The power and impact of inclusion – Blackwells.biz

We believe in the door always being open with no barriers to entry. That’s what inclusion means to us.

We have experienced many closed doors, lots of people and places saying ‘no’. We have searched far and wide for opportunities and the right people to support Jen to be included and enabled to join in with activities in her local community.

In her 44 years, being labelled as a disabled family from birth and seemingly syphoned into a parallel universe, we have only ever wanted Jen to be treated as the unique human being she is. Jen is a dancer first, who loves playing her flute, learning Krav, (a martial art), spending time with friends, watching WWE and skiing with her family when she can. In her own words Jen talks about her life, lived independently from us her parents, which allows all of us to lead our lives in the way we choose. Jen was born with Down’s syndrome and has a moderate-severe learning disability.

The joy and freedom we all now experience has only been made possible since we set up DanceSyndrome giving Jen something to get out of bed for. Jen had no meaningful friendship until she started meeting people as equals through dance when she was 28 years old. We have had no idea what was possible for Jen at all stages of her life, with ‘professionals’ constantly writing her off. We’ve always sought to offer opportunities and find the right support to explore and encourage Jen to try the things she told us she wanted and enable her to have the life skills to live as independently as possible.

Jen’s language has always been dance. If the dance stops it tells us something isn’t right. If the spark goes out of her eyes we are alerted to find what’s going on that isn’t serving her at that moment in time. Jen, like so many of us, is particularly sensitive to nutrition, which is the everyday foundation for her to be able to do what she loves – co-leading community dance sessions in her town and online and leading her charity to impact more and more people every year – showing us all what’s possible when we have the right support.

Over the past 17 years DanceSyndrome has developed support, training and opportunities for people with and without learning disabilities to lead, dance and become more confident in all parts of life. Parents and carers have been impacted enormously too:

“Seeing my daughter enjoying dance makes me feel happy. It has always been a struggle finding dance classes that are inclusive. Many say they are however they didn’t fully understand my daughter which lead to frustration on my part that there was nothing out there for her. I felt guilty that she wasn’t involved. I now feel relief and so happy that she is doing something that she enjoys doing.” Parent feedback, DS Youth Collective

“Since starting DanceSyndrome she has a whole new routine to her Saturdays and as a direct result has seen improvement in her college work (foundation skills) which means she has shown enough improvement to continue her classes, something which may not have happened without this routine.” Parent of a Dance Leader

Whilst the stats tell us what DanceSyndrome is doing is making a huge difference to people and their families with learning disabilities, we know from our lived experience that it’s possible to put inclusion at the heart of everything we do and enable different outcomes from the ones that many families are currently experiencing.

As an activity provider you can make a real and huge difference in your community by turning things upside down. The Breaking down Barriers one day training programme is perfect for activity professionals looking to become more aware and skilled in your own business and practices. Whilst the training uses dance, the methodology and practices can be used in delivering any inclusive activity sessions. No previous experience necessary.

The hugely powerful Inclusion in Action training is creating change and we want more people and organisations to start thinking and acting differently. Co-led by a person with a learning disability, one parent who experienced this training last year said, “I had no idea my daughter experienced life like that”.

Everybody matters and our experience shows that it’s possible to lead from a foundation of inclusion. We believe it’s necessary to build on the firm base of inclusion in all parts of our community. Open doors and listening to individuals and their families and support team are the first steps you can take to tell those in your area that they are welcome and they belong in the space with their neighbours.

We are a family that offers hope and believe in the art of the possible. We want everyone to live the life of their choosing which is only possible when we have the right support and opportunities. Together we can make that change happen, starting with one activity at a time.

We want to see DanceSyndrome exist in every town of the UK making a difference to thousands of lives. With determination we can make this happen together.

Commit to the art of the possible for everyone in your area – get in touch.

Sue Blackwell
Mum of Jen and Anthony, co-founder and Director of DanceSyndrome and Blackwells.biz
[email protected]
LinkedIn: Sue and Dr (h.c) Jen Blackwell BEM

You are welcome to join the online dance sessions, or Everybody Dance sessions here: https://dancesyndrome.co.uk/book-a-session/

A survey of Everybody Dance participants in September 2023 showed that, as a direct result of joining DanceSyndrome, participants reported: