Staying active is not always easy for children with special needs, but a physical therapist in Queens is making sure her patients get the right dose of exercise while living out their dancing dreams. NY1's Ruschell Boone filed the following report.

Their movement might be limited, but when it comes to dancing, these children are show stoppers.

The group is part of Dancing Dreams, a nonprofit dance program for children with disabilities. It's a big step for 11-year-old Krystle Smith who was born with Cerebral Palsy, and her father never thought he would see her dance. Like all the other kids, she moves around with the help of volunteers.

"I didn't believe she could do it, but she did it," Smith said.

Dancing Dreams was founded by Joann Ferrera, a pediatric physical therapist who specializes in working with children with special needs and also has a dance background.

"This came about with a little girl in my office who was dressed in a tiara and a tutu who said I wish I could be a dancer but nobody wants me," Ferrera recalled.

Ferrara started with five girls in 2002. Today, there are nearly 100 children in the program which has expanded to Manhattan.

And while many of her dancers are also her patients, children come from all over the city to participate.

"They are learning self esteem, they are getting confidence," Ferrera said.

And they are also getting a workout, something Ferrara stresses in her private practice.  

"Children with physical needs/physical challenges tend to be less mobile. They tend to be more sedentary and that leads to increased incidents of other physical problems such as cardiovascular problems, metabolic problems," Ferrera noted.

She adds a fitness regimen to their physical therapy.

"The recommendations are for children to have 60 minutes of vigorous exercise a day. Children with special needs often don't come anywhere close to that. It's not necessarily exercise. It's movement, physical activity," Ferrera said.

And come April 26, it will be dance. The children are scheduled to perform in front of a large crowd of family and friends at York College, but it's also open to the public.

To find out more about the program, visit dancingdreams.org.

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