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Celia Sperotto Posts: 3
3/27/2019
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I currently have a student with autism. While he is very bright and is playing the viola very well, he's been having issues in all of his classes with the social aspects of school (raising your hand if you have a question, making friends, appropriate topics to talk about in front of the class, etc...) and dealing with impulsive tendencies. Whenever he does raise his hand, I always make it a point to say, "Thank you for raising your hand" for a positive reinforcement. I also ask, "Do you have a question about what were talking about", and if the answer is no, then I allow him to talk to me about it after class (sometimes it's about a video game, so I always have to check...). If I see him doing something that other students do not like, sometimes I'll pull him aside and talk to him about it so he understand why other students are reacting the way they do. I think this has made him viewed as a valuable member of our orchestra over time, and he feels as if he's part of a team.
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Helene Franco Posts: 3
3/27/2019
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I have a student in my orchestra class with autism. He plays the violin and I have him paired with another student on the front row to help him with reading the music literature because every now and then this student falls off track.The student complies at all my directions, but every now and then just shuts down. When he shuts down, I have him record the music we are playing. Then, as a class, we ask him to play the music for us as it provides feedback for the orchestra class. He feels very important and looks forward to this activity. When he does well in the classroom, I reward him by letting him play the piano because he is fantastic and loves playing the instrument. He has no behavior issues and gets along with many of the students in the classroom. I think he has made substantial gains in class, enjoys playing and socially gets along with many of the students in the classroom.
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Aaron Cassette Posts: 3
3/31/2019
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I currently have a student in a 6th grade general music class with a diagnosis of E/BD. This child is prone to many different moods, depending on day, time of day, events of the day, etc. Sometimes the student is very passive and withdrawn, and other times aggressive and verbal to the point of being offensive. Much of the emotional response is due to the specific environment at the time. If there is a lot of activity in class, Angela, (not her real name) is very withdrawn. After a period of time she will act out with aggression, especially if "left" in the group with no specific attention. She seems to create a whirlwind of anxiety when the structure is more loose, as can sometimes happen in a music room. I have consulted with the behavior and ESE specialists in my school and we have found that with Angela, FREQUENT check-ins, (like almost every 3-5 minutes) helps her to stay calm and focused. I have taken to speaking to her frequently during each 90 minute lesson, asking her how she is doing, what can I do to help, if anything and what is she learning and thinking about at that moment. I also greet her the second she walks in the room, welcome her, tell her I'm happy she's there and make sure she is greeted by at least two to three other kids. During each lesson I also give her "helper tasks" such as setting up the drums, helping move chairs, or the piano and pass out music and supplies. This specific leadership task helps her to keep her moods more under control and keeps her focused on the tasks at hand. Angela has a beautiful voice, and I frequently use her to model passages for the class, and sing little solo lines for the kids. This "special" task helps her to continue to work and be an active member of the music room. I congratulate her constantly when she is doing a good job, and only mention a re-direct when absolutely necessary, as this can sometimes send her off into a tail spin. I have found that the attention and verbal award giving has saved her behavior in my room. As long as she knows quickly that she is valued, her behavior stays in check and her emotions remain somewhat even.
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Aaron Cassette Posts: 3
3/31/2019
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I am responding to the question about technology in the classroom and use of this technology with specific learners. I have used iPads and composing applications such as Garage Band and Noteflight with students with learning disabilities. I have found that these applications work well with the students for many of the reasons mentioned in this course. First, the students are able to progress at their own rate. They can move as fast or as slowly as they need to in ensure that the work is done both to the extent of the assignment and the tasks needed to be completed. Work can be saved if they don't get something done for later use. Secondly, they are working independently on their own composition, so they do not feel the pressure of the kids around them. Group answers do not necessarily affect their work directly, but more in a general way. Lastly, students can show and share work with me when they are ready. It allows for good pacing for many with different levels of learning and understanding.
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Aaron Cassette Posts: 3
3/31/2019
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I am responding to the question about how I have adapted an assessment for a learner with a disability in my music classroom. For a secondary general music class I taught in a different state we worked on music notation and being able to hear the notation and write it down with correct key signature and note values. These were very basic rhythms since this was a new activity for the class. I would play the rhythms on the drum and they would write it down. In that class I had a visually impaired student who was not using braille yet, so she had not way to write down the rhythms. I used an audio recording with the rhythms, and I used a scribe from the class to take down her notation verbally. She listened to the recording, which matched what I played in class, and dictated it to the scribe. The scribe knew that they were to write down exactly the note values and time signatures exactly as dictated by the student. It worked great for her and also was a good example of peer helper.
