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Anibal F. Garcia Posts: 3
1/14/2021
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A few years back, I had a student who was visually impaired. He loved my music class though. He was always excited to come in and learn about different instruments and to hear music. I always modified my lessons to accommodate him. I made sure that if we had a movement activity in the room that he had a partner/aid to assist him. I always tried to enhance my music class/lessons to ensure that he would be fully engaged. I made sure that my lessons were a fun sensory experience with hearing sounds/music and touch.
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Rebekah Gaylor Posts: 5
1/14/2021
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A few years ago I had a student that lost a hand in an accident at a very young age. She loved music, especially singing. But could not play instruments like the other students. I made simple accomodations for her such as using a single mallet rather than two mallets for barred instruments. She used a lanyard to hold her recorder and played what notes she could with one hand. She was very aware of the difference between her abilities and those of her peers. To avoid embarrassing her or making her uncomfortable, I usually adapted an instrument part for her and taught it to the whole class as if it were part of the original arrangement. Then she and a few others would play the part that had been adapted for her. I never singled her out infront of her peers.
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Rebekah Gaylor Posts: 5
1/14/2021
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I also have a student with cerebral palsy. He does not use a wheel chair but has similar problems with his hands. I had not thought of giving him smaller mallets, but I will try that with him this week. Thanks for the great idea!
Ann McFall wrote:
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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Rebekah Gaylor Posts: 5
1/14/2021
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I love that the other students celebrated his success with you. It just goes to show that children are capable of being accepting and kind if they are taught the right way!
Zadda Bazzy wrote:
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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Cynthia Tickel Posts: 3
1/15/2021
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I have a student now who is has a thumb and short stumps for all of the rest of his fingers on one hand. We just finished using drumsticks to play rhythms. He was able to hold the drumsticks but I'm sure it would have helped him if he had an adaptive mallet or something to help him hold the sticks to play.
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Scott LaBorde Posts: 5
1/16/2021
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One year, I had a student with a miss part (undeveloped) right arm and hand. In band, this would have prevented a normal fit for many instruments. The student really wanted to play trumpet. I found a way to be creative in finding a way to make this work through alternate ways for holding and securing the instrument while playing. As a result, he became successful, even in high school years.
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Kristi Hancock Posts: 1
1/19/2021
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I currently have a student who has sensory issues, mainly sound. In music class, we allow him to wear headphones to help reduce the noise that could trigger a reaction. In addition, this student seems to benefit from sitting on the floor, and with me currently teaching in the classroom from a cart, all of the students decided to sit on the floor too! It's worked wonders with this student thanks in part to his wonderful classmates. I've seen a lot of growth in his confidence so far this school year, and I look forward to seeing him continue to be challenged by the lessons in music class!
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Deanna Wittstruck Posts: 3
1/23/2021
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Many years ago, I had a young student who was blind. When introducing basic rhythm instruments to the class, we would sit in a circle and pass around many different types of the same instrument. This allowed him to feel the differences/similarities while the other students could see the differences/similarities. While passing the instruments around the circle, students were encouraged to explore the sounds that could be made. After having this student for a few months, it completely changed my way of teaching. I was incredibly aware of differences in learning styles. I am thankful I had the opportunity to teach this young man.
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Rachel Rogers Posts: 1
1/26/2021
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I had a student who was wheelchair bound, limited verbal skills, and had muscular and mobility impairments in her hands. In 4th grade all students participated in learning to play the recorder. This posed a challenge because of her inability to simply hold a recorder. In every other way she participated in class to the best of her ability in year previous so she understood reading notes and the staff. I was able to work with our OT/PT teacher and we adapted a xylophone mallet so she was able to hold it. She then was able to learn all the same songs as the recorder students but used a xylophone instead.
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Joan MacLunny Posts: 2
1/31/2021
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I had a Pre-K student last year (pre-COVID) with visual impairment. In that age-group, I normally do singing, finger-play and large motor skill
dancing and general "music and movement". At first, I use a "follow instructions" or "follow the teacher" venue for movement. Then I go to "free-style", meaning the students respond to indicate how the music makes them feel. My visually impaired student was encouraged to touch me or the materials I was presenting. He needed to feel the rhythm instruments thoroughly and to feel my arms and hands to understand what I was doing.
His hearing and speech were also delayed, but I could tell when he was happy and enjoying the activities. He displayed many enthusiastic body movements and verbal cues to express his understanding.
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Joan MacLunny Posts: 2
1/31/2021
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I had a Pre-K student last year (pre-COVID) with visual impairment. In that age-group, I normally do singing, finger-play and large motor skill
dancing and general "music and movement". At first, I use a "follow instructions" or "follow the teacher" venue for movement. Then I go to "free-style", meaning the students respond to indicate how the music makes them feel. My visually impaired student was encouraged to touch me or the materials I was presenting. He needed to feel the rhythm instruments thoroughly and to feel my arms and hands to understand what I was doing.
His hearing and speech were also delayed, but I could tell when he was happy and enjoying the activities. He displayed many enthusiastic body movements and verbal cues to express his understanding.
