Dance Training for Developmental Disabilities

11. Procedures:

11.1 Bridges to Skidmore Course Information DA209, Bridges to Skidmore: The Dance Experience
class will be held twice per week in the dance facilities or Tang teaching museum. This
course will be taught by Dr. Sarah DiPasquale who will also lead the dance class sessions
each week. Dependent on space constraints and learning goals each semester, the class will
convene in the dance studios, dance theater, Tang teaching museum or intramural gym of the
Williamson Sports Center. The Williamson Sports Center and Tang museum are accessible
buildings with multiple handicap accessible parking spots available for the Saratoga Bridges
staff to transport participants. Each week the participants will partake in 100-120 minutes
of contemporary dance training; participants work up to a 30 minute warm up period at the
beginning of class and then take a short break to get a drink or use the bathroom. Chairs are
also set up on all sides of the room so individuals can rest or take a break if they wish.
They will learn the basic positions and combinations used in Contemporary Dance, including:
Plié, Tendu, Degagé, Rond de Jambe, Frappé, Chassé, Sauté, Pas de Bourrée, Glissade, and
Révérance. Additional Contemporary Dance movements and patterns will be employed utilizing a
mixture of fall and recovery techniques consistent with this discipline's movement
vocabulary. A minimum of two staff members from Saratoga Bridges will be in attendance during
the class period in addition to the 8-10 students helping with the class. If a participant
chooses not to dance for the full duration of a given class period, a Bridges staff member
will assist them out of the studio to wait comfortably in the lobby of the dance center,
dance gym or sports center until the class ends and their transportation arrives. A staff
member from Saratoga Bridges will remain with the participant outside of the dance studio.
They may also rejoin the class at any time, should they choose.

Skidmore dance students will register for a 1-credit course through the dance department
entitled Bridges to Skidmore: The Dance Experience (DA271-001). Skidmore students registered
in this class will be matched with a cohort of Bridges participants (ideally a 4:1 ratio or
less). These cohorts will work together in the classroom enabling each member to get to know
one another throughout the duration of the semester. As the Bridges participants will come to
class with a wide range of physical and intellectual abilities, the small group cohort
embedded within the larger class setting will allow the student leaders to assist each person
in a way that meets their individual learning and/or mobility needs.

Prior to any participation in Bridges to Skidmore: The Dance Experience, an intake form will
be completed by a staff member at Saratoga Bridges. This staff member must be a health care
provider who has full access to the participants protected health information (PHI).

The only person who will have full access to the completed intake forms will be Dr. Sarah
DiPasquale PT, DPT. Student data collectors will have limited access to these files in order
to input the information into the database. Prior to any student access to files containing
PHI, the names of the participants will be removed from the documents and replaced with the
participant ID numbers. Additionally, this access will be under direct faculty supervision
and for only the amount of time needed to input the data. These files will be kept in a
locked filing cabinet in office 228 of the Williamson Sports Center at all times and will not
be removed from the office.

The first day of class for Bridges to Skidmore: The Dance Experience will be a training
session for the Skidmore student cohort leaders. We will invite a member of the Saratoga
Bridges medical or administrative team to talk with the class about working with people with
DD. We will discuss appropriate interactions and confidentiality during the class.

*Please note: Student cohort leaders are not synonymous with student data collectors. Student
cohort leaders will not have access to any data collected for the purposes of research. They
will be participating only in the 1 credit dance course aspect of the Bridges to Skidmore:
The Dance Experience project.

11.2 Data Collection Data collection will take place at the Saratoga Bridges facility, the
multipurpose room (Williamson Sports Center) or the intramural gym (Williamson Sports Center)
prior to the program commencement with post-testing to be completed the week of, or
following, the final performance/graduation ceremony. Of great importance during data
collection is the comprehension of the participants during the examination. While tests will
be verbally explained/instructed, a physical demonstration of the measurement will be
presented prior to administration. This will help to create clear expectations for the test
(specifically for those with decreased abilities to comprehend complex verbal explanations),
help to decrease any fear or anxiety surrounding the process, and potentially increase the
reliably of test-retest procedures in this population.

Data collection will be overseen by Dr. Sarah DiPasquale and assisted by 2-3 student
researchers from Skidmore College each semester. Student data collectors will be trained in
all procedures and techniques directly by the supervising faculty members prior to any data
collection and must be able to demonstrate competency in testing prior to administering any
tests on participants.

Both the pre and post data collection will take approximately 15 minutes per participant at
each testing session. Participants will receive instructions prior to each trial of 30
seconds and 2 researchers will always be present on either side of the participant should
they lose their balance. Participants will be asked to stay in a static standing position for
3 trials of 30 seconds while standing on a Wii board in four of the following conditions : 1)
bilateral stance with eyes open, 2) bilateral stance with eyes closed, 3) unilateral stance
on the right limb 4) unilateral stance on the left limb 5) bilateral stance with eyes open on
foam 6) bilateral stance with eyes closed on foam 7) unilateral stance on the right limb on
foam and 8) unilateral stance on the left limb on foam. All three trials will happen back to
back before moving on to the next condition. Different patterns of the four conditions will
be utilized each year as research progresses although no more than four conditions will be
utilized each semester as to minimize the time required of the participant for testing. Each
semester, the participants will be tested under the same four conditions. Participants will
be given a 15 seconds rest period between each trial and will be told they may rest at any
moment.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Inclusion criteria will be registration in a Saratoga Bridges Day Habilitation
program, being over the age of 18, and a statement from the physician in the
participant's medical files at Bridges allowing unrestrictive activities.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Exclusion criteria will be active participation in a physical therapy program with the
goal of improving functional mobility and participation in a consistent exercise class
that has the potential to improve physical function.