#50 Special Needs - Updated 06/16
TOPICS (Just click on the title you want to view)
ADHD----Allergic reactions----Alzeimer's---Asberger's Syndrome----Autism---Beat Buddies---Bipolar Disorder----Seeing Impaired, Blind
Breath Support----Cerebral Palsy----Curriculum(general)----Hearing Impaired---Developmentally Delayed----Dislexia----Down Syndrome
Emotionally Disturbed----EMI----ESL: English as a Second Language----Evaluation of Special Needs Student
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome----General Classroom Ideas----Gifted----Inclusive Classes----Learning Disabled
Mentally Handicapped----Multi-Grade Levels Together----Mutism, Selective----Physically Handicapped----Preschool----Programs----Problem Singer
Song List----Stuttering----Tourette Syndrome
Other----Recorder, Teaching the----Recordings----Books----Web Sites & Other Resources
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ALLERGIC REACTIONS
It is really good that you are concerned about the possible allergic reactions of your new student. Are there any precautions/procedures available (probably written in the IEP) in case the student is exposed to the allergens? Hopefully you can also have access to any other medical reports that were submitted to the school. It is imperative that you know as much as possible about this child's sensitivity to specific materials. Now, do you know the manufacturer for the instruments and mallets? If you do, try calling them and see if they know the components. You might want to consider replacing the tubing on one of your glocks with a material that the child will not react to. A medical supply catalog should have IV or other size tubing that is non-latex you could use. You could also use glock mallets that are all wood. The sound will be brighter and louder. There is a liquid called Sterisol (I have ordered it through West Music) that I have used for cleaning recorders and other instruments. I don't think that it is alcohol based because you mix it to use it. Check the West Music web site www.westmusic.com and call them to ask.BACK to Special Needs topics
****************************************************ADHD
06/15 today I did two things: I gave him a squeeze ball which is gonna help, we can tell. And while that helped his hands, it didn't help his interrupting which is nearly always on task and relevant - but distracting and disrupting. So - I pulled out a tired and true technique - tallying.I just found a piece of paper on my desk and every time he interrupted, I put a tally mark on the paper. Didn't say a word to him. Just did it. He slowly realized that I was doing something and it was about him. Finally, he asked me what I was doing and was he in trouble. No, not in trouble. I just wanted to find out how many times you interrupted me. How many times, he asked. I handed him the paper. His eyes popped. 15 times?!? In about 10 minutes??? Yes, darlin'. Gosh, I thought it was about three times. It was interesting to see him process this; and his fellow classmate just nodded. Yes, you interrupt a log. He honestly tried from then on and I can't ask for more.
Takeaway: when you have a class that constantly interrupts/distracts, just make a tally on the board every time. Don't comment; just mark. At the end, calmly announce the score. Next class, do it again. When it is less, brag to the teacher. For some reason (duh), just the awareness makes a difference. I've done this several times in my career and it has proven to be a calm way to handle things. Just another tool in the bag. ----- Martha Stanley, NBCT
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****************************************************ALZEIMER'S DISEASE
ARTICLE: http://www.alzfdn.org/EducationandCare/musictherapy.htmlARTICLE: http://blog.alz.org/music-as-therapy-a-5-note-plan-for-caregiver-calm/
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****************************************************ASBERGER'S SYNDROME
07/11 ASBERGERS & GIFTED:http://aspergersthealien.blogspot.com/2011/05/importance-of-musicautism-aspergers.html
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Autism 12/09 LIPSTICK! [She said she ran into a former student who is now grown (has Aspergers) and he asked if she remembered him. He said he used to get in trouble in her class all the time. She didn't remember him as getting in trouble at all! Then he said that he always knew he was going to have a bad day when she wore her red lipstick. He said whenever she wore the bright red lipstick he couldn't hear anything she said all day because all he could see were those two red lips moving.] BOOK: I LOVED John Elder Robison's "Look Me in the Eye."? It's the true story of a man (who is the brother of Augusten Burroughs) who has grown up with Asperger's.? He also was the man who designed all the special effects guitars for the group Kiss.? It was a super fast read, and a truly amazing book.~ Leigh
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****************************************************AUTISM
06/15 NON-VERBAL: (4th grade student who does not participate on his own but listens to cd's and works on a computer)Suggestion: Try Arpie. It is a composition game that uses dropped balls. He will be exposed to the concepts of texture, pitch and duration while playing.---- Juli Salzman
