Presentation of the project +INCLUSÃO – ESCOLAS

On June 7th, 6:30pm, at the headquarters of Dançando com a Diferença, there will be a presentation of the results of the pilot project +INCLUSÃO - ESCOLAS, developed by this institution in partnership with the Regional Secretary of Education / Escola Horácio Bento Gouveia.

In +INCLUSÃO ESCOLAS we aim to promote and develop the global capacities of students with special educational needs through "Daily Life Autonomy Workouts" (TAVD) together with other educational and pedagogical practices and methods developed through dance by the group Dançando com a Diferença. This pilot project was intended to train and create bases for the promotion of autonomy and independent living for school-age students with disabilities, seeking to develop competencies with activities in a context as close as possible to real life, representing a means of preparing for entry into adult life.

About the importance of the development of practical activities within the scope of education in disability, Henrique Amoedo, Artistic Director of Dançando com a Diferença, states: "for young people with intellectual disabilities, the practical experience and the approximation to real contexts is primordial. The activities developed at +INCLUSÃO ESCOLAS provide such experiences. In what specifically refers to Dance, such practices serve to prepare these students for the development of autonomy, at a maximum level according to individual capacities. They will be used in their daily and professional life. The beginning of this pilot project was only possible due to the investment in equipment and personnel made by us, with resources coming from private donations and with the support of the Regional Secretary of Education. We intend, after the positive evaluation of this experience, to continue and gather conditions for its expansion".

Started in March of this year, during the period of this pilot project, the educational team of Dançando com a Diferença, together with the 9 students of the specialized unit and the respective teaching staff of the Escola Horácio Bento Gouveia, developed activities that included the acquisition of skills in the areas of cooking, personal care, cleaning, and mobility.

On June 7th, in the presence of the Regional Secretary of Education, the parents of the students involved and the management and teaching community of the specialized unit of the Escola Horácio Bento Gouveia will be presented with the theoretical and operational basis of the project +INCLUSÃO ESCOLAS, showing step by step the activities developed during this period and the respective evaluation of the participants.

This convivial moment will also be used to reaffirm the interest of Dançando com a Diferença in continuing the development of this project in the next school year, with a view to deepening its theoretical and practical contents, and consequently expanding it to educational spaces where the application of this type of project proves to be pertinent and an added value in improving the quality of young people with disabilities at school age.