Thread: Special needs children and under priviledged

I am wanting to start a program at my local parks and rec to teach basic belly dance to under privilaged and special needs children. I know it has helped a girl with ADHD and my own daughter with Ehlers Danlos. I think that it would be a good thing to do. The question I have is what kind of advice can ya'll give. Where can I get hip scarves ect really cheap cause I want it to be where they have to pay for nothing that way everyone can participate. It will all be coming out of my pocket. So ladies, any ideas? Thanks a ton, Dawn

What a great idea. Aside from being a parent of a child with special needs, do you have any formal training or expertise that will prepare you for this?
I have my master's degree in SpEd & questions I would ask are:
Can you:
work with non-verbal students?
work with students who have limited mobility?
work with students who have severe or multiple disabilities?
work with students who have severely impaired cognitive functioning?
work with students who may become verbally or physically aggressive?
how will you ensure the safety of students in your class?
what will the student to staff ratio be?
what age group?
will you carry insurance?
will parents or aides be required to be present to assist?
how will you screen students for income/disability criteria w/out being discriminatory--I would think if you're going through parks & rec, programs would have to be open to all students--regardless of income or ability...

I'm not asking these questions to discourage you, but this is a very high needs group--as you know, and your liability is huge. Have you considered these factors?

As for funding, perhaps look into grants to help you get set up. E-bay often has cheap whole-sale lots of hipscarves available. Many vendors will do wholesale orders as well, you just have to inquire.

nayastrance makes good points and insurance can be a big issue but it's important to have someone on site who is qualified in at least first aid and preferably someone with training in dealing with students with impairments or limitations.

aside from that wishing you all the luck in the world and I hope it works out. It's a really lovely idea. If you get it off the ground, I would be happy to donate some no longer used hip scarves and I am sure some of the other dancers on here would do the same for you.

Good luck.

I actually have a friend that works with special needs children.She will be present and is willing and able to help. She also dances. We had thought of doing it at the parks and rec. I also feel that it would be wonderful for parents to participate as well. That way when they get home it is a form of excersise they both can do together. It will also be a bonding experience for them.

Thank you both for your input....I really would like this to take off and maybe programs like it start up in other places. I will keep you updated. Keep dancing.

You might want to check and see if your parks and rec already has a special needs program in place where you can volunteer to teach. Ours does, we call it special pops. They hold dances, crafting sessions and classes for the kids/young adults and are alsways looking for new ideas and volunteers to do things with the program.

Nayastrance makes some great points. The only thing I would add is that you might want to consider further narrowing down the group you'd like to teach. Teaching underprivileged children is different from teaching special needs children, and teaching children with physical impairments would be different from teaching children with cognitive impairments or learning disabilities.

Every special needs child will of course have their own individual talents and challenges, but narrowing the scope of the classes may help you better plan your curriculum and teaching approach.

Good luck!