06/15 Musical Paint for Kids or Musical Paint Pro are good for exploring pitch and timbre. As you "paint" with your finger, music notes are played.Different colors are different timbres. Pitches ascend as your stroke travels up or to the right. It saves your drawings and you can view them asvideos or pictures. How about Recorder Master? I've never met a kid who doesn't love it. If hedoesn't play recorder, he can use on-screen buttons to control the game.-Then again, it might be too much stimulation for him. ---- Mallory in MN BTW, did you know that it is very difficult for an ASD child to look you in the eyes AND listen? I learned in this in a workshop and have had so much more success with my ASD students after realizing this fact. We are so used to getting children to look at us when we are speaking, but it is not helpful in many situations. So much to learn after all these years!---Pam Young I've seen autistic kids do great with mirroring and mimicing. When he grasps how he's supposed to play, he can get his own instrument. ---- Meredith Harley Inserra 1. They love instruments and most do pretty well at keeping the beat. I'll play a strong beat on the piano and they take turns playing the beat (I vary it throughout my playing time) on the drum. Or pick a theme (for example a movie -- "Peter Pan) and play on the piano "I am a crocodile in the water... watch me swim...." Then play a slow beat for the first phrase and play fast for the swim.
04/03 Depending on the severity of the condition, there may be nerve abnormalities that would cause sensitivity to various sensations. For some, it could be sound, for others, touch. (Also the shrill sound of recorders) A student I had five or six years ago had this diagnosis. There was some kind of brushing therapy (on the skin) that was used to help him. Something about how it removes stimulus from one area and gets them to focus on the stimulus of the brushing. Asperger's children have many symptoms and I won't go into all of them here. What you will mainly see relates mostly to social skills and coping skills. They need a routine and get all out-of-kilter if their routine is upset for any reason. That's where their coping skills must be worked on. My sister has been a hero in my opinion for the way she has handled and worked with my nephew. Patience is the name of the game. Asperger's children tend to focus on one element at a time and obsess with it, if allowed. For years my nephew carried his toy helicopter, Airwolf, around with him everywhere he went. He watched Airwolf reruns daily and told everyone about every episode. He read everything he could find about helicopters, built helicopter models, played with helicopter toys. A few years later, it was dinosaurs - same process. Then space shuttles.....you get the picture. Social skills can and must be taught to these children, but it's a long, slow, tedious process. My nephew is extremely polite - ALWAYS says "yes m'am, no m'am, thank you, please", etc. Now those are a part of his routine and he will always keep them. But we were diligent in teaching him those things. We still work on social skills - that's a life-long process - but he can carry on a proper conversation with anyone. He still wants to tell people about what his favorite thing is at the time (for the 10th time), but that's just him. We simply say "Yes, I know, thank you". You have to be careful about how you treat them though - depression is rampant in Asperger's children. They can get feelings of unworthiness and even suicidal over feeling "dumb", or "different". They have intelligence and know they are different. I do not make any excuse for the awful behavior of the Asperger boy that's causing problems in class. Proper behavior and manners can be taught to Asperger's children. It simply takes dedication and extra work. Something a parent should (but often does not) take responsibility for. As far as following instructions, they usually don't understand that the rules and instructions are for the whole class, and may think that you are making rules just for them and that it's "not fair". I had one boy who couldn't understand why he had to sit in the same place every time until I explained that EVERYONE had an assigned seat, not just him. Also, transitions are very hard - changing rooms, changing activities. Keep your doors closed because some of them will probably take off at high speed down the hall if given a chance. They will get up and walk around whenever they feel like it. They will want to run up and touch instruments. They may hide under chairs or desks. They may start screeching very loudly. Then they may smile and sing like angels. Generally, expect the behavior and reasoning of a 3 year old, and plan accordingly.
Another autistic boy played a perfect steady beat on the tamborine for jingle bells. My special ed teachers are so thrilled I will include their kids that we work on ways that they can participate on their level, but with the same chronilogical age. I think they would feel singled out with younger kids.
