DANCING FOR RESILIENCE:

Dance-Based Intervention as a Protective Factor in General and Special Education

R. Stewart

EDUC 264N, Fall 2009

UCR

DANCING FOR RESILIENCE:

Dance-Based Intervention as a Protective Factor in General and Special Education

Introduction

Upon review of the various risk factors associated with placement in special education, it

becomes clear that general education classrooms and schools on the whole are intensely diverse.

Children with varied early childhood experience, parent educational experience and parenting

style, and several existing medical, non-medical, and judgmental diagnoses come together in one

learning space. It is the responsibility of the teaching and support staff to know how to

effectively address each child’s individual needs, but unfortunately the incredible diversity

among students can make effectively managing schools and classrooms difficult. Educational

literature discusses the potential benefits of implementing a multi-tiered, universal behavior

management system in order to proactively control problem behavior and teach necessary skills,

thereby better preparing the students to engage in learning activities with the teacher, peers, or

alone. This paper discusses how dance-based therapies might serve as a part of a proactive,

multi-tiered intervention that supports reduced problem behavior, boosts neurological activity,

and encourages feelings of community and social respect.

Theoretical Framework

Today’s Diverse Classrooms

As mentioned, general education classrooms are increasingly diverse. Students of varied

ethnicities, family structures, and other demographic constructs fill our schools. These students,

as a result of movements including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and

adoption of policy favoring Positive Behavior Support (PBS), are also increasingly diverse

across a spectrum of behaviors, readiness skills, and levels of motivation. Teachers in general

2

education classes must be able to support a number of individualized programs as well as carry

out class lessons and administrative duties. According to McLeskey et al. (1999, as cited in

Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Gallini, Simmons, and Feggins-Azziz 2006), in the 1999-2000 school

year over 95 percent of students with disabilities were served in general education buildings.

While some of these students did receive supports outside the classroom, almost half of the cited

95 percent received services outside the classroom less than 21 percent of the day. In order to

ensure the success of this diverse group, teachers therefore must be increasingly aware of

potential risk factors and have access to effective interventions for the diagnoses or other

individual setbacks each student might exhibit.

In considering this ever -growing diversity, several other confounding factors come to

mind. It is accepted theory that children experiencing several risk factors will be much more

likely to need special services than those who have few risk factors (NRC 2002 ch. 3).

Particularly in low-socioeconomic neighborhoods, children come to school with behavioral or

cognitive difficulties caused by early childhood experience. Low birth weight, poor nutrition,

exposure to lead, and even level of parent education have been demonstrated to have individual

effects, and studies show that compounded risk factors almost exponentially increase risk (NRC

2002 ch. 3, Dearing, Krieder, Simpkins & Weiss 2006). Cultural diversity is also offered as a

risk factor for special education referral (NRC 2002 ch.5). Children may arrive at school with an

incorrect medical diagnosis, as research shows that behavioral patterns and identifying

characteristics can be similar across different diagnostic categories. Cornish, Turk, and

Hagerman (2008) present compelling evidence for the similarities between Fragile X syndrome,

Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Attention-Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder. While each of

these three labels may present similarly, the cause of observed behaviors may actually be quite

3

different, and therefore any incorrect diagnoses may trigger a teacher to incorrectly manage

behavioral and academic issues that may arise. With such trouble managing medical diagnoses,

one can only imagine the problems that could be causes by potential mismanagement of non-

medical, judgmental labels such as Emotional Disturbance or Learning Disabilities.

Understanding the growing diversity of the students in today’s general and special

education environments is an important first step in deciding how to design educational

programming. Upon considering the many risks students may posses prior to beginning school,

and the ways in which intervention can be confounded, how to appropriately serve a group of 15

to 30 young minds while could prove a daunting task for even the most experienced of teachers.

Fortunately, researchers have made efforts to devise intervention program strategies that address

the MOST COMMON causes of recommendation for special services, which the research

presented in this section suggest to be a) problem behavior and b) readiness to learn.

