[Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. I don't work in any relevant field, and have no formal medical education.]
Keep in mind that autism tends to improve over time without any intervention. This is why it is mostly considered as a pediatric diagnosis. There are of course many autistic adults, but severity of symptoms almost invariably declines in later childhood. Also, causality is hard to tease out: Whether he started dancing because he improved or whether he improved because he started dancing is anyone's guess.
That being said, there are reasons to believe that certain cerebellar dysfunctions are involved with autism. Physical clumsiness and lack of coordination is so common it is usually considered a necessary condition for making a diagnosis of autism. Studies have shown that autistics have impaired ability to tap consistent rhythms relative to children without autism (matched for age and IQ). Some have speculated that such dysfunctions are involved with the lack of cerebral coordination usually seen as a more proximate cause of autistic symptoms, such as the lack of a negative correlation between the task-positive and default networks. I'm not familiar with any reported non-kinesthetic cognitive benefits of thereapy designed to teach rhythm and coordination, and I don't imagine many have tried -- dyspraxia symptoms are notoriously immune to therapy, both in autistics and children with other development disorders. It'd be fun data to see, though.
I am a doctor, and I work in the very relevant field of child psychiatry. Autism is a pediatric diagnosis because, like mental retardation, it is usually first identified in young children. Similar to mental retardation, the impact is life long. It does not go away by itself.
Also not a doctor, but my instinct is that the dance helped the autism. I have ADD and I used to be extremely physically awkward - don't want to self-diagnose dyspraxia, but I'd describe it as my movements being based on a calculus that was different from those of other people. I would have a specific reason for making an awkward movement, but not one other people could anticipate or even recognize, and even I knew it was often strange as I was doing it. I had similar issues in conversation, where I'd find myself saying something strange or awkward but being unable to put the brakes on in time: a horrible feeling, as if one's mouth wasn't fully under one's control.
Well, at about age 26 I got into goa trance music (which shares the steady 4/4 pulse with disco, and is also best enjoyed loud), and I went out dancing a lot. In the space of 2 years it made a huge difference - I went from feeling like a bundle of arms and legs to having superior motor control, from being unable to catch something thrown straight to me (or fumbling it even if I caught it) to being able to catch something mis-thrown or dropped - I could just reach out and pluck something out of the air 2 feet to my side. I didn't even notice it particularly, it was my friends who started commenting on how good my reflexes were. Perhaps this improvement was due to natural and/or artificial alterations of brain chemistry, but I do feel that the extremely metronomic nature of dance music was a major factor. I liked dancing beforehand, but I sucked at it. Something about the loud steady 4/4 pulse served to resynchronize formerly oppositional gears, and over time made it easier to perceive and adapt to other metrical patterns too. I still have problems with polyrhythmic material though :)
Now it sure isn't a total cure - I had other ADD-related problems (and some of the benefits, like being able to hyper-focus for long periods) but it increased my confidence and comfort enough that I started to see the connection between these phenomena, eventually leading to a clinical diagnosis and find ways to manage it. I do wish it wasn't classified as a 'disorder'. Besides the mild stigma associated with that, 'attention deficit' isn't too accurate either, since I've always been able to concentrate for extended periods (like reading a book in a single sitting) and being able to rapidly switch tracks in a busy or chaotic environment can be a singular asset: I'm weak on humdrum planning and time management, but very strong indeed on problem solving, improvisation or adapting to abrupt changes.
Having worked in the arts over the last decade (sound engineering and technical directing), I've met a lot of people with both similar and opposite traits. It's an industry truism that everyone who is any good has either OCD or ADD - creatives and producers obsess over story or budgets, and technicians and keys excel at implementation and mediation. In short, the what and the how, a kind of client/server relationship. Both groups need each other, and both have an all-or-nothing attitude to their selected task. What people can be visionary or bullying; how people can be heroic or intransigent.
Perhaps we should rename OCD and ADD to ideophilia and pragmatophilia.
It shouldn't be too hard to do a study on various cultures, their attitude towards dance and the incidence of autism.
That would be pretty interesting, if it turns out that dancing indeed leads to autism being less severe or cured by dancing that would be fairly big news.
Man, it's bad enough all the gringos wanted to learn Salsa last year and Tango this year. Now they are going to bring their kids? ;)
On a serious note: isn't diagnosis something that varies across the attitudes of the doctors? A psychologist friend from Venezuela thinks that Asperger's is a load of bunk, for example.
Hehe, really funny comment, just re-reading the first bit: I was at a party new years eve 2008 in Panama, there were a whole lot of people and I sort of hung around because I didn't know many people there.
Two Panamian girls that were sitting around were having the time of their life commenting on how funny the 'gringos' danced, I didn't realize how right they were until they started to dance. The 'gringos' were dancing from their shoulders and knees with their bodies mostly rigid, the Panamian girls were dancing with their whole bodies. It was quite an eye opener.
I don't think so; it's just a different tradition of thought. You can be different without having a medical condition. I and I'm sure you have worked with people who could run a nuclear reactor and seem to function OK, but can't manage eye contact. Another example: she holds great respect for Freud but I gather he is not taken seriously anymore in the States.
I wonder if the focus on physical motion (dancing, surfing) somehow helps autistic folks to "get out of their own heads". Maybe being in the zone does something special for them.
"... This new talent instilled a new found confidence and, while many children with autism find it difficult to form relationships, it gave him friends from all around the UK. Along with the disco, Jimmy now has a new passion - ballet. ..."
After reading the article I'd agree, but to a point. What about those who don't find dancing interesting? So the question is what latent interests can Autistic/ADD suffers find that have the same benefits?
Keep in mind that autism tends to improve over time without any intervention. This is why it is mostly considered as a pediatric diagnosis. There are of course many autistic adults, but severity of symptoms almost invariably declines in later childhood. Also, causality is hard to tease out: Whether he started dancing because he improved or whether he improved because he started dancing is anyone's guess.
That being said, there are reasons to believe that certain cerebellar dysfunctions are involved with autism. Physical clumsiness and lack of coordination is so common it is usually considered a necessary condition for making a diagnosis of autism. Studies have shown that autistics have impaired ability to tap consistent rhythms relative to children without autism (matched for age and IQ). Some have speculated that such dysfunctions are involved with the lack of cerebral coordination usually seen as a more proximate cause of autistic symptoms, such as the lack of a negative correlation between the task-positive and default networks. I'm not familiar with any reported non-kinesthetic cognitive benefits of thereapy designed to teach rhythm and coordination, and I don't imagine many have tried -- dyspraxia symptoms are notoriously immune to therapy, both in autistics and children with other development disorders. It'd be fun data to see, though.