"The Penguin Polka"-We each grabbed a child and skipped back and forth
across the room with a modified polka step. You should have seen the
smiles!
"Christmas Makes Me Smile" from MK8-we would change it by season
Old MacDonald: One of the kids actually sang E-ei-e-ei-o a few times, I was
thrilled!
Lummi stick records, hand over hand with them. There is one record, I can't
remember the name, that has "Music, Music, Music" which they really liked.
After awhile if I said go get your sticks, two of them would do it.
Hap Palmer's "Oh, What a Miracle"
Any kind of folk song like "Twinkle Twinkle" or "She'll Be Coming Around the
Mountain" with autoharp. My kids didn't like the piano, they liked me to
be right in the circle with them. I would also let them help me play by
putting a pick in their hand and guiding their hand across the strings.
Pass out rhythm instruments and just let them play with the autoharp keeping
the beat. I found out that the very lowest child in the class could keep
the beat nearly perfectly.
That's all I can think of at 7:00 am, but I do know that I had to really
think of simple things and sometimes I discovered things that worked by
accident. I also discovered I needed to do songs and lessons many times for
these kids, since they like routines so much.
I know what you mean by an aerobic workout-usually the teacher and the
assistant each had a child and so would I. Hand over hand for everything
really works up a sweat sometimes, but I loved it!!!!!
I made a copy of several of the MK8 things and myself playing the piano on a
few things when we found out they were being moved to a school with no music
teacher. Their teacher had an absolute fit because she really thought that
music had been so good for them. She had me in tears at an all-county
meeting this year when she told me she would play the tape and the boys
would look around, lost, like they were wondering, "Where's Miss Jill?"
2. Teaching with all learning styles in mind is a great help. Try to include visual, aural, tactile stimulation whenever you can.
3. If you use visual aids during a lesson, make a duplicate or "copy" for the kindergarten classroom teacher. He/she can refer to it before the children come to class as well as after, to reinforce your objectives. Even sharing a "copy" with the child's parents can be rewarding l
The book "Reaching the Special Learner through Music" might help you some. It is by SonaD. Nocera and published by Silver Burdett Company.
I have two very young autistic boys 3 and 4. I have found that percussion instruments and songs with alot of repetes works well. Although, anything loud turns them off. To much stimuli with sound puts them in another world. They love all the counting songs.
Emotionally disturbed: "One, Two, Three...Echo Me" has been a wonderful resource for me too. Many of the songs have visuals which are easy to reproduce, color, laminate, and place in the hands of the students. It is by Loretta Mitchell, not Cheryl Lavender. I've found it useful for classes from early childhood special needs up through regular 5th classrooms. (Thanks to Liz's admonition, I now have an itemized list of my personal teaching materials close at hand.)
When he was in first grade, he would cover his ears when we would start singing. I learned to turn my CD player WAY down, and talk in a softer voice. I also found out that he LOVED repeating rhythm patters that I did ("echo-clapping")!
I'm working with an autistic child right now in my kindergarten class. She loves music and the aide says that she does well in music. The aide gave me some advice and gave info to all of the teachers. Here are some things she said, which apply to my student and may apply to yours:
Get down to their level when talking to them so they cannot avoid eye contact. Now when I say hello to this girl in the hallway, I bend down and squat directly in front of her and she says hi to me, rather than waiting for the aide to tell her to say hi.
Directions should be very short. Normally with the kindergarteners I have to be specific because I anticipate how they would take directions such as walk back to your seats. I tell the students how I want them to walk to their seats (tiptoeing or quietly.) Apparently with the autisticstudent , I need to tell her one thing at a time. For example. Stand up. Walk to the front. Sit down. If I did that with the other kids, they'd be all ver the place before I said the second direction.
Right now the girl is still looking to the aide for directions, but I'm sort of trying to get her to listen to me for directions. So during the last lesson as my kindergartners were performing the body rock, which they already know, the aide and I switched places and I worked with the girl and the aide led the class.