Current Understandings of Widely Applicable Interventions

In 2002, the National Research Council (NRC, ch. 5) suggested that improving general

education can reduce special education placements for disadvantaged students. In other words,

by improving general education to address the risk factors that cause referral for and placement

in special education services, students can be kept out of special education and therefore overall

numbers of special education enrollment can therefore be reduced. The Council continues by

making an argument that schools must develop protective, therapeutic interventions that can be

effective for a wide range of risk factors by both reducing problem behavior and increasing

readiness to learn. In particular, the NRC emphasizes the need for interventions on behavior,

citing negative classroom behaviors as one of the top reasons children are recommended for

special services. Other researchers have presented similar findings, both empirically and

4

qualitatively through the eyes of teachers. For example, Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Kohler,

Henderson & Wu (2006) offer the accounts of several teachers in a mid-western city to illustrate

how more time is spent managing the social aspect of the classroom than teaching core

curriculum. As a result, students may become at increased risk by way of delayed or incomplete

academic instruction.

In addition to behavior issues and basic academic readiness skills, existing literature

presents a third construct influencing risk and academic achievement, motivation. Particularly in

regards to reading there exists evidence that increased motivation can increase achievement.

Guthrie, Mcrae & Klauda (2007) describe intrinsic motivation, perceived autonomy, self-

efficacy, collaboration, and maintaining a mastery-goal orientation (truly learning the material as

opposed to just satisfying academic requirement) as processes through which students gain

overall motivation for reading. Through an increase in relevance of reading material and

allowing student actions to guide choice of material used and lessons learned through

collaborative assignments, students feel connected to the material as well as their learning

environment. Guthrie and colleagues empirically demonstrate how a focus on these 5

motivational constructs in reading instruction can have an impact on both reading achievement

and overall motivation for students (Guthrie et al. 2007). Interestingly, a 2004 study in Korea

also found positive effects of including self-efficacy and achievement-goal orientations in the

reading curriculums of high school girls. Further, subject-specific motivations were strongly

correlated with motivations for general school learning (Bong 2004).

Current research and policy favor proactive, widely applicable interventions that are able

to simultaneously reduce problem behavior and foster motivation and self-efficacy. The NRC

make several recommendations to policy makers in chapter 10 of their 2002 text that include

5

providing funds to research universal behavior management interventions that will assist those

identified by the system as well as those who may be missed. Further, there is evidence that

Positive Behavior Support, an adaptation Applied Behavior Analysis that calls for functional

changes in behavior accompanied by exercise in self –determination and goal achievement, can

be used at individual, class, and school-wide levels to improve behavioral conduct and student

achievement (Carr, Dunlap, Horner, Koegel, Turnbull, Sailor, Anderson, Albin, Koegel & Fox

2002 and Hieneman, Dunlap, & Kincaid 2005). Proactive support at the school level has

potential benefits for students in both general and special education, as it promotes appropriate

academic conduct and is also adaptable to many levels of functioning (Hieneman et al. 2005).

Conclusion

The remainder of this paper will discuss the potential of a dance/movement-based therapy

to benefit educational populations as part of a proactive, comprehensive intervention.

Purposefully and regularly implementing dance instruction to general and special education

curriculums is hypothesized to reduce problem behavior, improve academic readiness skills, and

promote motivation and feelings of community- major areas of reform as defined by the authors

cited above. By reviewing research first regarding the behavioral and emotional benefits of

dance, followed by evidence of effect on cognitive and motivational constructs, the positive

effects of dance instruction on behavioral conduct and academic achievement should become

apparent.

Defining Dance-Based Interventions

Dance-based interventions and the therapies to be discussed in this paper must first and

foremost be regarded as structured, intentional interventions designed to exercise a particular

area of skill. Exact structure and type of activities employed might vary widely across

6

acquisition goals and level of cognitive function. For all participants, however, movement must

be more than empty gesture, and can be so much more than physical exercise alone. Though

there are documented cases of dance as a physical therapy, the focus of this paper remains on a

dance as a holistic intervention that may be useful as a protective factor against many sources of

risk in education.

Common among dance-based therapies for both uni- and multi-dimensional purposes,

though, is a regular and frequent schedule of dance practice. Examples, to be presented later,

that illustrate the application of dance-based interventions suggest dance exposure for 15-60

minutes at a time, at least 3 times a week (Hartshorn et al 2001, Lara). As will be illustrated in

the following sections, the effects of dance on academic readiness are adaptable to a variety of

contexts, and though the viewpoints expressed here will concentrate on school-aged individuals

there is evidence that life-long immersion in the art, or intimate knowledge of dance and dance

performance, can enhance some of the effects to be discussed later on (Fink, Graif, & Neubauer

2009). Not only can dance-based therapies be easily adapted for different age groups, there is

benefit in extended experience. Borrowing the idea form Positive Behavior Support that service

for some individuals is a life-long process (Carr et al 2002), it is possible to imagine the potential

longitudinal effects of dance instruction for individuals with disabilities. And though the

remainder of this document discusses the potential benefits of dance in contexts affecting school-

aged children, the ideas expressed should not necessarily be limited to that population.

