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Administrator Administrator Posts: 18
4/11/2016
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Think of a music student with a disability you have now, or have had in the past. Identify their disability. Describe the way in which their disability affected their music learning. Describe at least one or more ways you successfully accommodated or modified instruction for this student. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
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Ann McFall Posts: 3
4/13/2016
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I currently teach a student with cerebral palsy. The student is in a wheelchair that has a table top attached to it so it acts like a desk. In my music classroom she has a paraprofessional that helps her one on one. The biggest accommodation I make each week is with instrument usage. The student's hand muscles are rigid, so she uses tiny glockenspiel mallets so that they will fit in her hand. The xylophone or glockenspiel sits on her wheelchair desk so she is able to see the instrument close up. She is unable to hold anything in her right hand, therefore I modify her instrumental part so she is successful with one mallet.
The student sits close to the front of the room due to poor vision. Anytime she works with the SMARTboard in my room I read and point to the questions and answers so that she is able to successfully choose the correct answer. Cerebral Palsy has affected her hearing a little as well and I make sure that she is close to the sound system or that I sing/give instructions near her so that she is able to hear and understand what is being asked of her. I normally say directions twice so that all students understand, but sometimes this students requests to hear the instructions 3 or more times.
When working in groups, I will modify the assignment for all students in her group. I will break the assignment down into smaller pieces, give extended time if needed, and I will assign the group an instrument to play that they are ALL successful at performing.
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Tammy Voodre Posts: 3
4/17/2016
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A couple of years ago. I had a student who not only was diabetic but had limited vision in his eyes. First of all, I have to say he was a inspiration to us all. He worked harder and never had an excuse for not learning or achieving in my music class. During the unit on recorders, we had his music enlarged so that he would be able to see it without squinting. Through the school system, we had someone place rubber O-rings on his recorder for each of the seven holes so he could feel the placement on the recorder better. This gave a him a landing mark for finding the holes and this seem to worked well for him. I also had him sit close to the front of the classroom and assigned a peer helper to help guide him during our class time just in case he had a question. I would also give him one on one instruction when possible.
edited by Tammy Voodre on 4/17/2016
edited by Tammy Voodre on 4/17/2016
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Zadda Bazzy Posts: 3
4/18/2016
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Several years ago I taught a student with autism. He was easily overstimulated by the sounds in the elementary music classroom and our many movement activities. It was not unusual for him to make loud noises and hide under the furniture when he could not handle the stimuli. His teacher gave him noise cancelling headphones for music class. In addition, I gave him a special place at the far corner of the music class where he could go if he needed to get away from the noise or movement. In addition, I featured this student during singing activities. He loved to sing -- especially into a microphone -- and he matched pitch very well. The class and I celebrated his strengths in music class, as well as allowed him to modify his participation in certain activities that overstimulated him.
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Judith Kelley Posts: 4
4/19/2016
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In a fourth grade music class, I have four mainstreamed ESE boys, two with autism. They like coming to music and the other students in the class are encouraging and helpful to them. Students are learning to play the recorder and are now playing five-note songs. One thing I do to help all students is to color code the notes and display the songs on large chart paper. This week's new note was orange D. Students were asked to only play the new note D as I sang and pointed to each note in the song. Next, I divided the class into groups, assigning each group a specific note in the song to play. After playing the song, I reassigned each group a different note. Lastly, students played all the notes as I pointed to each note on the chart. One autistic student used to get very frustrated. I believe this strategy is helping him and I see him gaining confidence in his ability to play a song successfully.
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Carrie Guffy Posts: 3
4/20/2016
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I currently have a young lady that is considered Visually Impaired. She has a condition that causes her eyes to shake, which makes reading that music extremely difficult for her. She learns best by peer-tutoring with a strong singer in the class who helps her through rote instruction. Occasionally she will ask for her music to be enlarged, especially when working on solo auditions.
