Buttermilk Mountain, Inc. Granted $1,000 for Dance Lessons

“Buttermilk Mountain hosts social events that families with disabilities look forward to and are excited to attend. 80 percent of parents of children with disabilities get divorced. By hosting fun events for the whole family, Buttermilk Mountain hopes to take the stress out of their lives, if only for one night.

Social events help create a quality of life for the entire family. They help people with special needs integrate into society and develop social skills. But most families with disabilities do not attend events that are not specifically planned for them. A mother of two children with autism wrote, ‘It has been my experience that kids with disabilities are often not easy to involve in events. Many do not adapt well to places with lots of people. Attending events with my kids is highly stressful.’ Buttermilk wants to change her mind.

Social events help people with special needs integrate into society and develop social skills. Most adults with disabilities are unemployed. In order to change that statistic in the future, children with special needs should be integrated into society. By inviting the entire family, both children with special needs and children without learn to teach everyone with respect. Everyone needs to be comfortable around people different than they are.

After receiving a grant, they asked a group of teenagers with Down syndrome how Buttermilk Mountain should spend the money. ‘Let’s take dancing lessons!’ Buttermilk Mountain rented a room at the YMCA and hired Kids Dance Outreach. For people with disabilities that did not want to dance, Buttermilk Mountain provided craft projects and sensory items.

Buttermilk Mountain plans to team up with the Autism Society of Indiana and an autism support group in Linton, Indiana to offer dance lessons to their families — all paid for by Buttermilk Mountain because of the support of this grant. The Autism Society of Indiana and the support group will help plan the events and invite their clientele.

Line dancing lessons help build self-esteem, teach social skills, require group participation and are fun!”

–Jodi Maslanka
Buttermilk Mountain, Inc.