Effectiveness of Dance/Movement Therapy Intervention for Children with Intellectual Disability at an Early Childhood Special Education Preschool

Abstract

Children with intellectual disability (ID) often have deficits in gross motor skills and static and dynamic balance abilities, poor lower muscle strength, and an increased risk of serious falls. They also face difficulty in continuing physical activity programs due to cognitive impairment and easy loss of motivation. However, dance/movement therapy (DMT) has been found to help children with ID perform static and dynamic movements.This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of DMT group sessions for children with ID as part of an early childhood special education preschool program. The outcome measures involved employing a hand-held dynamometer to assess knee extensor muscles, the one-leg stand test for static balance, and the timed "up and go" test for dynamic balance, and administering the Child Behavior Checklist and Caregiver-Teacher Report Form for children's adaptive functions and behavioral problems, as reported by parents or relatives and teachers respectively. Twenty-one children with ID aged 36 to 72 months participated in the study. Ten 60-minute DMT group sessions were conducted as manualized intervention, once a week. The measurements were done before and after the

The effectiveness of dance movement therapy for individuals with Down syndrome: a pilot randomised controlled trial

“…Our previous study on the effectiveness of DMT on 21 children with ID, aged 3–6 years, showed that static balance measured through the one‐leg stand test increased significantly after 10 DMT group sessions (Takahashi et al . 2022). However, because the measurement lacks objectivity, the findings need to be confirmed through objective measurement methods.…”

Play and dance therapy: a review of theories, techniques and didactic methodologies for the motor recovery of children with disabilities

“…In the second part of the systematic review, the following studies are reported regarding the effectiveness of dancetherapy protocols. Takahashi et al (2022) have outlined a dance-therapy protocol for 21 children with intellectual disabilities, ageing 3 to 6 years, carried out in a rehabilitation setting (control group: n.10 subjects; experimental group: n.11 subjects). After a cycle of 10 one-hour dance sessions, the HHD post-test registered an increase in the strength of the extensors of both knees for all 11 participants.…”