Dancing as a Tool for Successful Transitioning to Adulthood for Individuals with Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this synthesis project was to identify the skills dancing can develop in individuals with disabilities that can help them have a successful transition into adulthood. This project aimed to identify information on the benefits of dance and match those benefits to important transitioning skills found in the literature. Life after school can be an area in which young individuals with disabilities can face many challenges. Challenges include socializing, physical inactivity, unemployment, and relationships, among others. Findings from this synthesis project show that dance has both major and minor benefits in the lives of individuals. Socialization and physical fitness were identified as major benefits. These findings coincide with the findings on major needs for transitioning in which the major need that emerged was socialization. Conclusions were made that dance programs should be designed to maximize their socialization benefits to maximize their effect on the transition to adulthood of individuals with disabilities. Recommendations were also made that the physical benefits of dance provide an additional advantage to transitioning as many jobs that individuals with disabilities may acquire are of a physical nature.