Has anyone ever had a young student with down syndrome in their class before?

Last week was the first week of classes for our studio, and I arrived to teach my 5/6 tap/ballet combo, and found that I did. It isn't the first year for this girl, as she was in our recital last year, so she's comfortable with the dance studio and dancing and all that, but I was curious if anyone has ever had a down syndrome dancer in their class before?

I'm grateful that this girls Mom seemed very open to discussing things with me, and seemed very willing to help me out, and I am planning on definitely taking advantage of that. I don't have a student teacher yet, as our studio manager and director were still working on that, so I'm thinking that once I do have one, she'll be able to be a big help to me in class.

The little girl is very sweet, and loves to dance, so I'm very happy she's in the class. I just want her to have the best experience possible, so if you have any ideas or experiences to share, that would be awesome!

Hi, I have had a little girls with Down Syndrome in my class for 2 years now. Overall it has been a great experience, but lately she had been pushing.hitting other children. I do now have another teacher in the room with me so that helps. I would suggest another teacher to help out if possible. All kids are different and the most important thing is she is having fun and happy.

I am going to be very honest, not all parents are open to having anyone "different" in their child's class, so these people may drop the class or switch. It is more effort on everyones end.

I just do the best I can and keep the class moving. I make it the responsibility of the other teacher to keep this little girl on task. I do pay this teacher so it does cost me more, but I try my best to make dance work for all.

Let me know if this helps!

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm glad that someone else has experience with this situation.

1. Like I said, as of last class, I'm working on getting a student teacher for this class. I doubt it would be possible to get another teacher in, but a student teacher, yes. It would be a great help to have another body in the room to be this girls "special friend" as I call it, to kind of pay special attention to her, and help her along the way.

2. That's a very good point that you brought up that not all parents would be open to this type of situation. I hadn't even thought about that. I hope it wouldn't come to any parents wanting to switch their students, but I appreciate you bringing that up. I was concerned about the other dancers in class being "frightened" of someone who is different then them, and when we were sitting in a circle one girl moved away from the down syndrome student a little, but I'm hoping as time goes on, everyone will become more comfortable with each other. As it does usually happen in any class.

I absolutely agree that the main idea should be about making sure this student has an enjoyable time in class, and it seemed as if she did. The good news is that there is another little girl in class, who was with her last season, so my down syndrome girl does have a buddy, which could be helpful. The down syndrome girl likes to be around this girl, but gets very touchy feely and likes to hug her friend, which puts the other girl off a little. Which is another reason, why maybe a student teacher would come in handy. Just to remind her that "we keep our hands to ourself in dance class"

You are very welcome. I find most of the time the kids are very accepting - more so than parents.

Best wishes to you and all of your students!

I have also had a student with DS. I think tototoe made some excellent points. The only thing I wanted to add is much like having an autistic student, sometimes children with DS may act out in class. The girl I taught would sometimes just sit down in the middle of class. I would only say to her one time, "Don't you want to get up and dance with the class?" and if she didn't stand back up, I just let it go. I didn't pressure her to do anything she didn't want to do. Eventually, she would stand back up.

It's great that the parent is very open with you. Don't hesitate to take concerns or questions to her. I often did this with my student's parent, and it really helped me understand her.

I see this on this website a lot and it is a major pet peeve of mine: they are not a "Down syndrome student" or "Down syndrome dancer." They are a student or dancer WITH Down syndrome. Not picking on you specifically, I've seen many people type it that way.

Tunie wrote:

I see this on this website a lot and it is a major pet peeve of mine: they are not a "Down syndrome student" or "Down syndrome dancer." They are a student or dancer WITH Down syndrome. Not picking on you specifically, I've seen many people type it that way.

I think that's mostly for practical reasons. It's a bit shorter to type.

I appreciate Lidwina that but I have two son's with Autism, they are not Autistic, they are young men who just happen to have Autism.

I taught a lovely girl of 14 with Downs a couple of years ago. I'm in a small town so the whole community seems to be really behind this girl and her family. She had to stop dance for knee surgery last season but I really hope she'll be back soon, she was such fun to teach.

Was just going to say what the others above me said. Really big pet peeve of mine! I work with a child who has DS and it kinda bugs me when people say 'a down syndrome child', although I totally understand that people don't say it intentionally or to cause offence... it just isn't something you really think about before you say it!!

They are children first and foremost, their syndrome, condition, delay WHATEVER doesn't define who they are as a person.

Also something to remember is that there are all levels of Down Syndrome, and every single child with DS is different and so you will probably have to figure out quite a bit by yourself!! But a couple of tips that I have;

1. (and this one is so obvious and I am sure you know it, but I will say it anyway!!) Treat her like all the other children in the class!! It is a great idea getting another teacher in the class, but don't have her working with the little girl ALL the time, give her some space to figure things out like the other children. Yes she might need some extra help, but give it to her when she needs it (don't really no know how to word this! lol)... You want her to be independant and be able to dance in class without having to rely 100% on the other teacher.

2. Make sure you have the same rules and boundaries for her as you do the other students, and make sure you stick to them... especially at first!! In my experience with my little guy I have to be consistent with rules that I give him. He is very clever you see, and if in a moment of weakness I give in and let him do something that he knows he isn't supposed to do (or if I let him get away with doing something he isn't supposed to do) BOY do I regret it later! He thinks he can do it again and gets upset when I wont let him this time, because I had let him before! Obviously there are times when you will have to bend the rules for the girl a bit, and there may be some things she might not be able to do like the other children, but where possible keep the same rules for her as the other children.

