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Ajori Spencer Posts: 1
10/26/2016
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I began an elementary band club this year. One of my students has physical and cognitive impairments. In order for him to understand what the group was doing, he needed someone to stand with him and help him track the music. I assigned all the students a buddy and made sure to explain to the student's buddy his specific responsibilities. Both the student and the buddy immediately felt comfortable with one another and celebrated each step of success.
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Danielle Fuente Posts: 1
10/30/2016
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The past two years, I had a student with McCune Albright Syndrome. One of her impairments was movement, She was confined to a wheelchair and was unable to raise her arms. However, she made it a point to participate, as best she could, in all our choreography. Her wheelchair was motorized and she would creatively make her "Chair-ography" (as she called it) match the other students. The other students were also EXTREMELY helpful to her by coming up with the "Chair-ography" and making sure she always had a clear path around her! It was actually a very cool and touching thing to watch!
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Diara Morris Posts: 3
11/6/2016
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I had a student with an intellectual disability. She could not do simple mathematic computations or process information in order to demonstrate knowledge of or understand musicianship concepts (rhythms, sight-reading, note naming, etc), but she participated in class everyday with eagerness and fervor. She was always very adamant about working on activities alone, but I encouraged her to work alongside two very strong musicians. At first she would just copy everything they did, but after a while of what seemed like 'immersion in a foreign language', she was able to demonstrate some parts of concepts all by herself, and even recognize when a mistake was made, although she may not exactly be able to articulate how to fix the error. She has since gone on to high school and is participating in Chorus there.
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Dominick Eggen Posts: 5
11/13/2016
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A student with a severe intellectual disability participated in our band classes for many years as a member of the percussion section. For our marching band performances he would perform on the front sideline with our student percussionists and would do the same with our indoor concert bands.
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Michelle Hastings Posts: 3
11/14/2016
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I think that the students with disabilities that I have had that have been successful in program have been given more time to complete assignments. I had one student that was severely intellectually challenged and could not read music at all. So to afford him to participate we changed his instrument to percussion and he was performed based on when We signaled him to play.
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Joshua Nelson Posts: 3
11/16/2016
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I have a student in my guitar class whose right hand fingers did not completely develop, and so he only has five small stubs on his right hand. His parents spoke with me on Orientation Night, and they were really hopeful that he could learn the guitar. Of course, I told them that we would be creative and do everything we could to help him to be successful. When he started class, I asked him to try plucking the strings with his finger stubs and let me know if it hurt or if it was uncomfortable. He told me that it didn't hurt at all, and he immediately got excited! From that moment on, he worked harder than many of the other students in the class and learned exercises several pages ahead of where the rest of the class was. He is now one of my strongest guitarists.
Of course, we have had to be creative on a few things. Finger picking is challenging for him, but he and I worked together to develop a special system for him by using the stubs that he has on his right hand and rotating his wrist in a pattern, we are able to allow him to finger pick with the rest of the class. It took a lot of work for him to learn it, but he was determined and was eventually successful! Also, because the stubs on his right hand are so short, he cannot grasp anything in his right hand, therefore, playing with a pick does not work. However, he and I have been experimenting with a few devices that will allow us to attach the pick to his right hand so that he can play with a pick.
It has been fun and very rewarding working with this student, and the bottom line is that we have to be creative and offer as many solutions to a problem as possible.
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Auriel James Posts: 1
12/26/2016
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I currently have a students in my guitar class that is classified as "deaf or hard of hearing". Their disability makes it hard for him to hear instruction and pitch. I have made accommodations by using visual aids (giant fret-board cutout), repetition of instruction, after school lessons, additional time for playing assessments, and front row seating.
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Carolyn Durbin Posts: 5
12/31/2016
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I currently have a student with a physical handicap who uses a wheelchair. He as above average intelligence and a mild temperament. He is able to work independently on a majority of the lessons and assignments in the Marine Science course. His work shows a very methodical and consistent approach to acquiring knowledge. When it comes time for a DBA (Discussion Based Assessment) he needs to have additional support. A phone with a speaker function or speaking face to face works best. That way he is able to use both hands to sort through his notes... It is very important during our discussions for me not to rush him... He needs time to think and formulate his answers. For the first DBA I provided him with questions that I would ask and it helped him to overcome the anxiety of talking to an adult he did not know well. After that he has been more comfortable and has not needed/wanted the prior questions. When in the past I have had students with disabilities I take the child from where they are...and work from there. Using support from parents and other students who know the student helps with getting to know a student and helps me to form a relationship. A relationship is so important...students must know that you do not judge them or look down on them...that your purpose is to help them learn in what ever way works best for them.