Dance; Behavioral and Emotional Effects

As previously discussed, problem behavior is one of the top reasons children are referred

to special education (NRC 2002 and Skiba 2006). Goldstein, et al. (1980), Patterson (1986), and

others have been cited believing that young children who exhibit disruptive behaviors upon

7

school entry are not equipped with the necessary skills to develop healthy social relationships

(NRC 2002 ch. 3). In this capacity, behavior is a prerequisite to both building social

relationships and improving academic readiness. This section will explore how dance instruction

can improve focus, help to regulate emotions, and therefore improve overall behavioral conduct.

In 2002 Hartshorn, Olds, Field, Delage, Cullen, and Escalona issued evidence for

reductions in problem behavior among children with autism. Following 2 months of regular

movement therapy sessions, children were observed to be statistically more attentive, spending

more time at least watching the teacher, less time wandering, and had fewer negative reactions to

teacher instruction or being touched. Yoga-based therapies have also demonstrated positive

effects for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Through core principles including social

interaction, self-calming, and physical stimulation, movement based therapies are considered to

meet sensory needs as well as boost social confidence and interaction (Kenny 2002).

Both Hartshorn and Kenny present dance as a holistic intervention approach that supports

both the cognitive and behavioral difficulties associated with autism. Further, Kenny’s 2002

review on yoga-based therapy reports observed successes with a much more diverse population,

including individuals with ADHD, LD, Pervasive Development Delays, and Dyspraxia. One

study illustrates how children diagnosed with ED and LD experience improvements following a

regular dance therapy sessions as part of a complex intervention. By establishing a safe

environment and exploring themselves physically and emotionally, students work toward both

creative and social goals (Bannon 1994). Through a program designed to integrate emotion with

the physical aspects of dance, therapists encourage children to address emotional conflict in a

safe and non-threatening manner therefore reducing the problem behavior that could put them at

risk for additional services (Bannon 1994). To discuss the increasingly broad behavioral effects

8

of dance-based therapies, we take Erwin-Graber, Goodill, Hill, and Von Neida’s 1999 account

into consideration, where participation in dance/movement therapy reduced self-reported test

anxiety among university students. From specific diagnoses to general populations, regular

participation in dance or movement based therapies appears to have positive effects on both

quality of behavior and emotional regulation.

Some researchers have demonstrated that simply watching dance can have emotional

effect. Berrol (2006) offers two examples where fMRI highlights the excitement of mirror

neurons in observers of dance as they watch and interpret the movement. Areas of the brain

responsible for emotion and language light up in addition to those areas related to auditory and

visual stimuli, hypothesized as both increasing full brain activity and promoting feelings of

empathy. This study will be discussed in greater detail at a later point, but it does offer a

platform from which to close discussion on emotion and behavior and begin thinking about the

influence dance can have on cognitive process and the advanced benefit of dance therapy over

other art-based interventions such as music or yoga therapy.

Dance; Cognitive Effects

The use of fMRI technology has opened new worlds to understanding the effects of

music and dance. Music in particular has long been associated with positive behavioral and

cognitive effects. Some literature has demonstrated how not only can using musical mnemonic

devices improve recall, but they are associated with increased coherence between the left and

right hemispheres during EEG testing (Peterson & Thant 2007). Neuroimaging studies have

revealed activation of the amygdala, hippocampus, and areas in the midbrain that show

correlation to self-reported positive emotions (Koelsch 2009). While music production in

suggested to have increased benefits, the presence of mirror-neurons allows similar effects to be

9

had by simply listening to music (Koelsch 2009). Understanding the effect of listening to music

on neuroactivity is critical, as more often than not music will be experienced simultaneously with

dance and studies have shown that listening to and structuring movement to rhythmic cues has

potential benefit particularly for motor control problems associated with neurological disorder

(Bernardi, Aggujaro, Caimmi, Molteni, Maravita, Luzzatti 2009).

