GOAL 1: COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING
Down to Dance focuses on progression of cognitive development. We hope to improve cognitive beneficial behaviors by working dancers and their memory capacity. Arts and medicine research has shown that there is evidence of longer memory retention through consistent dance programs. To measure progress, our volunteers monitor how many seconds of the dance the individual remembered on their own, if they are consistently getting moves correct, and if they use the song as an encoding device for the movements. At request of a parent, we can administer the Cognitive Scale for Down syndrome assessment. When given at the beginning and the end of the year, this test helps measure how individuals with varying abilities are improving cognitively.
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Reference:
Startin CM, Rodger E, Fodor-Wynne L, Hamburg S, Strydom A (2016) Developing an Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Abilities in Down Syndrome: The Cognitive Scale for Down Syndrome (CS-DS). PLoS ONE 11(
GOAL 2: MOTOR SKILLS
Our workshops and the dance choreography that we teach is specifically designed based on arts and medicine research. We purposefully include steps that target fine motor skills and gross motor skills. These types of skills encompass both large and small movements. Examples of types of movements that we work on are: extending arms in a full circle, rotating the wrists, and toe taps, extension and retraction of hamstring etc . Through our buddy system, our volunteers are able to individually assess the progress of each dancer. At the parent’s request, we can administer the Test of Gross Motor Development - Third Edition and give a proper synopsis of the information. Research citations for the formal assessment of gross motor skills can be seen below.
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Reference:
Liu, T., Hamilton, M., & Hoffmann, C. (n.d.). Motor Skill Performance by Low SES Preschool and Typically Developing Children on the PDMS-2. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(1), 53–60.
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GOAL 3: SOCIAL INCLUSIVITY
We focus on building social inclusivity by starting and ending each workshop with cohesive conversations. We make sure to spotlight each dancer as we talk about our favorite movements, our favorite songs, and simply check in on eachother. Not only will the dancer be interacting one on one with their assigned volunteer buddy at the workshop, we also selectively include partner steps in our dances so they are able to collaborate with their peers. We start and end every workshop with circle time. Circle time is where we are able to gather and interact with each other and show off our favorite dance moves! We keep track of our dancer’s progress via a Qualtrics form that each volunteer is required to fill out after workshops. At request of a parent, we can administer the Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment & Preference for Activities of Children (CAPE). This test helps to measure how children with disabilities participate in everyday activities outside of their mandated school activities.
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Reference:
Verified Research Article Citation: Potvin, M.-C., Snider, L., Prelock, P., Kehayia, E., & Wood-Dauphinee, S. (2013). Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment/Preference for Activities of Children: Psychometric properties in a population with high- functioning autism.American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67, 209–217. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2013.006288