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Alba Chong-You Posts: 3
4/10/2017
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I currently have a student with ASD who is high functioning cognitively, but non-verbal. Since she does not speak, I encourage her to use solfege hand signs when the group is doing a singing activity. To ask and answer questions, she has a dry erase board and marker that she uses confidently throughout the class period. She has shown great strength in her rhythmic ability and excels in playing percussion instruments. She is also doing very well with her recorder playing.
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mary wright Posts: 3
4/23/2017
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My school is an official ESE school and we have a large population of ASD and IND students. They are in self contained classes that come to music in groups of 2-3 classes together along with 4-5 adult assistants. It’s a huge group with multiple levels of ability and disability. One student is IND and also has behavior issues of impulsivity and violence. He is held onto all day long by a teaching assistant. He kicks her sometimes. If she lets him go, he will run out the door or run around the room trying to break and throw things. I have to make sure that expensive or delicate things are put away before he arrives. Last time, I had boomwhackers lined up on the floor and he ran in and stomped all over them and mashed some. I hate to admit it, but I’ve given him jellybeans sometimes to keep him seated and still. I have modified the curriculum for the entire group. He is not the only student who will break or throw anything in their hands. I use streamers, scarves, lollipop drums and jingle bells that can’t be broken easily and can be replaced easily. I’m able to get this student's attention, as well as that of the rest of the class, if we do an activity where they each get to be the leader or center of attention. That would be something like “Doggie where’s your bone?” or leading the class in moving streamers. He will actually settle down a little and participate if he is the leader. I’m hoping through this course to find better ways to involve these students in music.
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La Toya Wilson Posts: 6
4/24/2017
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The students I am currently teaching are OI. Difficulties are mainly physical,however according to these kid nothing is impossible and I love their determination. Modifications used are adjustment of instrument,chairs,tables, making room for their wheel chair when performing on stage and in the music room. Hands on activities are continual process with all my students to master a new skill.
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Caroline Hood Posts: 3
4/24/2017
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I have a few students on the ASD spectrum. With these students I tend to let them sit farther from the speaker/sound source until they get comfortable. I always have a back-up activity that is in-line with the lesson. These students need a little more time warming up to the music room, as it can be overstimulating. One of my students is brilliant at music, so I try to ask more in depth questions to him. He comes to class with giant headphones on because he is very sensitive to loud/different sounds. Once he is in the room and comfortable it is absolutely amazing that he loves to play recorder along with 25 other students and a recording!!
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Lisa Duxbury Posts: 3
4/26/2017
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I have a student who has cerebral palsy. He has a one on one aid that comes with him to music who is very helpful. He does not speak but sometimes he will join in our singing with the sounds he is comfortable making and we celebrate when he joins in. When we sing our pentatonic scale we have a Skoog which hooks up to the Ipad and our bluetooth mixer in our room and he plays along with our singing. Also when we are using our drum circle, since his wheelchair makes it hard for him to use the tubano drums, he uses a hand drum in his lap.
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Timothy Kenney Posts: 3
5/2/2017
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I do not currently teach, but have had several students in the past with ADD/ ADHD. Understanding that a typical school day is structured against students with this disability I try to incorporate as much movement into my activities as possible. Also encouraging the students to be my helps with disseminating papers and books alsways seems to help.
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Melissa Spaulding Posts: 3
5/4/2017
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I have had several students in the last 3 years who have had sensory issues. In each situation, I was not made aware of the sensory problems and found out during instrument activities. I would find the student crouched in a corner of the classroom, ears covered, not wanting to participate. I noticed two things - first, the higher pitched the instrument, the less likely the student wanted to touch it and the louder the instrument was capable of playing, not only would the student not want to play it but he/she would not want to be anywhere near it. What I had to do was figure out which instruments made the student comfortable and want to participate. Instead of playing on the xylophones, I would have the students play on the bass Orff instruments in the class. If we were using multiple instruments in one lesson, I would position the students away from instruments I know would cause the student to withdraw.
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Sondra Collins Posts: 3
5/6/2017
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I have taught multiple students with autism. One student displayed constant negative responses to stimuli and loud or high sounds. I used multiple techniques of keeping him seated far away from speakers and/or instruments, giving him a "safe place" within the room to retreat if needed, and gave him a place to shine when we were doing activities that he enjoyed or connected with.
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Susan Hayer Posts: 5
5/14/2017
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I have a student who has a hypersensitivity to loud sounds. We always made sure he brought head phones with him to muffle the sound when he was younger. It was difficult when the class was practicing a part on a metal barred instrument and he couldn't use the headphones to practice playing. We tried sitting him in the bathroom with the door open and his Para sitting outside the door. This worked for him; he was able to practice in this smaller room where the loud sounds were distant, yet able to here his own instrument. He is growing out of this sensitivity as he has grown older. We have added recorders now and he sits through a rehearsal with no problems.
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Susan Hayer Posts: 5
5/14/2017
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La Toya Wilson wrote:
The students I am currently teaching are OI. Difficulties are mainly physical,however according to these kid nothing is impossible and I love their determination. Modifications used are adjustment of instrument,chairs,tables, making room for their wheel chair when performing on stage and in the music room. Hands on activities are continual process with all my students to master a new skill.
