EDCON 2018: ACCESSIBILITY
The KIT website includes many excellent downloadable/
printable resources about inclusion, access, and the
ADA; many are free. I strongly encourage every studio
owner and circus educator to look at the website, in
particular the Inclusion Checklist for Programs and
the document Gathering Information from Families. In
general, KIT advises us to not hyperfocus on a student’s
diagnosis, but to focus on what a student needs to be
able to fully participate. We will only know if we ask and
if we figure it out together. Additionally, it is important
to remember that success and access may look different
for different people. Access and inclusion does not
have to necessarily mean integration – what’s important
is being able to participate as fully as possible in the
activity, and if the most appropriate accommodations
mean designing a special environment, then you can do
that. Students who don’t require those accommodations
can be invited to participate in that class too!
In terms of diagnoses requiring special attention, one
condition that seems to be especially prevalent in our
circus community is Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (and other
hypermobility syndromes). It seems there are many
aerialists and contortionists in particular who may have
one of these syndromes and who are at risk of injury if
they work with a circus coach who is not knowledgeable
about these conditions and injury prevention. One of
my goals is to work with circus performers, students,
and educators who have these syndromes, and with
healthcare practitioners who specialize in treating them,
in order to develop safe and effective protocols for how
circus educators can work with these students towards
their circus goals without putting them at risk.
A much less common condition among our students, but
one with significant potential risk, is Down syndrome.
Because of the hypermobility and ligamentous laxity that
is common among people with this diagnosis, particularly
at the joints where the skull joins the neck, there are
some circus activities (i.e. gymnastics and trampoline)
that should be performed with care or not performed
at all until the student has been medically screened.
I am currently working with healthcare practitioners,
researchers, and disability advocates to develop a
protocol for circus educators and students with Down
syndrome, and I hope to have this available to the
circus community in the next couple of months. In the
meantime, the “short version” is that as of this printing,
both the Special Olympics and Disability Gymnastics
(U.K.) require medical screening of any athlete with Down
syndrome prior to their participating in gymnastics. At
this time, the specific recommendations for screening
differ, but it is worthwhile for circus programs to be
aware of this general practice. If you need to make a
quick adaptation for a student whose medical status is
34
unknown, but who may have significant hypermobility
for any reason, the movements of greatest concern
according to the research are increased cervical
hyperflexion/extension and pressure on the neck/
upper spine. So students can participate fully in every
circus activity, but should specifically avoid trampoline
back drops, and forward and backward rolls, until the
student’s safety to participate has been determined.
That being said, there are high-level gymnasts, circus
performers, and other athletes with Down syndrome,
hypermobility syndromes, and other "differences" all
over the world, so this is a precaution, not a barrier.
Carrie Heller, of the Circus Arts Institute, offers three
levels of training in Circus Arts Therapy for using circus
arts therapeutically with a variety of populations,
and has been doing this work for 30 years. Erin Ball
of Kingston Circus Arts - pictured in this article - has
a teacher training manual called “Flying Footless,”
and provides workshops and consultations. Her work
originally focused specifically on teaching aerial skills
to lower limb amputees, but has since expanded to
accessibility and teaching methodology for the disabled/
adaptive community in general. These are the only
formal trainings/workshops I’m aware of in the U.S./
Canada; it is also useful to reach out to experienced
colleagues, some of whom are listed at the end of this
article. For more, watch the video "Erin Ball - 2018
Creator Award." (This video is included here with
permission from Make Hay Media).
My goal is to help as many of our studios, schools, and
programs move towards accessibility and inclusion as
safely and comfortably as possible. That does not mean
that anyone should fake knowledge and confidence
that they do not have. If you have a student come in
with a disability and you are unsure how to safely teach
that student the skills they want to learn, by all means,
PAUSE. Talk with the student (or with their family, if
they’re a minor). Educate yourself about that particular
student’s strengths, weaknesses, needs, limitations,
interests, and especially their goals. While it may be
useful to learn as much as you can about their diagnosis/
condition/disability in general, it may not be pertinent
to their individual presentation, so it’s always important
to communicate with the individual directly and learn
about their specific experience. If you aren’t sure about
something, be honest. You can work together with
the student to see what’s possible. We often feel it’s
important to protect our authority as instructors and
educators, but that can cause us to bluff knowledge that
we don’t have in a way that can actually cause harm to
a student. Most educators are legitimately concerned
about ensuring that our students and staff are safe,
so we need to educate ourselves, reach out to others
with more knowledge and experience, and continue
to move forward for the benefit of all members of our
community.
35