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Andrea Peacock Posts: 3
4/1/2019
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I teach a self contained ESE class for music at my middle school I have taught MANY students with disabilities and have made many accommodations. One student in particular was nonverbal with autism. He was required to play a handbell. He had a favorite color so he was given this bell and then was given specific consistent cues to assist him with playing at the correct time. He was very successful.
Another young lady was in my ESE unit and my choir. She had difficulty controlling her voice as her muscles weren't developed enough to make this happen. She was seated next to students that were strong students that were willing to assist her. She and I had some private lessons so she could understand how to control the voice more. She became a very successful member of the class.
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Eric Elias-Rodriguez Posts: 3
4/2/2019
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I have had many students in the past who have had developmental disabilities that hindered their reading abilities. One student in particular had severe developmental disadvantages when it came to reading comprehension that transferred to note reading. However, with time, he could copy the parts aurally if he was surrounded by strong players. Rather than arrange seating in "rank" order by playing ability, which is standard in many ensembles, I always made sure to surround him with students who were able to play their parts so that he could learn the music aurally.
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Revae Douglas Posts: 6
4/3/2019
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I had a student who played the tuba in symphonic band and he had developmental disabilities that caused him to learn music significantly slower than other students in the ensemble. This was especially difficult when it came to marching band when he was required to not only learn his music but also learn the sets for the show. He was determined to participate. His first year he focused on the physically aspect of marching. As we spent more time, I used mediated scaffolding and built his skills until he was able to individually be able to be independent and play on his own. I begin with modeling and repetition, we incorporated movement and other physical elements. There was a lot of repeat and mimicking, nods and chants as well. The scaffolding faded until he was able to perform without any assistance.
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Revae Douglas Posts: 6
4/3/2019
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This is a great idea! Pairing students up with other learners at different experience level often assists with improving the performance of lower performing students. I have found that this works often in building up the performance ability of my students but also instilling leadership skills of the more capable students.
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Benjamin Gerrard Posts: 3
4/6/2019
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I have a saxophone student this year who is autistic and obsessive compulsive. At the beginning of the year, he would constantly yell out in class seeking attention from other students. He also would randomly get up in the middle of class and try and leave the classroom. Furthermore, due to his OCD, he would throw away his music because he wanted it to have no creases and would not write anything on his music. Strategies we used to help him in band class were to put him next to two highly motivated students who would help him curb his behavior and answer his questions without causing a distraction. I also explained why I was having him write in his music and that professional pianists (he loves classical piano) write in their music to improve performance. He still acts out at times, but these strategies along with specific explanation and instruction from myself have helped him be successful in my concert band class.
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Mandy Papenbrock Posts: 4
4/9/2019
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I have a piano student who struggles with fine motor skills and cannot play up to tempo with the rest of the class. He also has difficulty playing with both hands at the same time. To accommodate this student, I have placed him with a peer tutor who is very patient and helpful. I also have the student focus on repeated notes and/or phrases throughout a piece of music. This allows him to be successful and experience playing along with the rest of the class.
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Farryn Weiss Posts: 3
4/9/2019
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I recently worked with a student on the autistic spectrum and while working with him found it best to model and demonstrate for him in the percussion section as well as chunk material learned and then continuing to grow or build off of that. There are also peers in his class within the section additionally who have been very gracious and considerate....patient and incredibly helpful to assist him when I am working with the whole ensemble.
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Tamara Lewis Posts: 3
4/10/2019
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Most recently I had a student who was visually impaired. The accommodation was simply enlarging the music so that he could see it easily. This was easily accomplished in beginning band, where the lines of music fit on one large page. This became more problematic when a selection of music, like for a concert, could not fit on one or two pages (11x17). The student was diligent and worked hard to memorize most parts to make it easier to perform. I always made sure he knew what we were doing (by describing any facial expressions or other small movements or gestures) as well as giving him extra time to learn his part.
