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Ryan Gantt Posts: 3
4/10/2018
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Three years ago I had my first student who was visually impaired in my concert band. This student wasn't completely blind but was severely effected with almost complete blindness in one eye and the other nearly 60% blindness. At first the student said he would take the music home and memorize his parts, but I quickly found that this student had difficulties with the more challenging high school rhythms. I found that I was able to connect with the student faster when I could copy his part larger on paper and we worked one on one after class. The progress was slow and tested my patience as a teacher, but I knew that this student was learning and truly mastering their understanding of musical notations. We would practice measure by measure until they had the entire song memorized. I'm proud to say that my student was able to perform their part perfectly for our concerts. I am truly thankful for the experience to have worked with this student and would be excited to welcome any student into my band with a disability.
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Benjamin Eubank Posts: 3
4/10/2018
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I have had several students will ,any different disabilities. I think the students that sticks the most out in my mind is one of my guard kids who has severe autism. They had a harm time memorizing the routines and the order of the equipment that was supposed to use on the field. The student would often pick up the wrong items and get frustrated even after we had the equipment numbered. This student also had some issues relating to some of the other students on the team because of the developmental issues and we as a team would work with them to build better relationships with other students.
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Charles Duran Posts: 4
4/11/2018
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Several years ago I had a percussion student in band who was deaf. Since he played from the back of the room, we had a non-verbal signal for when he did not hear directions or instruction. He gave the signal and i would re-iterate with eye-contact and hand gestures. Deafness did not affect this student in Band class as much as i had anticipated, but I believe a lot of the credit goes to the student's effort, desire and focus.
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Charles Duran Posts: 4
4/11/2018
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Josh Eury wrote:
I had a student a while back who was a select mute becasue of a sever cleft pallet and cleft lip that caused some pretty bad speech impairments. The first accomidation when he joined was to place him in percussion so he didn't have to worry about using his mouth to play an instrument. The second accomidation was to have him write all of his responses to my questions. He had a little notebook and whenever i asked a question that required an answer from everyone, he would simply write his response down and bring it to me.
I had another student last year who only had 2 fingers and a thumb on his left hand. This kept him from playing any woodwind instrument, trumpet, trombone, french horn or trumpet. So he was left with the option of euphonium or tuba. He chose euphonium and was able to thrive in band.
edited by Josh Eury on 5/4/2016
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Andrea Vella Posts: 3
4/13/2018
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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.
I have a student in marching band who has schizophrenia. If he gets very stressed or if the environment is too overwhelming (very easy in a marching band setting with the volume, physical activity, etc.), it could trigger an episode where he hears and sees imaginary people/things, reacts accordingly, and can get very frightened/upset. This has happened one time full blown. After the first time he experienced an episode during practice, I tried to help him identify what happens when he feels it coming on. We discussed how he needs to let me know immediately, and to take a calm walk away from the sound, etc. with a friend to collect himself and remove himself from the situation. Then, if he feels better he could return to practice, and if not we would call for a ride to pick him up. Once he fully understood that it was okay for him to do those things, he became a pro at managing the episodes and we haven't had one since. Obviously, the first time it happened, the entire band witnessed it, and didn't know how to react, but ever since, they have been extremely helpful and understanding.
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Ann Adams Posts: 3
4/15/2018
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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.
I have a student in my beginning class who loves the clarinet. He has issues with staying focused. For the first several months I would have to remind him every day how to hold the clarinet correctly. In the beginning I would walk up to him and show him how to adjust his hands. Eventually, I could just catch his attention and give him a hand signal to remind him that he needed to change his hand position. It has taken time but now he understands how to hold the clarinet. In class, he sits next to a clarinet mentor who helps him translate the music notation to the fingerings on his clarinet. I am working with him to ensure that he understands the names of the notes and the fingerings for the notes. Just before spring break I had all of my 6th grade students perform on a solo recital. He performed his piece and received a superior rating. I am very proud of this student.
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Ann M Adams
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Rebekah Chambers Posts: 6
4/15/2018
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This school year I have a student who is hard of hearing and wears a device to help his hearing. The accommodations I use for him are proximity to the front of the classroom, making sure that when I am giving instructions he can see my mouth, and I also make sure to confirm that he heard and understands the directions without calling attention to the extra support. If he is having trouble hearing or I suspect that he is having trouble hearing, I can usually correlate his off-task behavior with his need to confirm understanding of directions, or any additional help I can offer to support his learning, whether that is working with him and his stand partner, or just him. I thought that having a student with a hearing impairment would be more of a challenge than it has been, but I am also aware there is a spectrum of hearing impairment, and he is on the end of the spectrum that is closer to those without a hearing impairment, as he can hear me from across the room if I call his name, and can also hear me when his back is turned towards me. I still make sure to actively follow his accommodations and never assume that he hears me completely.
