Dance

a. An article related to dance for ind. with dis. {w/ 1 page reflection} (10 pts)

• "Wheelchair dancing and self-esteem in adolescents with physical disabilities" - Danette de Villiers, FC van Rooyen, V. Beck, Y. Calitz, T. Erwee, C. Engelbrecht, E. Odendaal, L. Roothman, and L. van Eeden

Any person tends to have some sort of struggle with self-esteem in their adolescence. This struggle is only worsened if this person has a disability. In this article, "Wheelchair dancing and self-esteem in adolescents with physical disabilities," the authors discuss different levels of self-esteem and how dancing can help improve it altogether. Self-esteem's connotative meaning is simply the ability to handle difficulty while still being happy with one's own persona. If a person's self-esteem is low, they tend to get into more trouble and don't succeed as much as someone with a higher self-esteem.

It's been found that those with disabilities generally have lower self-esteems since they often struggle to do everyday tasks without assistance and often can't develop relationships as well as others. This is why dancing may have some value in terms of providing a fun way for camaraderie and expression. Dancing, and especially wheelchair dancing as mentioned in the article, provides opportunity for people of all abilities to engage and feel included. In their experiment, the authors used 43 participants where half participated in wheelchair dancing and half were in a control group with no participation. Prior to beginning, they asked participants general questions like, "How often do you feel clumsy," etc. and held the program for four weeks total.

In the end, it was found that there was mainly increase and some decrease in self-esteem in both groups. The authors note this could be due to various factors, but the main reason for this is "meaningful engagement and approval from significant peers." Generally, it can be assumed that wheelchair dancing could be a great way to get students of all abilities feeling more comfortable and confident in terms of self-esteem.

b. Useful strategies found AND USED during specific dance (3 pts)

i. Identify specific strategies you used when teaching dance to IWD

When teaching and learning dance in our class, it seemed to me that students mostly had a positive reaction. The atmosphere was fun and inclusive and there was assistance available all around the room if students needed it. In terms of teaching, I found that the dances went much smoother when they were more well-known and when they were broken up into small steps and movements, and were countable. It seemed to work best to follow the notion that once the group was able to successfully do one step, to add on another step and practice them together. For me and for my mentee, it helped both with retention and ability to do the given movement. If there were too many steps, it was difficult for everyone to remember unless an instructor was helping nearby.

ii. Identify helpful strategies or activities that you found while researching

• Provide concrete and real-life commands for students; instead of just saying "pull or push," say "open or close the door"
• Keep commands short
• Do the skill with the students and provide visuals if possible
• Provide a big enough area for each student to do the dance

c. DANCE GROUP WRITE UP HERE (1pt)

*See below

d. Opportunities to access dance/creative movement programs in the community? (2 pts)

• The Arc is an organization that has chapters worldwide and stands for helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. There is a chapter here in Harrisonburg and they provide programs for day support, resources that a family or caregiver may need, and even dance programs. The dance programs that they host are called "Canteens." According to their website, "Canteens for teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities give participants an opportunity to socialize, meet new people, and enjoy activities in a safe environment. Everyone is welcome, and no pre-registration is necessary." It is also noted on the website that canteens are generally from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Westover Park Community Activities Center, unless otherwise noted.

CITATIONS

de Villiers, D., van Rooyen, F. C., Beck, V., Calitz, Y., Erwee, T., Engelbrecht, C., & ... van Eeden, L. (2013). Wheelchair dancing and self-esteem in adolescents with physical disabilities. South African Journal Of Occupational Therapy, 43(2), 23-27.

STRATEGIES FOR MODIFYING DANCE INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://users.rowan.edu/~conet/APE/dance-modifications.html

The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://www.hrarc.org/