La Toya, I had a student with no legs other than a few inches past her hips. I had the legs of an old small wooden chair cut off so she could slide out of her wheelchair to the chair and then to the floor. She was then able to participate in our moving to music m
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Katherine Plank Posts: 3
5/17/2017
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I have an elementary music student who is hard of hearing. I seat him in the front of the class and close to the speakers so he can hear me and the music better. I also borrow the microphone that his teacher uses when I'm giving instructions. All of this has been successful for him and can perform the music very well with the other students.
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Susan Hayer Posts: 5
5/21/2017
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I had a student who was born without legs so she came to Music in a wheelchair. She could move around on the floor, but didn't want to be lifted out of her chair. In K-2 students need to be able to move around. I had a small, older type wooden chair that I had my husband saw the legs off. She was able to move herself in and out of her wheelchair independently so she could do the movement activities.
Another thing I have done is have egg shakers with Velcro straps for students who were unable to hold the shakers and play.
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Susan Hayer Posts: 5
5/21/2017
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I have a high-functioning ASD student who is challenged with recalling directions. As I review the directions, I can involve him in creating a word or short phrase that summarizes or clarifies that step in his mind and we can write the directions with these words or phrases on the board so he doesn't have to constantly ask what comes next.
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Susan Hayer Posts: 5
5/21/2017
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I have a 4th grade student with behavior management issues that I believe are psychiatric in nature, though the discovery is slowly evolving. He refuses to play his recorder for as assessment. I believe he could succeed in a one-on-one session where he does not feel threatened by other students observing him. He could come to my room with one fried and play his song without having to feel afraid of being ridiculed (ridicule perceived by only him.)
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Cindy Glass Posts: 1
5/22/2017
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I have a student who has multiple orthopedic impairments and who uses a ventilator. The student is a very high functioning student in many ways, including the ability to compose complicated music, to name any pitch that is played on any instrument, and to learn lyrics very quickly. During the times when the student is not ventilator-dependent, singing with others is something that is enjoyed very much. When on the ventilator, the student plays the melody that the others are singing on a keyboard that fits on the desk of the wheelchair. The student also plays keyboard when the class is playing recorders. This year, the student was old enough to be in the school band and is doing a wonderful job as a percussionist. Because of some weakness in the arms and hands, complicated rhythm patterns are difficult to perform at times so the parts are modified. I will do whatever I need to do for this student to be able to participate as fully as possible in every aspect of music class because in that setting, the student has told me that it is wonderful to feel "normal."
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Jennette Knoblauch Posts: 3
5/23/2017
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I have an ASD student who does not vocalize, is fixated on certain fascinations, makes little eye contact, and likes to move freely around the room at any given moment. Although the student does not communicate vocally, except to mouth words or whisper, he is perceptive of everything that is happening in the room. I allow him the opportunity to participate at the back of the room because he is self-conscious about others watching him. When he feels secure, he will participate with the whole group or a partner (there are a few students he is comfortable with). Other than allowing him to participate at the back of the room, I also assess him individually according to his individual improvement. When he has had too much stimulation, I allow him to have a calming 'toy' to refocus his attention. After a brief break, he will rejoin the group and participate according to his level. Some days are better than others with participation. According to his assessments, he comprehends all of the concepts in the music class.
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Rose Francis Posts: 3
5/25/2017
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This year I had a student with hearing impairment in the left ear. I am a string teacher so all of my students learn a string instrument: violin, viola, cello or bass. This particular student chose the cello. The neck of the instrument is held in the left hand and sound is produced in the right hand by plucking or use of the bow. This student would sometimes get frustrated by not being able to hear the tapping or sliding (shifting) of their hands or fingers. I would make sure to give directions clearly and if I spoke with them I would face them face to face. I also made sure to pair them with a skill level higher to added peer mentoring. The student by the end of the year made vast improvements and our subtle accommodations were very natural and effortless that made the student comfortable.
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Hannah Sharron Gibson Posts: 3
5/27/2017
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I have a student who was discovered to have a hearing impairment, and was eventually given hearing aids. His teachers and myself had noticed how he was rarely engaged in the lesson, and did not respond to directions unless you stood right by him and made sure he was looking at you. He struggled to sing with the class or to identify where the beat was, or mimic rhythms. I accommodated him by purchasing a portable PA system to make my voice and any music I played louder, seated him on the front row, provided visual representation of directions, wrote down key words on the board, and used musical examples on Youtube so he could see the instruments being played for the listening activity. The school eventually provided hearing aids that came with a microphone the teacher could wear; the homeroom teacher would pass this microphone off to us during our class time.
edited by Hannah Sharron Gibson on 5/27/2017
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David Johns Posts: 1
6/1/2017
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I had a student who was visually impaired this year. He needed a dome magnifier and a monocle in order to see his work and complete his assignments. When it came time to learn and read rhythms, it proved to be problematic whenever he tried to read them with the whole group. I wrote the notation out on a large piece of poster board and allowed him to sit in a different part of the room. He used his magnifier dome to see the rhythms. However, what I found to be most effective was helping him comprehend rhythm by rote. After he learned note value, we actually had a very easy time identifying what I sounded out using echoes. He was able to aurally identify the rhythms being performed, making dictation a fairly simple process for him.
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Dominique E Posts: 3
6/6/2017
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In the past I taught a self-contained class. I had the paraprofessional sit with the students, along with myself, and I had them demonstrate along with playing with the students while they were playing. I also used the smartboard, and used a lot of colors and large font to keep their attention.
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