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Emily Eskildse Posts: 1
4/11/2019
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I taught a student with emotional disabilities. He could take a minute alone, if I noticed anger brewing. He was corrected for class disruptions with a purple reminder card, as not to draw attention and cause undue anger.
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Wallace Rahming Posts: 4
4/14/2019
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During the 2004-05 school year, I had a student in my choral program who was visually impaired due to albinism. The student would wear special prescription glasses and use various magnifying devices in order to read. Even with these items, it was virtually impossible for the student to read the sheet music for class or read anything written on the board and/or projected on the overhead. As an accommodation, I would use enlarged hand copies of the music as well as enlarged hand copies of any music theory information I intended to project on the overhead to the class. Because the use of the magnifying devices was a slow process, I used a practice CD with a slow and uptempo performance of his vocal part to help assist the student learning longer pieces of music. In addition to the CD, I also partnered him with other students individually and in small sectionals to help him develop a music learning pace comparable to the other students in the choir. If any written assessment was undertaken, I would allow him to verbally answer or use an enlarged copy of the assessment with additional time.
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Sara Johnson-Scalisi Posts: 3
4/18/2019
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I presently have a student with Down Syndrome in my concert band class. He is a terrific student to be around and LOVES music. However, I have a hard time being effective with him due to several issues with my classroom itself along with me not always knowing the best approach to handle the inclusion successful. My classroom issues comprise of having a concert band of 65 students at the same time. In addition, I have 4 ESE students with no other teacher aid in that classroom all with differing abilities. At the beginning of our school year, we experimented with different instruments to see if any of them caused him any auditory or sensory issues. We found that wind instruments were not going to be appropriate along with finding that drums seemed to hurt his ears. We finally figured out that he fit best with the piano. In class, the student will sit at the piano and play when he is able. He doesn't read music and struggles with echo playing pitches but seems to be successful at echo playing rhythms. I still struggle daily with how to better incorporate him into a full concert band due to some of the accomodations that we must make for him. I wish that he was able to be enrolled in our piano course but his course schedule does not allow it .
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Alain Goindoo Posts: 3
4/24/2019
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Last school year I had a student with physical disabilities in my beginning band class. During our instrument fitting with the student, we tried a variety of instruments that the student would be able to potentially play. He was in a wheel chair and had full use of use hands and fingers which allowed for a variety of options. After a few instruments, we decided on the clarinet. His embouchure had to be slightly modified, but he could still create a good tone. The clarinet could not be positioned close to the body due to his wheel chair being in the way.The clarinet would position above his head, so we moved the clarinet away from his body. We also used a neck strap to help with the weight of the instrument. We would also position a chair next to his wheel chair so he would have a reachable flat surface in which to put his instrument together. He was responsible to getting his own music stand, folder, and instrument.
Administrator wrote:
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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Todd Leighton Posts: 3
4/28/2019
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I currently have a student who is visually impaired. She is in my digital music class and the accommodation I use for her is to increase the size of all of her assignments, whether they are on handouts or on her computer. I will also enlarge assignments on my SmartBoard for her as well. She is also placed in the front of the room so she can have better viewing of the dry-erase board and other visual aids.
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Elisabeth Crumrine Posts: 5
5/2/2019
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I had a student that was blind in my chorus. Learning music by rote is too slow and time consuming in the classroom. I started recording her vocal line so she could get extra practice at home. This helped her ear learn more quickly, however, she continued to struggle with the text. I partnered with her para and began typing up the text and the para would translate it into Braille. The student was then able to read the Braille text during rehearsals and she was extremely successful.
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Elisabeth Crumrine
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Kyle Handfield Posts: 2
5/6/2019
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I currently have a student that is on the mild end of the autism spectrum. He has been in my class for three years. Initially, he had a very good sense of musical intuition but just could not find an instrument that he particularly enjoyed. To my chagrin, he requested to change instruments several times and I allowed him to do so with each request. With a bit of practice, he has a natural talent at picking up a variety of instruments and figuring out how to play them. He finally decided on the clarinet and has stuck with it for the better part of two years now.
One accommodation that we regularly make during class is that overly loud sounds are very discomforting to him, so he has a pair of headphones that he prefers to wear most days that block out loud room sounds from band class. Despite this sensitivity to the loud sounds, the tone he gets from his clarinet is great and he is a very musical player. He tries very hard every day to better his technique and frequently practices.
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