Often, the steps in most student's IEPs are something that I think good teachers have built in to their teaching already - nonverbal and verbal checks for understanding, following up with a one-on-one instruction or conversation to confirm student understanding, proximity and movement....most of these things are great for all students, but it is extremely important to make sure that all the steps are taken for students with IEPs to ensure an equitable education experience.
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Ryan Schulz Posts: 4
4/17/2018
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I had a student with with orthopedic ailments and was able to participate in band. She was in a wheel chair and was able to use one had and played the bells. We were able to provide her with a special mallet and and bell kit that she kept on the table top of her wheel chair. she also played on the sideline with marching band. It was great feeling being able to acc. the student to be able to participate with the whole class. She gained so much from the band experience.
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Todd Eckstein Posts: 1
4/17/2018
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I've previously had a student with Asperger's syndrome and had a hard time controlling himself verbally and physically. Often we agreed to modify which percussion instrument he wanted to play based on how he was feeling any particular day. His classmates understood that they may have to give up their instrument for the day, or help him with technique. Additionally, I would give him special duties to organize the section for his classmates since he would perseverate on the environment if it was not set up the way that I originally showed him.
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Jason Dobson Posts: 3
4/21/2018
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I had a student with Autism Disorder who needed everything to follw the same procedeure every day. If there were any variations for any reason, he would want me to go back to the beginning of class procedeures with him until we were caught up with the rest of the class. Additionally since he was left handed, we had to purchase a left handed guitar for his use because he could not use a right handed guitar - once he knew what that meant. His peers could help with music concepts, but he would only accept technical instruction from me.
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Whitney Verdoni Posts: 3
5/2/2018
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I have had multiple students who are VI (visually impaired). I was not aware as this particular impairment is not always notated in the student’s file. I have hand a few male students who are color blind. I have color coded notes on the board about which sections to play in our music and color coded concert seating charts. They were unable to discern which colors they were supposed to identify with. I now either survey the classes or have a secondary system of marking those specific ideas so there’s a second way for those particular students to identify the necessary information.
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Ryan Schulz Posts: 4
5/3/2018
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One way I have used technology for students with disabilities is that I have used youtube to show students certain methods. By watching the videos the student was able to be engaged with a method of playing with a proper embouchure by watching a cartoon relating to the method. The video allowed students to buzz with games and in enhanced the learning method. I then was able to add one on one help after the student has an easier understanding on setting the embouchure.
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Carlos Silva Posts: 3
5/6/2018
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A student with a speech impairment gets pulled from my Guitar class almost every Tuesday for speech therapy. In order for him to stay on track, we discuss the topics that will be covered ahead of time and I check up on him individually throughout the week to make sure he understands what he missed. The disability itself is not an issue in the classroom. The other students are very respectful and he is not shy about his speech. The speech therapist is understanding and tells me that elective classes are preferred when they have to pull students.
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Greg Urban Posts: 3
5/9/2018
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I had a student with cerebral palsy while teaching high school band. She transferred in her junior year after having a horrible experience at another school. At her previous situation she was told she couldn't participate in the marching band due to the lack of a bus to handle her wheelchair ...... and in concert band she was regulated to minimal parts in percussion. Her mother found out through other students parents that the band directors plan was to get her to quit. After 2 years of that situation she had her transferred to my school. At marching band camp we found out she was actually a very gifted percussionist who excelled at mallets. My student leadership and I vowed that what happened at the previous school would not happen again. Buses were available for all events that we travelled too and in one situation the wheel chair access bus broke down......the drumline decided to ride with her in her parents special van so she would not be alone on the drive to the band competition. She performed in our symphonic band and top percussion ensemble (performing grade 6-7 music) with NO problems. We adapted many of our mallet instruments to lower to her wheelchair so she could perform with correct technique. She currently has gone on to get her bachelors degree in college and also her masters too ....... she attributes her success to her experience in the band.
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Bonnie Butterfield Posts: 1
5/10/2018
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One of the more difficult music theory concepts with my beginners is the concept of the time signature, especially the bottom number. It's hard to get them to think of a quarter note NOT being one beat. I found that my students who were specifically leaning disabled were struggling with the concept that the value of notes is not finite. I decided to make a large chart with three columns of squares. One had a time signature with a 4 or the bottom, one had an 8 and one had a 2. Each square had a number next to it: 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, representing the beats. Then they had several squares that had whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes; there were multiples of each. We placed the squares in the correct number box in each column, and they were able to see how the numbers shifted, but the relationship between the notes stayed the same. A whole is always twice the value of a half, no matter how many beats it is. For quizzes, I allowed those students to have that visual aide, though they had to fill it up themselves. We had done it so many times and practiced, they became familiar with the patterns and were successful at answering questions that dealt with time signatures. This also helped my students without disabilities!
