New Jersey Dancin' Dreams: the Dance Social for Children with Autism and Special Needs!
What is New Jersey Dancin' Dreams?
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New Jersey Dancin' DreamsTM is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing opportunities for fun, cost-effective therapeutic interventions, and youth development programs for vulnerable populations including children with developmental disabilities and special populations such as inner-city kids and orphans. New Jersey Dancin' Dreams will launch a series of projects, the very first one of which, is a Workshop for Children with Autism, to be held at NJISC2012, at 10:00AM on Saturday, April 28, 2012. We are very excited to inaugurate this program and trust it will become another tradition at the Jersey Salsa Congress!
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For our very first edition of the New Jersey Dancin' Dreams, we feature:
- Activities include dance instruction, Musical Instrument Instruction, Dance Socials
- FREE Raffle : Two lucky children will win musical instruments
- FREE Goodies: All Participants wil receive a FREE Tshirt, Tote Bag, and Towel
- FREE Lunch: All Participants and Chaperones will have FREE lunch
- Participation is FREE on a first come, first served basis!
For more information, email us njdreams@njisc.com.
Stay Tuned for the 2012 Schedule!
| Saturday ▪ April 28, 2012 ▪ Hilton Hotel & Conference Center ▪ East Brunswick ▪ NJ |
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| 10:00AM to 11:00AM |
FREE Registration in Hotel Lobby |
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| 11:00AM to 12:00PM |
FREE Lunch for the kids & their chaperones |
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| 12:00PM to 1:00PM |
the Dance Social for Children with Autism, developmental disabilities and other vulnerable children population with special needs.
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1Schedules subject to change without notice. Please check frequently on this website for latest information, or sign up for updates.
Who Are the Lead Instructors at the NJISC2012 Workshops for Children with Autism?
Grace Badillo
Grace is President of Dancing with Grace Productions, Inc., and recipient of the 2008 President's Volunteer Service Award will be one of the lead volunteer instructors for the dance workshops for children with autism.
Carmen Milagros Taveras
Carmen is the Development Coordinator at the LearningSpring School in New York City, which is dedicated to the care of children with autism spectrum disorders in grades K-8. Her commitment is to advance the social, developmental and academic growth of its students through pioneering educational and therapeutic strategies in order to prepare each child to participate in the wider community. A former Professional Santo Rico dancer, Carmen is also Director of the Santo Rico Kids Program in Harlem.
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Why New Jersey Dancin' Dreams?
New Jersey Dancin’ Dreams was formally founded in December 2009 by Mary Jane (MJ) San Gabriel, adoptive mother of Rafael, an orphaned child with autism. Driven by a personal mission to seek effective therapeutic interventions for special children like her adopted son, MJ (a Chemical Engineer & former Senior Regional Operations Manager for both Apple Computer(s) and Levi Strauss & Co,) shifted careers and pursued graduate studies in Special Education and currently pursuing a Master's in Nursing, NP Psychiatry and Mental Health. MJ now dreams of founding clinics for children with developmental disabilities and contribute to the expansion of research on autism.
The Benefits of Music and Dancing Therapy in Autism Spectrum Disorders
The benefits of music and dance therapies in children and young adults afflicted with autism and autism spectrum disorders are well documented.
1, 2 & 3 Through music and dance, simple movement therapies provide ways of information reorganization and strength in communication skills. When an autistic child or young adults listens and moves to music, the process of repetition and sequencing improve cognitive functions. Suprisingly, many autistic children behave better and communicate more efficiently.
Would You Like to Volunteer?
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We are seeking volunteers to play various roles in this very special workshop! The key qualification of volunteers include utmost dedication and enduring patience for special children. Workshop Partners to the children are highly recommended to have experience in healthcare, preferably those who have direct experience with children with disabilities. Assistants to the workshop instructors and partners do not need formal training or degrees in healthcare, but have time and willingness to be trained on how to assist in these special workshops. If you're interested in volunteering, please send an email to njdreams@njisc.com.
Two Training Sessions will be held at the Hilton East Brunswick Hotel:
- April 27, 2012 - Friday, 4:30PM to 6:00PM
- April 28, 2012 Saturday 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
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A Fully Compliant Non-Profit Organization
New Jersey Dancin' Dreams is organized pursuant to the New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act and and is organized for nonprofit activities which are consistent with the provisions of Section 501(C) (3) of the code and its regulations. We are incorporated in the State of New Jersey and registered with the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Department of Treasury.
Stay Informed!
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1Wimpory DC and Nash S. "Musical interaction therapy - therapeutic play for children with autism," Child Language Teaching and Therapy, February 1999 15: 17-28.
2Hartshron K, Olds L, Field T et al. "Creative movement therapy benefits children with autism." Early Child Development and Care, 2001 166: 1-5.
3Lara J. "Autism Movement Therapy: Aut-erobics Movement & Music Sensory Integration to 'Wake Up the Brain'." Autism - Asperger's Digest Magazine, January - February 2009 39-40
Thank you very much for visiting our website and for your interest in NJISC2012!
We hope to see you in April 2012!