Some dance interventions today use this idea of brain stimulation borrowed from music

therapy, but also strive to build upon it. In a program entitled Autism Movement Therapy

(AMT), therapists lead students through a series of clapping and other rhythm-making exercises

with and without music (Lara). Also key is a focus on cross-axial movement, based on the idea

that motor control is served by the opposite side of the brain one intends to move. By alternating

movements that reach across the mid-point of the body, communication between hemispheres

can be increased (Lara). Add this to our understanding of music and increased activity in areas

of the brain responsible for emotion, mostly the frontal lobes, and the engagement of both the

motor cortex and occipital lobe added by moving and watching while dancing. By using the

AMT technique, participants are experiencing whole-brain activity, thought to increase- even if

only briefly- overall cognitive activity and function (Lara).

Particularly understanding the previous discussion on music and neuro-activity, along

with ideas employed by programs like AMT, not only do there emerge advantages of dance

therapies over those without direct relationships to music, such as the yoga-based intervention

discussed earlier, but one must consider the implications for individuals with disabilities that

involve problems with cognitive mapping and transfer of information. Cornish et al (2008)

describe in their molecular overview of Fragile X syndrome the impaction of proteins within the

Central Nervous System on both cognitive plasticity and structure. It is the viewpoint of some

10

executors of dance-based therapies that the “waking up” of the brain can encourage overall

neuro-activity, potentially improving acquisition of stimuli and storage of information by forging

new pathways around damaged areas of the brain. Children diagnosed with Autism Related

Disorders may have white matter damage, for which due to its plasticity is hypothesized that

programs like AMT help the brain to re-map around damage using teaching techniques such as

clapping imitation, axial and locomotor movement, and dance’s common practice of moving in

eight count measures (Lara).

It is unfortunate that direct, quantitative evidence to support dance-based intervention

programs is limited, but there is certainly a large social validity regarding creative interventions

for individuals for special needs, particularly in regards to Autism Spectrum Disorder. But while

this enhances to my overall argument, please recall that the focus of this paper is to examine the

possibility for a widely applicable intervention that can be adapted for use at all levels of

education. Allow me to offer, in this case, an article my McMahon, Rose, and Parks issued in

2003. In this quantitative comparison of scores on the PhonoGraphix test, a reading evaluation

that measures code knowledge and phoneme segmentation skills, was completed to understand

the effect of a dance-based reading intervention administered to first graders in general education

in place of other, unstructured reading activity. By pairing sound to movement, following a

structured program, and encouraging collaboration, trained dance instructors created an

environment in which data suggest consonant and vowel recognition as well as phoneme

segmentation for first, second, third, and fourth sounds improved significantly over control

groups (McMahon et al 2003). Dance has also been used to illustrate poems, tell stories, express

theory, and enhance understanding. By activating several areas of the brain simultaneously,

11

additional pathways to the information stored in these areas should allow it to be more easily

accessible and therefore enhancing overall grasp of concept (Lara).

Hopefully, with time, more evidence can be revealed demonstrating the effect of dance

on cognitive process and academic learning. While an underdeveloped area of research, some

scholars propose the knowledge that can be gained about the link between emotion and cognitive

experience by understanding response to culture-specific dances as shown through neuro-

imaging techniques (Dale, Hyatt & Hollerman 2007). Information in this area could lead to a

greater understanding of the complex cognitive processes involved with both doing and watching

dance. Recall earlier discussion of Berrol’s research (2006) on mirror-neurons which

demonstrates how observing dance can produce similar feelings to, or in other words a state of

empathy for, the person performing the dance. Not only does fMRI technology allow

researchers to observe increased cortical activity as occurs through dance experience, but by

highlighting activity in the areas of the brain responsible for empathy and social regulation it

demonstrates the biological connection between dance and emotion (Berrol 2006). Here, now,

the link between dance, behavior, cognition, and the following ideas surrounding motivation and

community begins to strengthen.

Increasing Motivation and Feelings of Community

Consider the examples of dance-based therapies of Autism Movement Therapy and

McMahon’s reading study of general education students. Though this branch of research is in its

infancy, possibilities appear emergent in generalizing dance as an intervention to decrease

overall risk by providing behavioral and cognitive benefits in a variety of educational contexts.

Also, it can be considered that through its potential to reduce problem behavior, increase

language skill, and appropriately channel emotion, dance can improve overall readiness to learn.

12

It would not be out of the question to suggest that an improved approach to the learning process

can improve general confidence level. Further, it is a goal of programs like AMT and as well as

behavior-based interventions like Positive Behavior Support, to promote an increased motivation

toward learning through systems of reinforcement and a focus on increasing self-efficacy/self-

determination (Carr et al 2002, Hieneman et al 2005, Lara). Recall the work of Guthrie et al and

how feelings of motivation and self-efficacy may be associated with gains in reading (Guthrie et

al 2007). Apparent becomes the possibility that dance-based therapies might simultaneously

build the behavioral and motivational prerequisites to learning as well as enhance the learning

process at neurological level, in effect boosting overall performance in school.

