Over the holidays, I walked into my living room while the Ellen DeGeneres Show was on TV. A new dance group was doing a hip-hop routine to start off the show, and they had the audience members rocking. There wasn't a body in the room that wasn't moving! Everyone in the audience was swaying their hips and arms to the beat of the music - some standing and some sitting. The people who were sitting were doing as much 'rocking' as the people who were standing, which made me think about youths with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and other disabilities, who would likely be able to perform the same kinds of movements, perhaps with some slight modifications.

To read this month's column, go to http://www.ncpad.org/810/4196/Director~s~Column~February~2010~~~Music~and~Dance~Can~
Pave~the~Road~to~Higher~Levels~of~Physical~Activity~Among~
Youth~with~Disabilities.