3. This point was brought up earlier and my goodness did it make my blood boil!!! If parents pull their children out of class because there is a child with DS in it, then in my opinion they aren't people that you want at your school. ARGH! What, do they think that their child will catch DS or something? That prolonged exposure to a child with DS is going to impare their child in some way?!?! I can understand maybe some parents thinking that maybe having a child with special needs in the class might take up some time, but WHO CARES... children need to learn to accept people who are different to them and learn to be patient with people who might take a bit longer to learn things than them. I have so much more that I want to say here, but I am having trouble making things sound even semi coherent!

Sorry I actually don't have many suggestions that are really relevant to you, but hope that something in there helped!!

Oh just something else, someone mentioned a child with DS recently starting pushing and hitting. A couple of possible reasons could be;

A) Are children getting really up in her personal space? Because I know there are times with my boy that he just can't stand people being all up in his face and he with start hitting out at people when they get too close. Other times he is fine and loves being close to other people but other times he just needs his space (like all children!! lol)

B) Could she possibly be getting a bit bored? Because I know that when my boy gets bored sometimes that is when he starts to behave badly. Not sure but something to maybe think about.


(Just read this through and I think I sound a bit snarky in some bits... Everything I said I meant in the nicest way possible, not accusing you of anything!!)

Beth

I have taught many Special needs children, if you would like to visit my website and view my gallery on the first page you can see Special needs and mainstream children enjoying the same dance class! dancewithadifference.co.uk

These children are awesome to teach. I loved teaching a little girl many years ago. She had some limitations, but overall did a good job in class. I live south of Memphis, Tennessee and there is a group there called Company D. It consists of young people with DS. They are AWESOME! The members perform all over the place and do a wonderful job. You can google them and see their website. More people should see these kids for what they can do instead of what their limitaions are.

I've been teaching a student 6 yr old with DS for about a month now (let's call her Jane). The first lesson she came with her twin sister (who does not have DS). Her twin spent the whole lesson trying to get Jane to sit with the class or stand in line with the class instead of focusing on her own dancing. I decided to put them both in different classes because I didn't feel it was fair on the twin.

Since then both have improved in class, although Jane will have bad days and kick, push, or pull the hair of the other kids. Her mother and I have worked out a plan for whenever that happens though (If she tries to hit another student she goes out to her mum for 5 minutes. If I have to send her out again her mum takes her home)It is too soon to tell if it's working yet though.

She often doesn't want to join in when we're working on technical things (in lines doing plies, tendus at the barre etc) But whenever we are using the room (skipping, running, jumping or free dance) she joins in.

The thing I am concerned about though is the other children in the class, they are becoming more comfortable with Jane but when she kicks and pushes them they get a bit frightened. I have not lost any students yet but I am afraid it may happen.

I wish my SO would allow me to have an assistant!

I had Child with Down's Syndrome - be careful their joints can be hyper-mobile. Need to train carefully especially with knees, hips, and ankles

I have had a few, over the years. We put them in with kids at their own developmental level, or beginner for their age, whatever works best.

I always have an assistant in such classes. They were always sweet and the parents and other kids were very accepting.

Having an assistant is really key.

i have had children with ds in my dance classes every year for the last 8 years. i am no expert but want to share a few of the things they have taught me:
-have high expectations for ALL of your students. i kept a young girl at her parents request in a group with children much younger than herself. halfway into the session she began to want to leave the class and i had to really work to keep her engaged. the next session i talked her mom into moving her up into a class closer to her age group - it was magic! i didn't once have to cajole her to stay in class and at the recital, she was a star!

- children with ds often have some hearing loss/hearing sensitivities that teachers are not aware of. i don't single out my children with ds but i do ask them often to repeat what i said or what i asked them to do. that way i know they are 'hearing' me. i also keep a close eye on the volume of my music; when it is too loud i notice an immediate dis-engagement.

-all students become distracted when not engaged. children with ds often us 'self distracting' activities when overstimulated, unable to hear, not able to comprehend etc. one little girl i taught would run to lick the mirror when she felt anxious - she did NOT have ds! to help children stay engaged, i use their names often, praise them and stay energetically enthusiastic. i watch for dis-engagement from each student and try to direct it back to the task at hand. if more than a couple of students seem to be struggling, i move on regardless if i had planned to or not.

it's been a while since i came on dancenet but i have to say, i am always inspired by how much everyone cares and shares!
thank you♥

Tunie wrote:

I see this on this website a lot and it is a major pet peeve of mine: they are not a "Down syndrome student" or "Down syndrome dancer." They are a student or dancer WITH Down syndrome. Not picking on you specifically, I've seen many people type it that way.

When I had cancer, I was a patient with cancer, but calling me a cancer patient was not wrong, technically either. Both mean the same.

^ yup, I've been called cancer patient, diabetic, the list goes on...I know people don't mean that is all that I am when they say it and i certainly don't view myself that way either so it never offended me.

The point Tunie was trying to make was that the label can often get in the way of seeing the person. Like for instance, the downs kid or the autistic kid. I doubt if you were ever known as the cancer lady.

I have worked with a 4 year old with DS in my class last year. I'm sure every case is different just as all children are.

I found that she needed breaks from time to time. I would let her sit on her spot and watch for a song or 2.

She also went through a hitting phase. I would correct her the same as I did my tot classes. I told the other parents in the class to please have patience. It was a bit tuff at times. After the hitting phase came the hugging phase, but the kids were already a bit scared that there were about to get hit and intead they would get a big hug.

It takes patience and eyes behind your head.


Good luck!