One final area of consideration has the potential too further the proposed effect of dance

on academics. In a source cited several times in the theoretical framework of this paper,

Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education, the authors offer the issue of cultural

diversity as a potential source of bias in the education of minority students. They make a point

that a teacher’s ability to connect with his or her students in a way that expresses respect and care

can play a great role in whether or not classroom management techniques will be effective (NRC

2002 ch. 5). There exists evidence that, as a result of moving together in time and space, group

dancing can encourage social identification and feelings of community (Schmais 1985). Also of

interest is the idea that posture sharing, or sharing/mimicking body positions can increase

positive feelings towards a partner in a dyad (Navarre 1982). To extrapolate, and touching on

earlier discussions regarding the link between dance and empathy, dancing together a class or a

school may very well increase positive feelings towards and between teachers and peers. From

here it may be deduced that not only can dance-based interventions improve academic readiness,

but also increase feelings of empathy in a way as to soften cultural barriers.

13

To further consider the potential for dance to promote positive social relationships,

consider this example in which dance has been used to improve typical student’s attitudes toward

disabled students. Wolf & Launi, in a 1996 presentation to the Annual International Convention

of the Council for Exceptional Children, follow teams of middle school students during

instruction in modern dance technique as a means to express feelings. Students were assigned to

each team with intentional integration of students with special needs in a common environment

with more typical children. A counselor provided support in maintaining mutual respect during

dance instruction, and students were afforded creative influence for a final performance (Wolf &

Launi 1996). As with other examples of dance-based interventions offered earlier, there is no

empirical evidence that this intervention was successful. And while it is possible to assume that

therefore there may be no merit to the current argument, I resign to the previous discussion that

this area of research is limited at current time and therefore must absorb all bits of knowledge

that might spark future inquiry.

Considerations

Certainly the lack of quantitative evidence for the success of dance-based interventions

severely threatens the validity of many statements issued in this document, but perhaps

additional years of research in this area will produce more substantial evidence. Perhaps, indeed,

dance-based interventions will be as difficult to understand as the very educational risk factors

they are designed to counteract. Also in need of attention is the issue that many of the articles

cited for their focus on the neurological processes on dance come from international sources. It

would be quite possible that the findings included cannot be generalized to the populations

described in the theoretical portion of this paper. Not only is it important to recall the many

14

domestic examples also presented, but an outlook on “dance as a universal language” can

hopefully encourage researchers to seek out similar results locally.

Another consideration that must be made of the current literature sample are Hartshorn

and colleague’s findings that active on-task behavior did not improve, the main statistical effect

being the increase in passive on-task behaviors. Though it is possible to say that because

engagement is only passive that the full described benefit of the dance intervention will not be

reached, further contemplation on Berrol’s account that simply watching dance can produce

neurological effects allows that in the case of Hartshorn, passive observation of the instructor

was effective in reducing off-task behavior. Longitudinal research might reveal if the passive

engagement displayed by the participants in Hartshorn’s study can eventually lead to active

engagement, thereby affording the maximum benefit.

Conclusion

By demonstrating benefits including reduced off-task behavior, improved social skills

and interpersonal relationships, and the whole-brain activity encouraged by pairing specific types

of movement with music, it becomes evident that implementing a regular, purposeful regimen of

dance might improve the overall well-being of students in both general and special education.

Though data on existing dance interventions is quite lacking, there is a good base upon which to

begin building a framework and developing hypotheses for future research. Risk is inevitable, as

is the diversity of the children filling today’s classrooms. But research shows how protective

factors- including broadly-applicable, behavior management systems- can increase resilience and

reduce the number of students recommended for special services. Dance holds the potential to

not only influence behavior and emotion, but also to boost neuro-activity, which might facilitate

15

the acquisition of academic skills. Therefore, it can be considered that dance might support a

universal resilience.

16

References

Bannon, V. (1994). Dance/Movement Therapy with Emotionally Disturbed Adolescents.

Paper presented at the “Safe Schools, Safe Students: A Collaborative Approach to

Achieving Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools Conducive to Learning” Conference.