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Wendell Simmons Posts: 5
5/10/2018
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I have a student with ADHD -Hyperactive/Impulsive Type, Tourette Syndrome. He is a talented member of one of my Orchestra and Instrumental Techniques classes in the Performing Arts School in which I teach. Although he has certain modifiations related to testing in his academic classes, I have found that he tests quite well as a music student, as long as he is thoroughly prepared and completely understands the directions prior to the test. So, before any testing situation, I make sure to carefully explain the testing, and I make sure he understands or has any questions about the test. He usually does quite well. Sometimes, I have him test on required repertoire in a separate room, and I videorecord his test. This young man consistenly earns an "A" in my classes, and is a pleasure to teach.
edited by Wendell Simmons on 5/12/2018
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Wendell Simmons Posts: 5
5/12/2018
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An adaptive assessment I have used for students with disabilities is to assess often, small sections of music, instead of assessing an extended piece of repertoire as a whole. This has proven to be very successful for my students. In the end, my students with disabilities have performed well, and receive good grades.
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Robert Cook Posts: 1
5/13/2018
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Right now I have a 7th student with ADHD who has struggled with getting past the basic fundamentals of sitting up straight, holding the instrument (clarinet) correctly, keeping time, reading the note names without writing the note names in her music and method book and just all out hiding in the instrument storage room stuck with fear that I was actually going to ask her to play alone in front of the class. She also missed pep band and concert performances due to her embarrassment and lack of accomplishment.
Obviously, I could see that the struggle was real for her and that I wasn't sure if she really enjoyed band that much. Her sister and step siblings were also in band, so I knew this was going to be a challenge. I didn't want her to think that she could not complete what her siblings had done so well. Therefore, I started out by having her work with a peer and that only worked for about a week before I noticed that she was constantly getting off task and regressing into her old habits. She always had a stuffed toy out or she was playing some sort of game on her phone. I was not happy. After speaking with her mother, I decided it was time to invite the student to take free private lessons with me after school on Thursdays to reinforce what I was working on with her and others during class.
Once the student started lessons I was able to help her chart her progress by setting short term goals and writing them down in her book next to each lesson. She was still coming to class and lessons unprepared. During discussions with her in her lessons I discovered a few facts that I didn't know at first. The biggest one being she never took her instrument home. I figured this was something her parents would notice, but strangely this never occurred to them or me. Once we got her mother on board to get the instrument home, I could then address that holding the clarinet improperly was causing her pain in her hands. She fought me tooth and nail for at least two months, but I finally decided to pull out the stops and start giving her rewards (the school "on track" passes) for each time she came to a lesson and achieved a goal. She now holds the clarinet the correct way with only slightly adjustments to the thumb (it may be time for an adjustable thumb rest).
At first my bribery consisted of just "on track passes" and then smiley stickers for preparing chunks of her pass off exercises in her method book and keeping her hands in the right position. This worked for everything from dotted quarter eighth note patterns to scales that didn't go over the break to learning her winter concert music. However, she had one beginning band hurdle to jump before she could be a true intermediate band musician. She would have to master going over the register key or "the break" on the clarinet. The look on her face was of sheer terror. She reluctantly came to lessons, she stopped being productive until I bribed her with a stuffed animal that was left over from one of our fundraisers. I didn't even realize it was in my office until she pointed it out to me. So in true teacher fashion the bet was on. She had to come to class and lessons prepared to perform the assigned amount of pass offs and she had to get over the break. After three months of working on the right hand covering the holes on the clarinet to get the low sounds we took a flying leap and crossed the break to a "C" on the staff. The bells rang out and the lights came on, she was now a clarinetist after two years of being a beginner.
I want to say it was the short term goal setting (chunking), re-writing her parts, positive encouragement and teacher skill that put her on track, but bribery definitely didn't hurt.
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Kristen Bowne Posts: 3
5/21/2018
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For several years I worked with a large number of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and I loved it! In the beginning it was challenging for me to find ways to have those students feel like they were fully participating in all of our music activities. It got easier with time! Activities with intruments, dancing, or rhythm were always easier for those students to participate in. For listening I would create visual maps of what we were listening to and would put someone in charge of showing the class where we were on the map. For singing activities I would utilize our school interpreters and have them help teach the students to sign the words to the song in rhythm. When we would have musicals those students would either learn the same choreography as the rest of the ensemble or sign the words to the song. I was able to learn all of the signs for basic movements (jump, stand, sit, turn, etc.) so that I could be a bigger part of their learning process and didn't have to always rely on their interpreter.They loved being a part of the production and they always did such a great job!
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Carlos Galletti Posts: 1
5/21/2018
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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.
I currently have a student in beginning band with deafness/hearing loss in one of his ears. This makes it difficult for him to listen around or hear verbal instructions. I created accommodations by moving him close to the front of the ensemble and all the way to the outside edge so that he can see me more easily, and is positioned in such a way that he can still hear any verbal instructions. He's also positioned in such a way that I can quickly get to him for personal instruction. The student was placed on trombone so that he can use his eyes to match slide positions with other students and has been partnered all year with an advanced player to receive help.
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