I'm still trying to find ways to work with this student, but each week I'm more successful. And if you've never had an aide before, you might discuss with the aide how you run the class and ask the aide advice on working with the student. My aide is great. But during other years, sometimes aides were so used to being with the same class that they spoke up when another student was acting up. The way I like to work things is that with all students, including the student being mainstreamed, need to see me as the one in charge. If I am dealing with one student at the time and something else happens, then the aide can step in. With their student, usually with the specifics, I let them handle that.
In my 3rd year of teaching I was assigned a school with an autistic class (varying degrees) Gr.1-4.Ever since then (now in my 7th year) every year I've had at least one student or class of autistics-boys and girls. You never really receive appropriate training for best educating students with these and many disorders; THAT'S what really aggravates me! Anyway, familiarity like was mentioned is a must. Also action songs with movement ( in or out of chairs-depending on severity and/or handicap) works very well for my 2 classes of this year (Gr 1/2 and 3/4). Call/response songs they respond to well. At my Gr.5/6 school I have a mainstreamed boy with autism and I'm amazed at his musical abilities in remembering simple theory and facts (he's on meds, too). Patience is the biggest key I think though. It's a journey I suppose!
I have two austitic children this year. One is in kindergarten and is very capable. The other is in 3rd grade and has a full time aide with her. The aide will remove her from class any time she gets disruptive. It has been agreed on by all concerned (sp. ed teacher, myself, mom, etc.) that she not be allowed to interfere with the learning of others. I'm learning to tape our songs ahead of time to make them familiar to her. We start with the same welcome song everyday and the routine helps her. I'm learning when it's time to play instruments, she needs to be in the first group.
Lots of movement or lots of instrument playing was usually more than he could handle. On days I knew he would have difficulty staying on task his aid stayed with him. Again if he became very disruptive she would take him out. This year she just drops him off, I know where she is and if he can't handle class we send for her. To be honest I think it has only happened once. Don't misunderstand me he is not perfect but has come so far, it has been a delight to watch his progress. Also this year, he has a buddy he sits with, my son--who has learning disabilities all his own, but if the child starts getting antsy, my son just gently puts a hand on his leg or whispers in his ear....and no I didn't ask him too, it just evolved. Another Student: He is not as severe as my other student, and as you have mentioned great at rhythm etc.....He is in band this year, and his band teacher came saying HELP!!!!!!!! The buddy method has worked well for him too. A friend of his has a signal he gives him to remind him to not make noises etc.....
I have a very high functioning Autistic child in my first grade class this year. He has a one to one aide come to class with him. We had not been very successful at getting him through a complete 45 minute class until I started writing a program for him. As he comes in the door I hand him an index card with a numbered list of our activities.
I came across a great site in which a portion addresses music for autistic children. The address is: www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listautism3.html The site is called: Everything You Want to Know About Autism. And the article is called: Music Therapy and Language for the Autistic Child If you are unable to bring it up using this info, go to Alta Vista and type "Teaching strategies for autistic children" and you will get tons of info. Also, if you want more teaching strategies/tips re: music therapy, go to Alta Vista and type "music therapy" and again, you will have tons to choose from.
I had a class this year of "non-verbal" students. They were about 1st grade age range. An option class of 8 students. We did alot of rhythms! I used as many pictures and charts as possible. We used upper body movement, using our hands to copy my movement. One little
boy was very unsteady and wore a helmet. Also using velcro strips to help them hold onto the instruments like bells, finger cymbals and triangles worked. I laminated picture sheets to go with songs, to help them follow the song as I sang or played it. Each student could hold the picture page in their lap. We also used sign language for songs about color, numbers, anything visual was successful. Now the class sings "Pink elephant, pink elephant, what do you see?"