Bernardi, N.F., Aggujaro, S., Caimmi, M., Molteni, F., Maravita, A., & Luzzatti, C. (2009). A

New Approach to Rhythm Cueing of Cognitive Functions. Ann. N.Y. Sci. The

Neurosciences and Music III- Disorders and Plasticity, 1169, 417-421.

Berrol, C.F. (2006). Neuroscience meets dance/movement therapy: Mirror Neurons, the

Therapeutic Process and Empathy. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 33, 302-315.

Bong, M. (2004) Academic Motivation in Self-Efficacy, Task-Value, Achievement Goal

Orientations, and Attributional Beliefs. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(6),

287-297.

Carr EG, Dunlap G, Horner RH, Koegel RL, Turnbull AP, Sailor W, Anderson JL, Albin RW,

Koegel LK, Fox L. (2002). Positive Behavior Support: Evolution of an applied

science. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 4(1), 4.

Cornish, K., Turk, J., & Hagerman, R. (2008). The Fragile X Continuum: New Advances and

Perspectives. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 52, 469-482

Dale, J.A., Hyatt, J., & Hollerman, J. (2007). The Neuroscience of Dance and the Dance of

Neuroscience: Defining a Path of Inquiry. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 41(3), 89-

110.

Dearing, E., Kreider, H., Simpkins, S., & Weiss, H.B. (2006) Family Involvement in School and

Low-Income Children’s Literacy: Longitudinal Associations Between and Within

Families. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(4), 653-664.

17

Erwin-Grabner, T., Goodill, S.W., Schelly Hill, E., Von Neida, K. (1999). Effectiveness of

Dance/Movement Therapy on Reducing Test Anxiety. American Journal of Dance

Therapy, 21(1), 19-34.

Fink, A., Graif, B., & Neubauer, A.C. (2009). Brain correlates underlying creative thinking:

EEG alpha activity in professional vs. novice dancers. NeuroImage, 46(3), 854-862.

Guthrie, J.T., Mcrae, A., Klauda, S.L. (2007). Contributions of Concept-Oriented Reading

Instruction to Knowledge About Interventions for Motivations in Reading. Educational

Psychologist, 42(4), 237-250.

Kenny, M. (2002). Integrated Movement Therapy: Yoga-Based Therapy as a viable and

Effective Intervention for Autism Spectrum and Related Disorders. International

Journal of Yoga Therapy, 12, 71-79.

Koelsch, S. (2009). A Neuroscientific Perspective on Music Therapy. Ann. N.Y. Sci. The

Neurosciences and Music III- Disorders and Plasticity, 1169, 374-384.

Hartshorn, K., Olds, L., Field, T., Delage, J., Cullen, C., Escalona, A. (2001). Creative

Movement Therapy Benefits Children with Autism. Early Childhood Development and

Care, 166, 1-5.

Hieneman, M., Dunlap, G., Kincaid, D., (2005). Positive Support Strategies for

Students With Behavioral Disorders in General Education Settings. Psychology in the

Schools, 42(8), 779-794.

Lara, J. Training materials issued during training workshop for Autism Movement Therapy,

Inc., July 2009.

McMahon, S.D., Rose, D.S., & Parks, M. (2003). Basic Reading Through Dance Program: The

18

Impact on First-Grade Students’ Basic Reading Skills. Evaluation Review, 27(1), 104-

125.

Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education (2002). Washington, DC: National

Academy Press

Navarre, D. (1982). Posture Sharing in Dyadic Interaction. American Journal of Dance

Therapy, 5(1), 28-42

Peterson, D.A., & Thant, M.H. (2007). Music Increases Frontal EEG Coherence During Verbal

Learning. Neuroscience Letters, 412(3), 217-221.

Schmais, C. (1985). Healing Processes in Group Dance Therapy. American Journal of

Dance Therapy, 8, 17-36.

Skiba, R.J., Poloni-Staudinger, L., Gallini, S., Simmons, A.B., & Feggins-Azziz, R. (2006).

Disparate Access: The Disproportionality of African American Students with Disabilities

Across Educational Environments. Exceptional Children, 72(4) 411-424.

Skiba, R., Simmons, A., Ritter, S., Kohler, K., Henderson, M., & Wu, T. (2006). The Context of

Minority Disproportionality: Practitioner Perspectives on Special Education Referral.

Teachers College Record, 108(7) 1424-1459.

Wolf, G.A., Launi, B.A. (1996). Using Dance to Integrate Exceptionalities. Conference

Handout from Council for Exceptional Children National Convention.

19