Joanne is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experience to help children with special needs. Now with her video, she can make a positive impact on children everywhere!

-Jamie Friedland, Case Manager Regional Center

I think that Joanne's tape clearly encourages movement on both sides of the body, alone and together, which is a brain exercise in mainstreaming the two hemispheres. This type of exercise, done at the child's own pace in their natural and undistracting environment, will allow them to optimize the benefits of movement therapy. The particular process of AMT is interesting and certainly deserves its place in the home learning environment for individuals with ASD.

-Sharon Hensel – Cohen M.S., C.C.C. (Licensed Speech/ Language Pathologist)

Joanne; My daughter Rachel has worked through level one several times. We have yet to reach the second level, as she is still mastering the first. I am amazed however, at how quickly she is picking up the movements. Even after years of adaptive P.E. and a special needs dance class, I can see that she still needs more movement practice. The free dance section, where she has to "do her own thing" throws her for a loop. It is great that she has to show imagination in movement to work through that section. In so many ways we have worked hard to make Rachel less rigid, but I have never thought that body movement was an area in which she could improve. I think it will enable her to move innately, without having to plan every action out ahead of time. This DVD has been too long in coming. I have been looking for videos along these lines since she was about 6, and she is now 15! I am excited to see how well she progresses as the weeks go by.Thank you again for letting us give this a try.

Sincerely,
Kitty J. Finn, parent of 14 year old child with autism

I don't know where to begin when describing Joanne Lara. She is such an amazing individual and has such a gift for working with children on the autistic spectrum. She has helped our family enormously with her innovative ideas and great sense of humor. My children love her and they think she is coming to our house to have fun because she has made learning fun for them.It is rare to find someone who really understands children with special needs and who can keep them motivated to learn. This quality has been found in Joanne Lara.

- Heather Green, parent child with autism

Hi, Joanne. We have just now started level 3. My son caught on to level one pretty quickly but level two took a little while to master. We are seeing progress in his speech and language, ability to follow more directions and more complex directions and his resistance behavior. Anyway, I want to thank you again for creating this Autism Movement Therapy and for understanding that individuals with autism are capable of doing many things. In addition, I read your article on how environmental factors contribute to autism. We have been giving our son weekly detoxifying clay baths and doing the Autism Movement Therapy on a regular basis.

- Jennifer - Tennessee

“This program provides a wonderful opportunity for special-needs students to enjoy music and dance while interacting with their families. I found that I wanted to join in the festive activities myself. It was difficult to sit on the sidelines and just watch.”

-Brad Lapin - Jay Nolan Community Services - Community Living Coordinator

Dani has more bounce in her step than ever before! Upon completion of just one session of Autism Movement Therapy a friend commented that she had never heard Dani speak more clearly and so completely. …After 19 years of therapies and endless searching for a way to “tap in” to my daughters trapped thoughts so that she can organize and verbally express her learned and creative abilities, Joanne Lara has given us renewed hope. Joanne’s forty-five minute class is fun for young children, teens, and young adults. The constant movement requiring the sequencing of the right and the left hemisphere of the brain is accompanied by a variety of music selections and Joanne’s energetic spirit. Dani looks forward to every “dance class” and enjoys following Joanne’s video at home. Dani’s expressive vocabulary seems to be easier to access and a little more sophisticated each week. As Dani’s mother, I now have a little more bounce in my step…thank you Joanne!

-Kathy Levenson, Agoura Ca.