Working with Children with Disabilities

Jill L. Basso of Desert Sage Tai Chi (Santa Fe, New Mexico) has a bubbling personality. She was excited when spoke about children. She actually talked so fast that I had a hard time to jot down notes during the interview for this article. It was amazing that Jill knew exactly what she wanted to do when she grew up at age 19. She wanted to serve kids with disabilities. For decades, she has worked with them in various capacities including using Tai Chi & Qigong as an intervention to help kids with physical and mental challenges to improve their health and basic life skills. 

Born in New York, Jill earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Therapeutic Recreation in 1985 and specialized in Outdoor Recreation & Leadership, especially for kids and adults with disabilities. She then got a Master’s Degree in Special Education and taught students with Intellectual Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, Emotional Challenges, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. In 2003, she was certified as a Behavior Analyst. Behavior Analysis is an empirically-validated science to teach people using behavior principles and strategies. She has been a consultant, workshop presenter and teacher’s trainer for schools and organizations in New Mexico, New York, Massachusetts, and Florida. She worked with parents of children with physical and cognitive disabilities as well as children with special needs. She is a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist and provides children and adults using Craniosacral Therapy, a gentle hands-on technique that uses a light touch to explore membranes and movement of the fluids in and around the central nervous system to relieve tension in the central nervous system, eliminate pain, and boost health and immunity. Jill continued to broaden her knowledge and became a licensed K-12 Special Education Teacher with an endorsement in physical education and health in the State of New Mexico in 2014. She also has profound knowledge in the Eastern healing arts and incorporates it into her massage modalities. It was fascinating that she even taught children aged 5-12 at the Golden Acorn Camp (Santa Fe, New Mexico) how to massage each other using shiatsu and reflexology, with great results and the experience was beautiful. She is considered an expert on body movements.

Jill approaches Tai Chi Chuan with the same rigor as a therapist. In her early 30’s, she started her journey of learning and teaching Tai Chi. She was a student of Master William Phillips of the Patience Tai Chi, Brooklyn, New York. Master Phillips is a student of legendary Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing. Jill firmly subscribes to the ten points that Master Phillips lays out on Tai Chi Chuan, which are approach, patience, perseverance, straight spin, breathe to the Dan Tien, empty the mind, single weight, feel air as substantial, softness through root, and benevolence. Jill is humble and comments that she is also influenced by peers and teachers like Stanley Israel, James Leporati, Katy Cheng, Bill Law, Ken Van Sickle and others. In 1996, she founded Hudson Valley Tai Chi in New York. In 2007, Jill relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, her senior students took over the reign and continue to offer classes, which warms her heart dearly. Jill thinks Tai Chi competitions can be fun and is a great way to learn from peers. She competed often from 1997 to 2004 in New York, Maryland, Virginia and Taiwan and earned three gold medals in Tai Chi Chuan forms and Push Hands, as well as silver and bronze medals in fixed, restricted step and moving step Push Hands. Her appetite for Tai Chi is insatiable. Later she attended Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing’s disciple Master Benjamin Lo’s workshop to further her knowledge. 

There are similarities between Tai Chi/Qigong and Massage therapy. Both involve the body movements as well as the mind. Jill states that the most challenging part of teaching Tai Chi/Qigong to children with disabilities is how to get their attention and then motivate them. She includes art work and music in her curriculum design when needed. She does not have a set curriculum for all children. She treats everyone as an individual, understands his capabilities, his interests, and his needs then lays out the curriculum for him. She makes the healing art of Tai Chi and Qigong like games to attract the kids and gives the games interesting names like Swim on Dry Land, Balance like a Tree, Can the Wind Blow You Down, Run Like a Tiger, Walk Like a Cat, etc. She has the magic and can let kids with ADHD practice with a sword and do it slowly. I am including some of the art work done by her students here so you can get a sense how children are influenced by the healing art. 

Jill recalled her experience working with a young lady who is on the spectrum and socially delayed. She was sad and mad and wasn’t motivated to do anything. She did not even know how to bend her knees. Her body was rigid and inflexible. Her parents made her try Zumba. She quit because it hurt her body. But with Tai Chi, she relaxes and becomes more flexible and breathes easier. Jill explains because Tai Chi/Qigong is a mind-body exercise with peaceful movements and extremely meditative. Jill let the student pick the music to play during the class. The young lady enjoys the art so much and practices on her own and is willing to show her parents her movements. Before she was shy, not sociable and not capable to handle simple task in life; later, she is able to call Jill to schedule her own classes even more incredible that she wasn’t shy away from people any more. After the pandemic initially slowed, she was able to work in a grocery store as a bagger and be more social. 

While Jill was telling the stories of her students, I sensed the quality of patience, perseverance, softness and benevolence that highlighted by her teacher Master William Phillips.