![\"Children](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ballet-class-for-kids-w-wcbshjqh-hi-res-still.jpg#.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nThree medical students at New York City’s Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are redefining and expanding the art of ballet through a free course for children with autism.<\/p>\n
The class is captivating young minds and helping them move and connect.<\/p>\n
The three students cofounded the 12-week program, raised funds and secured a studio.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The class is geared towards children ages 7-12 with autism. <\/p>\n
CBS News New York<\/p>\n
It rolled out last year in partnership with the Seaver Autism Center at Mount Sinai as part of a program called Approach To Dance Autism Through Personalized Teaching, or ADAPT. The class is geared towards children ages 7-12 with autism.<\/p>\n
“It’s a form of physical therapy,” said Sheena Ranade, associate professor of pediatric orthopedic surgery. “It enables kids to work on their mobility, which is a major issue in this patient population.”<\/p>\n
Experts say the class goes beyond mobility; it helps build meaningful connections.<\/p>\n
“It gives me confidence,” student Kylie Reid said.<\/p>\n
The studio has become a safe space for the students, which can hard to come by.<\/p>\n
“There are not many spaces that are made for children with special needs and like a formal dance training,” mom Shaneeka Reid said.<\/p>\n
![\"Children](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/guajardo-11p-pkg-ballet-wcbshjpn-hi-res-still.jpg#.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Parents say the class has helped their children find confidence and make friends.<\/p>\n
CBS News New York<\/p>\n
Twelve-year-old Isabella Richardson is in her second year taking the course.<\/p>\n
“Ballet makes me so happy,” she said. “I like to learn new dance moves, like pli\u00e9, especially pli\u00e9.”<\/p>\n
Mom Adalia Richardson said she saw improvements after just a few classes.<\/p>\n
“I feel like she’s become more confident. Her coordination has improved,” she said. “She’s done amazing and made so many friends.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three medical students at New York City’s Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are redefining and expanding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":{"0":"post-202928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-ny","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-nyc-headlines","12":"tag-nyc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}