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Ruthie Antmann Posts: 3
5/20/2016
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I teach a student who is autistic. He is fairly high-functioning but has a lot of social trouble. He has a hard time understanding the correct and appropriate ways to interact with others. I try to help him by carefully choosing students to do cooperative activities with him, and by structuring those activities to help him have the appropriate social reactions. I also remind him frequently about how others might perceive his words and that helps him function better within his classroom.
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Ivy Hernandez Posts: 3
5/24/2016
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I had a 6th grade student with mild autism and fine motor skill issues. She was not able to hold an instrument, control rhythm of an instrument, or pay attention by herself. The instruments were modified so that she could hold them easier, and She was provided a music buddy, who helped her keep rhythm and to pay attention when the ESE teacher was not in the room or I could not personally assist her. She was not able to write, so instead she typed or her music buddy transcribed the music for her.
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Laura O'Grady Posts: 1
5/27/2016
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One of my ASD students was very shy and uncomfortable when he came to music class. I found a classmate that he felt comfortable with and paired them together. His "buddy" helped him fit in and feel more comfortable with our music activities. I also found that using Task Analysis to break down the steps in our activities aided my ASD student and others as well. By taking the time to learn to play the recorder one step at a time helped him to be successful and enjoy music class.
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Devra Pollard Posts: 3
6/2/2016
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I had an ASD student who was high-functioning but was noticeably challenged when interacting with peers. There was a core group of students who were effective and patient when helping him understand appropriate ways to engage and interact with others while completing cooperative tasks. When creating groups and structuring in class assignments, I always included one student from the core group that partnered well with him. He changed groups with the same frequency as others; group assignments were not restrictive. By year’s end, he appropriately engaged with everyone in the class.
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Sara DiPardo Posts: 7
6/6/2016
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I have a wonderful student with cerebral palsy. The student is in a wheelchair but also has a very nice walker. The student usually comes to music in the chair though. The student also has a paraprofessional that helps. the student sits on the end where I can get to them more easily and help. The student is very rigid and stiff and has limited use of the left hand but can more easily use the right. I do accommodations with mallet instruments with by having her play the larger ones. I still help with my hand on top to guide. Recorder is something I am struggling with accommodations for. I try to cover the students hands but it's difficult having to use both and not very successful.
I repeat directions although the student doesn't have any problems with hearing but with speaking. I have had the most success with dancing/motion that only requires the upper body. The student LOVES this especially if it's a game where if you move robotically or can be "silly" the student is more successful and obviously has more fun too.
This has been my first student with Cerebral Palsy and I have already learned so much about accommodations. I am embarrassed honestly in how little I feel I have done. I need to work on SO much. This course has made me so aware. I look forward to using a lot of these ideas next year!
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Mary Mickle Posts: 4
6/14/2016
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I have a visually impaired student in one of my general education classes. Every time we do a movement activity, I use the hands-on strategy and physically manipulate her hands to instruct her movements. I also have used the peer-partners strategy to aid in the facilitation of the movement. I also prompt her with very specific vocal directions that would not be necessary in a class of students who were all visual. These strategies have been very successful and have provided her with the confidence to do everything that the gen ed population is doing.
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ursula von bargen-seitz fortner Posts: 5
6/15/2016
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Peer partnering worked well for my ASD student. The peer would be the conductor, standing vis-à-vis the student to help her follow along with the Orff orchestra. We used discovery and graphic organizers to compare and contrast Orff instruments.
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Karen Gentry Posts: 3
6/16/2016
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I work in a private school and teach elementary music classes. There are a number of children in our school with ADD and ADHD. To accomodate these students, I interact with them more frequently and have them sit close to the front of the class. If I need help passing out materials or collecting instruments, I usually select these students. Activities that require movement also help to keep them focused on the lesson.
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Brad Gillet Posts: 3
6/17/2016
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I have several students that come in with a para from a self-contained classroom. Some of the students have autism and cannot socially interact with the rest of the students. When using instruments, I reserve one for the paraprofessional to help them out with. When doing movement activities I often use the general ed students to pair up with them so they can interact more. I make modifications for these students the best ways that I can, especially because some of them are above or below the actual grade level, both age-wise and developmentally, that they come to the classroom with.
