The ASO Newsletter - 1st edition
A newsletter to help you stay connected to Alexander Technique related research.
Welcome
Thank you for being here and for your interest in research on the Alexander Technique and its teaching.
In today’s newsletter you’ll learn about the ASO newsletter and our first theme: the Alexander Technique and its role in supporting people with dementia.
About The ASO Blog
Each Alexander Studies Online (ASO) blog is a newsletter that focuses on a particular theme. Because our members have a huge variety of skills, knowledge and experience to draw on, we expect contributions to differ widely in terms of theme and style of delivery.
Along the way we hope to hear from you. Your feedback, comments, and suggestions are appreciated and will help ASO grow in ways that people find useful and accessible.
To leave comments you can write below in the blog comments section, send our team a message via email at alexander.studies.online@gmail.com, or send us a note using the contact page here.
ASO Research Interview Series - Supporting People with Dementia: a Role for Alexander Technique Teachers?
Over the next two months our focus is on the theme of dementia, a topic that touches many lives but which has so far received relatively little attention within the Alexander Technique teaching and research communities.
We are releasing a series of 11 (5-12min) video interviews that provide background to the topic and information about two very different studies. Taking part in the conversations are Charlotte Woods and Lesley Glover of the STAT Research Group, and Emma Wolverson, a clinical psychologist and senior lecturer from the University of Hull who specialises in dementia care.
The first interview is being released with this newsletter, but you can sign-up below to receive a link each week with further videos in the series.
To join a live Q&A on the theme of using the Alexander Technique to support people with dementia (19th January 2021) please send us an email at alexander.studies.online@gmail.com and ask to be included. We’ll put you on the invite list and send you a link to join a week before the event.
We hope you find the theme interesting and useful.
Interview Series Overview
Our first interview below provides an introduction to current thinking about dementia and its treatment. The next six interviews deal with a small pilot study looking at using the Alexander Technique in residential care to support people with dementia. These are followed by three interviews about an online survey of teachers of the Alexander Technique regarding their experiences of teaching people with dementia. Ahead of the live Q&A on 19th January, the final video is a discussion of current progress and plans arising from the two studies.
Week 1 The Alexander Technique and its role in supporting people with dementia
Introduction to the theme (see details and link below)
Week 2 Alexander Technique in residential dementia care pilot study
Study overview
Study origins
Week 3 Alexander Technique in residential dementia care pilot study
Study design
Summary of study findings
Week 4 Alexander Technique in residential dementia care pilot study
Challenges
Follow up to the study to date
Week 5 AT teachers’ experience with people with dementia - a survey
Background to the survey
Design of the survey
Week 6 AT teachers’ experience of working with people with dementia - a survey
Initial findings and discussion
Update on Dementia theme, winter 2020/21
January 19th 2021, 19.30-20.30 UK time - Live Q&A
Live Q&A on the theme of Alexander Technique teachers supporting people with dementia.
To join the live Q&A (19th January 2021) please send us an email at alexander.studies.online@gmail.com and ask to be included. We’ll put you on the invite list and send you a link to join a week before the event.
ASO Video Series
Thank-you for your interest in the ASO video series. This research interview series has finished, but you can now view all the videos here.
Video Interview 1
The Alexander Technique and its role in supporting people with dementia: introduction to the theme.
This is the first in a series of weekly video releases on ASO’s chosen theme for the next two months: using the Alexander Technique to support people with dementia. This first video provides an introduction to the theme and is part of an ongoing series. As knowledge in the area develops, we expect to provide updates on progress and plans.
In this video Emma Wolverson, a clinical psychologist and senior lecturer at the University of Hull specialising in dementia care, explains the limitations of popular interventions for people with dementia, clarifies common misconceptions about people with dementia and explains why the Alexander Technique has potential to support them in various ways.
The next two videos in the series provide an overview of the residential dementia care pilot and a second on the origins of the study. Make sure to sign up for the series to receive links to these upcoming videos.
As always, we welcome your comments, suggestions and questions. Please use the Comment box below or send us a note through our contact page with any information, feedback, or questions. We will do our best to respond to you through the blog, email, or during the live Q&A.
Alexander Technique Research Reference List
Alexander Studies Online supports the maintenance of an open access, easy to use Zotero research repository. This is a growing list of peer reviewed research on the Alexander Technique, PhD and Masters theses, and more.
To use the database you can click and manipulate the list by creator/author, date, publisher and additional identifiers; create and download your own bibliography; or search by key words or tags.
Our reference list is still growing and we need your help to make this happen. Does your research appear in the database? Are there other resources we are missing? To suggest material for this database please let us know.
Thank-you for being here and for your interest in research on the Alexander Technique and its teaching. To further support our efforts please share this with your friends, colleagues, and students who may benefit.
To sign-up for ASO Monthly click here and add your email at the bottom the page to become a member.
To keep the conversation going: reach out to us online, or email Erica and the ASO team at alexander.studies.online@gmail.com