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Carolyn Durbin Posts: 5
12/31/2016
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Students with Aspbergers Syndrome can be difficult to figure out as their behaviors can be so varied. I have had experience with a few students and I made modifications similar to what you did... letting them have prior views of music or reading materials or questions can help them overcome the distractions and help them function in the group because they are more adequately prepared. KAREN ROMINE wrote:
I have had many students with a variety of disabilities as I teach at two schools that are specialized for students with severe behavior and learning disabilities. I have had students who were profoundly mentally handicapped and those who have been physically handicapped. I currently have several students who are hearing impaired and a couple who are visually impaired. In addition I have several behaviorally challenged students in my choral program. I'll share about the blind student. At the time, I was teaching band and chorus, and he was in the band. In addition to his visual impairment, this student had been diagnosed with Aspberger's Syndrome which made social situations in a group performance class challenging. He loved the piano and was quite gifted, however he was very set in his ways regarding what he wanted to play and when. He also had difficulty learning that other people and musical parts were as important to the whole process of performing. The accommodations I made included making a recording of his part that he could listen to and learn. I provided time for he and his para-educator to have access to the piano for practice. We worked as a class on taking turns and letting one instrument be heard more predominantly to teach him how to blend and balance his instrument. It was also important to have a plan for the rehearsal time and let him know about it in advance so that he could mentally prepare for the pieces that we would be working on as a class.
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Mary Morrow Posts: 3
1/2/2017
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I have a student with a severe Speech Impairment as well as a Learning Disability in my keyboard class. He requires one on one teaching and even then the concepts don't always sink in. He also has some social disorders as well compounding the physical and intellectual issues. There have been times that I have wanted to give up and then he will surprise me and play his assigned piece without prodding or significant assistance. The good news in all of this in recent days has been that I have been able to differentiate the instruction to suit what he can do. Perhaps not as quickly as the others in the class, but he can accomplish something. So, utilizing Tier two a bit more instead of it always being me who sits with him will lead to more relationship building within the class itself and hopefully more ownership on his part.
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Shawn Pendry Posts: 3
1/4/2017
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I had a visually impaired student with a beautiful voice placed in my advanced chorus. We didn't have the luxury of using braille music becuase she was still learning braille reading and her vision specialist did not think it wise to add the musical symbols at that time. We made part recordings of music for her to learn the literature. When it was a music theory or sight reading lesson, I would have her go to one of our practice rooms where we had pianos and she would learn a simple piano piece by ear which I had selected and recorded onto CD for her to repeat play as many times as necessary. My thinking was to build the aural skills until she was ready to pick up braille music.
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Stephen M. Smith Posts: 3
1/9/2017
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Describe at least one way you have used technology to meet the needs of a student with a disability in your classroom. Be sure to describe the specific technology and how it assisted the student with a disability.
I employed a CASIO LK55 keyboard, with its technological assets of lighted keys, right hand and left hand part separation, and 100 different tones assets, as a means to use technology to meet the needs of a student with disabilities. Student Alpha’s MO for when he met a perceived difficult challenge was he would “break wind” and run out of that room thinking to escape the challenge, and any pursuers. The LK55 had enough bells and whistles to entice him to stay put and explore the keyboard. Alpha developed less general environmental fear. He wanted to remain and play “with” the LK55. His exploration reduced his anxiety of failure. This was targeted into learning to manipulate the LK55 to do what he wanted to do. He could make multiple sounds and the drum machine part was cool! With the lighted keys, Alpha could follow the melody line without his low reading ability encumbering him. The LK55’s right hand and left hand separation mode allowed Alpha to tackle music performance with a disaggregated approach. He could tackle a part segment/phrase of his own choosing. The LK55’s tempo select options allowed Alpha to control his environment’s speed of challenge. He felt less afraid of the environment. He used less his “fright and flight” MO. He gained confidence performing. His anxiety level lowered. He advanced to playing two-people one-handed music with student Beta.
