Benefits of Dance for People with Learning Difficulties...
I think it is important to state however that Dance won’t be beneficial to all adults with learning disabilities, as in society as a whole people are individual and achieve in different areas, and some will simply not enjoy it. This site isn't suggesting that dance is a "one size fits all" approach to teaching new skills to adults with learning difficulties, but it is suggesting that for those who enjoy dance it can be utilised to produce great benefits!
Dance can have huge benefits for us all, it is a form of aerobic exercise and can improve and maintain health, it can increase confidence and give us an opportunity for social interaction. It is an enjoyable and positive hobby. I have seen that for adults with learning disability, who may learn and understand in less traditional ways, dance can have further reaching benefits.
HEALTH - Health can sometime be an abstract concept to people with learning disabilities Suggesting someone attend the gym "because its healthy" does not provide much incentive. Dance however is FUN - music, friends and social interaction make it more than exercise and more appealing. However it still improves health, resting heart rates, muscle tone, lung capacity and reduces blood pressure.
PRACTICAL SKILLS - These can include things like, balance, co-ordination and Improved spacial awareness. And of course the learning of dance steps and sequences which can aid memory, concentration and observation skills. It also gives the students the opportunity to make their own work, practising imagination and creativity.
CONFIDENCE - A sense of achievement, learning of skills and being able to do things that they couldn't last week along with praise and encouragement increases confidence. The more students join in and perform within the group the more this confidence grows.
SOCIAL SKILLS & COMMUNICATION - Adults with learning disabilities can sometimes struggle in social situations and with social skills. Dance classes can provide opportunity to learn and practice these skills.
Working in a group will require the students to take turns, listen and observe the actions of others, work together and communicate in order to achieve.
For students that can not communicate verbally they will be able to use their body and actions through dance to enable them to communicate allowing them to be part of the social group in the same way as the rest of the class.
SOCIAL BELONGING - Dance can create social groups through shared interest and experiences. The coming together each week to work on something as a group allows people to forge new relationships and can create a sense of social belonging that may not be achieved in other areas of their lives.
ITS FUN!! - Most importantly Dance is fun, music and movement are things that lots of us enjoy and one of the most important benefits of dance for anyone is that it makes us HAPPY!
GOAL SETTING - As teachers if we think about these benefits and the things that we can achieve for our students then we can make our lessons even more valuable and worth while for our students. Lesson planning and aiming exercises at particular skills and areas can make a huge difference to what we and our students can achieve together.