Dancing With Learning Differences
Author: Kathy Miller
For students with learning differences and/or academic difficulty, school can be a challenging environment. These students are often seen as unmotivated, lacking focus, hyperactive, shy, intense, or “annoying”... by teachers, other students, and even themselves. Strengths in areas like creativity, athleticism, or emotional sensitivity are often overlooked or not regarded with the same importance as other classroom skills.
Dancing with Dance Unlimited can be a valuable activity for students with learning differences because it uses a different skill set than a traditional learning environment, helping children develop dexterity in a variety of physical and mental areas.
Much like school, dance challenges students cognitively, requires patience, and takes consistent practice to see improvement.
But dance is many things traditional school may not be: kinesthetic (EVERYTHING we learn is by DOING!), sensory stimulating (music, lights, mirrors, and LOTS of variety in movement), and non-verbal (students can listen to learn and typically little verbal interaction is required).
Students who may have trouble “sitting still” in their chair at school can find joy in being able to leap, bend, and pirouette to their heart’s content. Dance Unlimited classes also follow a fairly reliable sequence, and students can understand what is expected of them and find comfort in the routine of the class structure.
The Dance Unlimited Difference
Our structure is especially helpful for students who struggle with understanding expectations and follow-through. The studio environment is just one aspect of what makes Dance Unlimited an appealing activity for students (and parents with children) with learning differences.
Throughout this blog, I have been intentional with using the word “differences” instead of disabilities because learning differences include variations in how children process information.
Dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other neurological disorders, such as ADHD, can hinder academic performance. While they can create challenges, these disabilities and disorders also bring unique strengths.
For instance, students with dyslexia often have high visual-spatial reasoning and creative problem-solving. People with ADHD typically have intense “hyperfocus” on interesting tasks and quick decision-making skills. Don’t these sound like helpful traits in the dance classroom??
Suddenly, the disabilities that make getting through the day in a typical classroom become an asset in the dance studio. When we frame the “disability” as a “difference,” we can open up opportunities to tap into these strengths. Students can develop confidence and proficiency in dance and also develop ways to transfer these strategies to the academic setting.
Why It Works
Dance has been proven to help students develop executive functioning skills. These are the set of skills that help us organize our thoughts, regulate our emotions, and follow through with plans to achieve goals.
In dance, we practice using our working memory to memorize sequences; we practice self-control by taking turns and resisting distractions; and dance requires emotional regulation in dealing with personal frustrations, or in getting along with others.
(I talk more in-depth about how all these skills intertwine with dance in the blog entitled “How Dance is Beneficial to Children,” if you would like more examples.)
Essentially, dance gives us opportunities to practice and build these executive functions, so when we are faced with challenges in the academic setting, we are better prepared to cope. In these ways, dance meets children with learning differences where they are and engages them in an activity that they can feel comfortable and confident in the moment. It will help them develop skills and confidence that transfer into other areas of their lives.
