satisfy facets of OT, through our sensory-mathematical-dance programs working with children on the autism spectrum, as well as those living with developmental disabilities such as down syndrome. Our LWDA Time To Fly©! Program is “an interactive adventure that allows participants who have an autism spectrum disorder, and those who do not, to gainfully express themselves, realize their worth and potential in the world, learn new skills, and learn contextual Dance History and Culture. Fun blends seamlessly with learning and expression so that, what results is lifelong excellence and the ability to adapt, grow and flourish through challenges and triumphs.1”
The main facets, activities and goals that are satisfied through our program are:
- Fine Motor Skills
- Abstract Thinking
- Auditory Processing
- Gross Motor Skills
- Physical Therapy-improvement of the use of bones, muscles, joints, and nerves through exercise
- Occupational Therapy-Focus on daily living skills, sensory integration, self-help skills, playing, adaptive behavior
- Reinforcement – Providing a pleasant consequence (positive reinforcement) or removing an unpleasant consequence (negative reinforcement) after a behavior in order to increase or maintain that behavior.
- Social Skills – Positive, appropriate, social behaviors, needed to communicate and interact.
Dance and Occupational Therapy have a natural harmony together, and many schools of academia are utilizing the benefits to serve a myriad of patients from all walks of life and a very wide age range.
“Combining movement with live music encourages both physical and emotional engagement,” shared Natalie Perkins, instructor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. “Range of motion is increased, dynamics and subtle nuances are emphasized, and moving and ‘singing’ with others contributes to improvements in overall well-being.” Interested in others’ overall well-being while engaging in daily activities, second-year occupational therapy students at Colorado State University became involved with Moving Through Parkinson’s as part of class projects during the Fall semesters of 2018 and 2019. With a keen and well-trained eye to look at an individual’s stability, balance and movement while engaging in daily activities, otherwise known as occupations, students utilized their knowledge to help this community partner benefit from occupational therapy practice.2”
What exactly is Occupational Therapy?
The American Occupational Therapy Association defines an occupational therapist as someone who "helps people across their lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, injury rehabilitation, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes.3"
The road ahead? Dr. Graham and I have the joyful and phenomenal opportunity to develop new, tangible, and exciting possibilities for the world of Dance and Occupational Therapy, here in the Las Vegas Valley! The opportunities we hope to develop will benefit children and adults. The sky is the limit, and we plan to take hold of some clouds!!
Julia Graham, OTD, MFA, CYT, OTR/L
Dr. Graham is an Assistant Professor for the School of Occupational Therapy at Touro University Nevada. Prior to transitioning to the field of academia, Dr. Graham worked as an acute care occupational therapist in Seattle, Washington, where she served as mentor, clinical instructor, and education champion for the rehabilitation department. Her clinical experience is primarily in acute care hospital settings working with adults and older adults experiencing physical disabilities and chronic conditions. She received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Belmont University in 2017, her Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College in 2006, and her Bachelor of Arts in Dance Education from Hunter College of the City University of New York in 2004. Her doctoral capstone project focused on the perceptions of occupational therapists and yoga practitioners regarding the effects of yoga on health and wellness.
Before becoming an occupational therapist, Dr. Graham spent the majority of her life as a performer, teacher, and choreographer of dance. She received her Yoga Education Certification from Yoga Vidya Gurukul in Nasik, India in 2006 and has taught yoga and yoga teacher trainings both nationally and internationally. Dr. Graham also received her Thai Massage certification in 2006 from the International Training Massage School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Dr. Graham’s research interests are focused on self-management of health and wellness; specifically in relation to chronic disease prevention, health disparities experienced by socially disadvantaged populations, and complementary health approaches in integrative health.
Want to know more? Feel free to contact Leah Willis Dance Arts and get involved!
Web: Leah Willis Dance Arts (webnode.com)
Sources:
1 Leah D. Willis, MBA “Developmental Disabilities Programs: LWDA Time To Fly©.” Leah Willis Dance Arts Alluring Dreams Into Reality. Developmental Disabilities Programs: LWDA Time To Fly© :: Leah Willis Dance Arts (webnode.com) Retrieved 2022-02-03.
2 Emmy Steele, "Blending occupational therapy, dance and music for people living with Parkinson’s disease." Colorado State University | College of Health and Human Sciences. Blending occupational therapy, dance and music for people living with Parkinson’s disease - College of Health and Human Sciences (colostate.edu) April 13, 2020.
3 "About Occupational Therapy". American Occupational Therapy Association. Retrieved 2022-02-03.