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T White Posts: 1
2/1/2021
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I have a fifth grade student who is in a wheelchair. We were informed that he did not participate in movement activities at his previous school, but his mom wanted him to do so. Whenever we did dances last year, at first, I partnered up with him so he could participate. Although we couldn't hold elbows, I could turn his wheelchair to do turns. Eventually, I would pair up a student with him after the other children saw how to work with the student and his wheelchair. His wheelchair is too large to be in among the Orff bar instruments. So, I set him up at his own space where he can remain in his wheelchair and play the instrument. I pull one out for him, and he is able to learn the parts that way.
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Jennie L Howard-Zeno Posts: 3
2/9/2021
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So many students to choose from! I taught a student from K-5 that had a physical limitation - she was born without two fingers on one of her hands. The biggest adaptation I made for her was when playing instruments or using materials that required fine motor skills. I would adapt the instrument so she could play it, or let her choose a similar instrument that she could hold and play. When we got to recorders in grades 4-5, I would put tape over some of the holes that she could not cover or I let her play with right hand on top with the hand that hand that was able to cover the necessary holes. She was quite successful, and even went on to play trombone in middle school.
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Rebecca Cochran Posts: 3
2/10/2021
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A few years ago I had a 4th grader with cerebral palsy who wanted to participate in strings. After talking with her mom, we decided that the cello would be the best to try since she lacked the strength in her arms to hold up an instrument. However once we moved past just playing on the open strings, it became increasingly difficult for her to keep up. Her fingers also lacked the dexterity and strength to press the strings down. Coupled with the challenge and then the fact that the class was before school, which created transportation issues and she also didn't like to wake up early, she stopped taking the class after a couple of months. However, her mom was super grateful that we tried and that I did everything I could to accomodate her disability.
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Davjay1983 Posts: 3
2/10/2021
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I currently have a student who is blind. I bring in my guitar and play and sing for this student. I wanted them to understand what created the sound on the guitar, so I allowed them to brush their hands on the strings, plucking each one individually. I then instructed them the pinch each one in order to understand the thickness of each string. They wanted to create music with the instrument, but were unable to make chords. I put a tambourine in their hands and they created a steady beat while I played guitar. We honestly had a lot of fun.
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Jennifer Thrasher Posts: 3
2/11/2021
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I had a student with severe autism. He was most non-verbal but engaged in the classroom. During singing assessments, he was simply unable to sing the exact song selection as the other students. According to the IEP, I was able to adjust the assessments to better fit his ability. I sang a short pattern on "loo" and he echoed as best as he could. The assessment was adjusted to best fit the purpose of the assessment which was singing in tune. He was able to echo sing and match pitch of a so-mi-so-mi pattern. I was thrilled that he was successful and the students cheered his accomplishment which encouraged him to participate more during class.
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Jennifer Bassett Posts: 3
2/16/2021
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I teach elementary music, K-6, at a school of 800-1000 students including 3 EBD units, 4 InD classes (non-inclusive), and 2 VE inclusion units. I am blessed to get to teach all of them! My most challenging classes are my students who are non-communicative and wheelchair bound. I have three assistants who come with this group of six students. I use them in every activity, and depend on them to "be me" so every student gets what they need. For example, with steady beat, I may have them gently pat an arm or leg for students who are unable to hold instruments, or help a child hold an adaptive instrument and move it to the steady beat. We also "dance" by pushing them in their wheelchairs with adapted movements for songs. A few of them have hearing aids. One thing I will do is sit in front of them so they can see my face and feel the vibrations in my neck as I sing. They are also seated closer to the sound source. For my visually impaired students I use tactile adaptive instruments and song maps as well as my enhanced classroom tech system to magnify pictures of instruments and music stories on my screen. I try to make notes for myself of any clear responses the children make each class time so I can build on that in future lessons.
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Deborah Bosic Posts: 3
2/18/2021
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I have a student in kindergarten that has difficulty with gross motor functions. I know that she is receiving Occupational Therapy in school. We dance a lot in the Kindergarten general music class and sometimes she falls. I think that moving her body to the beat of the music provides her with opportunities to develop gross motor function as well as participate with her classmates. She smiles when she is dancing and her smile is priceless.
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Suellen Kipp Posts: 3
3/5/2021
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In my twenty plus years of teaching music most of my students with disabilities have been blessed, enriched, supported, encouraged and have blossomed through participating in music class. Music sometimes reaches a place in my students with disabilities where other forms of communication and experience cannot reach. Students of all abilities are able to participate and enjoy musical activities at varying skill levels and still feel a sense of the larger group. I have seen students with disabilities excel at musical skills and surprised their classroom teachers and parents. Overall, I have seen positive reactions and responses from my students with disabilities to music class through the years.
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James Cornelius Posts: 3
3/17/2021
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When I taught elementary music, a student, who was in a wheel chair and had brittle bones, was in my class. Whenever we did movement as a class, I modified the movement for him to not be strenuous. Other students carefully pushed him so he could be a part of the activity or when he was strong enough to get out of his wheelchair, I let him take breaks as he got tired.
The other students in the class were amazing! They were always cautious, looking out for their classmate, and willing to help him any way they could.
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