The Rhythmic Arts Project

Goals & Objectives:
Our target audience is primarily people with intellectual and developmental disabilities though we work in typical schools where inclusion is practiced. http://www.traponline.org/

Mission:
The Rhythmic Arts Project empowers people with various disabilities to succeed in the world. We integrate drums and percussion instruments as creative learning tools that address life skills and enhance the mind, body and spirit.

Company Overview:
Who we serve: TRAP’s primary objective is to promote the inclusion of people with intellectual differences in all aspects of everyday life. We look forward to a world in which people of all abilities are treated with respect and dignity and are free to fully engage in the world around them.

Current & Ongoing: Though we remain a small company, and like it that way, our program has reached people all over the United States and now in several other countries including Bulgaria, Syria, Canada, Ecuador and Turkey. Requests come in on a regular basis through our web site from every corner of the planet.
Across the nation, TRAP programming/curriculum is being utilized by major service provider organizations in California, Waterbury and Wallingford Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, in Upstate New York, Sarasota and Clearwater Florida, Chattanooga and Nashville Tennessee, Seattle Washington, The Northern Arizona State University, Alabama, Louisiana, Austin and Houston Texas as well as the Longview School in Raleigh, North Carolina. (to name only a few)

Description:
Goals & Objectives: Our target audience is primarily people with intellectual differences though we work in typical schools where inclusion is practiced.. The project was created to enhance the lives of people with disabilities utilizing rhythm, drums, and other percussion instruments. The Rhythmic Arts Project is not a drum circle. We are a very serious and proven learning curve having met the standards for education in several states where we facilitate. By integrating drums and percussion into existing teaching methods/modalities, we address basic life skills such as turn taking, spatial awareness, kinesthetic awareness, fine and gross motor skills, lateral concepts, prepositional concepts, adding/subtracting, times tables, focus, memory and visual and auditory perceptions. Teaching occurs in an environment that is fun and not threatening so participants develop improved confidence and a more positive self-image. Drums transcend normal logic; the inherent healing and positive qualities have been documented in indigenous populations since the beginning of recorded time.

General Information:
The TRAP program is an educational program that uses percussion as a medium to address basic life and learning skills in individuals with developmental disabilities. Beyond that we strive to include this underserved population in our everyday life. We give them the tools and confidence to succeed in the typical world while teaching the typical world understanding and compassion.