Breaking Barriers Through Dance

A local autistic high school student expresses herself on East High's dance team

Tools

By Alexis Fernandez

Story Created: Dec 1, 2011 at 11:26 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Dec 1, 2011 at 11:26 AM AKDT

Gliding across a dance floor to the beat of some of her favorite music... it's a routine that has been part of 18-year-old Elizabeth Sikora's life since she was a child. She began dancing when she was six years old and has performed in dozens of shows with several local dance teams.

But Elizabeth faces more challenges than most East High students. She was three and a half years old when she was diagnosed with a moderate type of autism, which affects her social skills and speech.

Elizabeth's mom is a special education teacher, and says she wasn't sure what to expect for her daughter's future.

Luckily she was able to get the help she needed.

She does typical teenage stuff, like going with mom to get her phone fixed after school, and of course school work when she gets home. But at the end of the day, Elizabeth says it was dance that helped her come out of her shell and into the light.

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