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Sarah Miller Williams Posts: 4
1/21/2017
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I do not teach music per say, but I am a reading teacher and often use music in my classroom in order to spice things up and break the monotony. Plus, music adds a lot of joy in the classroom. With the music I often use movement, whether dance or shuffling around the room, movement is involved regularly in my lessons. My students are diverse and have a range or challenges in any given classroom. When I play music as a part of the lesson, the students who have hearing loss, ADHD, learning disabilities, and behavioral disabilities are often affected. The strategies I use to assist in facilitating participation are: to sit those students close to the sound source, provide visuals such as listening maps or pictures, use gestures and other forms of nonverbal communication, write important information on the board, use peer supports who will provide clarification of missed information.
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Chris Tredway Posts: 3
1/21/2017
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I currently have a student in my band class that has been diagnosed with a Learning Disability. He is able to correctly identify note names and fingerings but he struggles to process this information fast enough if the music becomes more complicated than quarter notes at a moderate speed. Even though the class quit writing in the names of the notes months ago, I have been letting him continue to do this for any measures that he is not comfortable playing. I am not yet sure if he is able to follow the letter names of the notes he has written easier than the musical notation or if it is the process of working out the name of each note and writing it down that helps him internalize the information he needs. Either way, he is able to keep up with the class with this accommodation.
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Jennifer Breman Posts: 3
1/22/2017
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I guess I will post in this section since I can't find the administrator one. I have had several students with Autism Spectrum Disorder who have had a difficult time in music classes because the sounds have been overwhelming to them. The varieties, pitches, and tones were too much for the students who were often times also diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder. I learned to have several ear plugs on hand in my desk in order to dampen the sounds enough to where the students were not overwhelmed in the classroom and were still able to hear the sounds enough to participate in class. They do not always need them all of the time, but they each had their own pairs for whenever they felt they needed them.
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Tracy Thielen Posts: 3
1/24/2017
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I had a student with elephantitus. We had him play the cello because his hands were large, but luckily, his left hand was more averaged size, which made it easier for him to place his fingers on the strings. I have a student who is on the autism spectrum. I have to be sure to make eye contact with her and give her small sections to play for each new piece of music. If I keep those sections small enough she is able to work and have success, but if I ask her to play a phrase that is too long, she tends to get frustrated. I work hard to not let that frustration level even get started.
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Emma Goldberg Posts: 3
1/27/2017
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I had a student who was visually impaired. With any music that was small print, I had to magnify the print for them. Also, I gave a hard copy for anything I would post on the board that we would be using in class. Providing these accommodations allowed this student to still participate and be engaged equally with the other students. They were able to still be a part of the process of learning music, rather than just hearing it and memorizing it aurally.
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Brian Hellhake Posts: 3
1/27/2017
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I had a student named Yamil. When he was younger he had lost 97% of his sight. Yamil was one of the most positive, pleasant students I have ever had. Of course, with his blindness, reading music was very difficult. The use of finger tapes on a stringed instrument was useless. To accommodate Yamil, I used adhesive sandpaper was finger tapes, this way he could feel his finger placements. I would record each line of this method book as an mp3, with an instrument playing and a layered reading of the pitch names.
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Sarah Miller Williams Posts: 4
1/28/2017
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Describe at least one way you have used technology to meet the needs of a student with a disability in your classroom. Be sure to describe the specific technology and how it assisted the student with a disability.
I have used a microphone system a number of times when teaching hard of hearing students. Because students often are left out and miss the goings on in class when they are hard of hearing, this technology really assisted in helping the student understand more of what was going on in the classroom and boosted their overall morale (which, in turn, led to better behavior) because they felt more included in the lesson.
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John Weatherspoon Posts: 1
2/9/2017
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Our subject allows all students to feel like they are a special part of the community. One of my students with a 504 due to sickle cell was one of the leaders of our program because she could participate, learn, and perform as well as any. When she had episodes we allowed her the time needed to recover or to participate as much as she could at the time.
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