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ursula von bargen-seitz fortner Posts: 5
6/19/2016
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In the elementary Orff music environment, my young autistic student would be the 'conductor', standing at a distance, while we practiced with the Orff instruments as a whole group, rather than play an instrument in the whole group setting. She would create her own melodies and play them on the xylophone while the other students worked quietly with materials. Similarly, this student enjoyed dancing, one scarf in each hand, in front of the group, at a distance. Having this personal space away from the group and doing something singular and repetitive on her own reduced the need to hide or rock in the face of sensory overload and/or inundation of personal space by people.
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Janet Thomas Posts: 3
6/20/2016
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A blind student was enrolled in a high school music theory class that I taught several years ago. She was in the 9th grade and had recently lost her sight due to complications from diabetes. She had been playing piano and reading music for two or three years before losing her sight, so she was able to visualize the keyboard and music staff. A Braille typewriter was available but she preferred to take notes herself. Her mother would help her review the notes later. I seated her in the front center of the room with a buddy. Her buddy would help by whispering to clarify any instructions or discussion points, and help by keeping her notebook and handouts organized. This young lady was quite engaged in the class and would raise her hand frequently to ask a question or make a contribution. If she raised her hand for help during instruction for I would acknowledge her raised hand by lightly tapping on her desk to say “I see you”. We developed this system so that she wouldn’t wonder if I noticed that her hand was up. This student’s aural skills were excellent so “ear training” did not require much modification. Communicating with her about note names and the staff notation required some creativity. The student’s mother suggested making a raised grand staff by gluing strips of yarn to cardboard that would fit in her notebook. As I was teaching the class, the student would place her fingers or round shapes on the staff board in the correct place. The staff was large enough for me to see from a distance so I could easily assess her understanding. Another modification was allowing her to describe the notes in relation to each other on a keyboard, as if she were playing a piano. After a few weeks we became quite comfortable and efficient with this arrangement. It worked so well that I am not sure an observer in the room would have noticed that one of the students in the class was visually impaired!
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Sarah Hamilton Posts: 3
6/20/2016
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I had a flute student in a high school band with Asperger's. She took everything literally, had a difficult time with changes in routine, and had a difficult time relating to her peers. I had to be extremely careful in setting an environment where everything was consistent. If anything changed abruptly from her expectations, she would have outbursts and possible meltdowns. She wanted to perform well and I also had to be sensitive in correcting her. Despite her disability, she worked very hard and performed very well. As long as I was sensitive to her needs, helped prepare her for changes, assisted her with appropriate classroom behaviors, she did very well. Her dedication and hard work allowed her to gain respect from her peers, although she did require quite a bit of coaching in interpersonal skills. She ended up majoring in music therapy in college.
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Stacy McDonald Posts: 3
6/22/2016
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I have several ESE mainstreamed students in my general elementary music classes. I put them next to a student in the class who is on task, a strong singing and kind. These students gently keep the ESE student focussed and help them when they are confused. If an ESE student finds the noise of the room over stimulating, I will place them away from the source of the sound. I will also place a student in front of me if they have trouble focussing. I am constantly watching and reassessing so that the ESE child has the best possible chance of succeeding. If the student is well-placed, I keep them there so they have a routine. I use a lot of visuals in my class to motivate songs and movement to reinforce concepts.
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Tracy Messina Posts: 3
6/22/2016
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This past year I had a student with autism. He was a high functioning student. He is in the second grade. I had done a lesson on matching what rhythm I played using a set of rhythms I gave each group of students. I did not put this student in a group because I know he works well by himself not close to other students who might want to look and see what answer he had. This was very successful for him. On a side note when it was time for standard state testing his teacher had a 504 plan for him to take the test by himself and needed a place for him to learn while his class was testing. When asked what subject/teacher do you feel most comfortable with he said me. The teacher sent him a packet of work and he was great.
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