Real-Life Decision Making
Dance therapists deal with people with many different types of problems,
illnesses and issues. Sometimes dance therapists have to make tough decisions
in order to stay in control of a situation or to help a patient recover or
adjust better.
Today you must make one of those decisions. There is a five-year-old autistic
girl in your Saturday afternoon group therapy class. She is a bright child
with a good heart, but she has a terrible temper. She has a tendency to lash
out when you try to make her do some of the planned exercises that she
doesn't like.
You and several of the other children in your class have been cut and bruised
by this little girl. Most recently, she bit another child's hand, and
the boy had to get stitches. The boy's parents were very angry with you
about the incident and are threatening to pull both their son and daughter
out of your class.
You have two options. You can remove the girl from your class and work
with her in individual sessions. However, you know her parents cannot afford
private sessions. Also, they specifically asked that she be able to interact
with other children as part of the program.
Or, you can allow the girl to stay and run the risk of having other children
get hurt. You may also face the possibility of losing clients. The parents
of the other children may not think that you're looking out for the best interests
of their children.
What do you do?