and the child with the elephant gets a solo "I see the brown dog looking at
me." or whatever animal they want to sing (that another classmate is
holding.) It's a wonderful way to get your little guys comfortable with
singing solos, and you get an individual assessment opportunity. The game
goes on until all animals have been called. It's hard to remember who's had
a turn so I have the children hold the stuffed animals on their shoulder
until they've gotten to solo, then they put it on the floor. That way it's
easy to see who needs to be sung to. Dancing Dots Web site with music curriculum information If you can get a set of music tack-tiles (created by Kevin Murphy) http://www.tack-tiles.com These were created from an idea of Legos and they are in English, Spanish, French and music. This would be a tool available for the student to use and to feel a part of the educational experience. Also there is a web site "BRL: Braille Through Remote Learning” that might be of interest to you. http://www.brl.org/ Here is a book: "How To Read Braille
Music- An Introduction” by Bettye Krolick ISBN 1-892195-05-4 It also has
on the back cover for a multimedia CD-Rom edition ISBN 1-892195-02-X and a
Braille edition ISBN 1-892195-06-2 Another item I use is a a muffin tin (6 spots for a half dozen). If you could get a hold of a few of these plus some tennis balls, these make a great way for the blind student to write the Braille music notation. Bill McCann from Dancing Dots (www.dancingdots.com), was also a big help to me. He has created software for transferring regular notated music into Braille music. Check out his site and see what your district will purchase or your special ed department.
-- Contributed by Mary Prestipino Also here are some great websites to help get ideas/resources. ARTICLE: https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr18/issue1/f180105.htm Introduction to Music for the Blind Student: http://www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/curriclm.htm Play by ear - this sight is by someone who is blind for those who is blind: http://www.musicvi.com/ -- Contributed by Rhonda Schilling We have a very good blind school here in Kansas City, and there are teachers from there who come and support our staff with him. Music, unfortunately, is a completely different Braille system. He would have to learn it the same as he has learned to read regular Braille. I do tape a lot for him. I give all of our written work to his para who has a Braille typewriter. She Brailles everything before he comes to music. Because my little boy has some sight, we have blown up a paper xylophone to larger than bass xylophone size, and we've color-coded each bar. Then, I have stickers with the same colors corresponding to the paper xylophone on my Orff instruments. This year I anticipate him learning recorder by ear. I will probably also have his para Braille out the note names without the rhythms (although he obviously won't be able to read the Braille and play at the same time 2) There is technology that could Braille your book for you. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software on a scanner will convert scanned text into a document. Then, it could either be printed on a Braille printer or there is a program called Jaws for visually impaired people which reads the screens for them. (My husband was able to obtain all but the Braille printer for free from the state). 3) As in the case of the other replies, Jeff tried to learn to read music, but eventually learned to play by ear. He is now in a band, so he does pretty well!
One other thing you can use in the classroom is a muffin pan and tennis
balls. Use the 6 muffin pan. This is like one cell for a Braille letter.
The student can add the tennis ball to the correct place in the muffin pan
and the sighted students can see this also. This is one way to teach
beginning Braille Music Notation.
I also had a 4th grader who is blind. He was in my chorus and we do lots of choreography! I would stay after school with him and tape record word for word, the actions that would go with each word, he would show me then what he thought it should look like . He did very well in our concerts. We also used Braille songsheets for him.
There is a product out called Tack-tiles. They are made in 5 different languages as well as music and neumatic symbols. The web address for this is http://www.tack-tiles.com "TACK-TILES® are small rectangular blocks which show Braille symbols as large raised dots and also show the corresponding print symbol for that Braille character. English, French, German, Italian and Spanish literary Braille code, and Music, Nemeth math and Computer Braille code sets are available. The blocks snap on to a board much like Lego toys. Each set contains 320 TACK-TILES®, 4 large boards and 4 smaller boards for students. Each set costs $329 plus shipping. "
I had a blind piano student years ago. I taught him hand position, fingering, and theory. He had an excellent ear and could match anything I played once he learned landmarks on the keyboard. I did a lot of scales, chords, and Hannon at first and then began to play simple songs and he would repeat them. I only had him for about a year, and I was reaching a point of not knowing how to progress.
There are recorders where you can change the positioning of individual fingers and then glue them together if the child has resonable mobility...they can play any note with I think is any 6 fingers or at least most of them....Another option is have them keep the steady beat on a drum for the class....The students I've worked with with CP are extremely enthusiastic when it comes to music...they would love the chance!!!
For the child with CP, call West Music and talk to the physical therapist on their staff. They do have special instruments and she probably will have ideas for using them or for adapting other instruments to this child's needs.
I had a CP student for a couple of years who LOVED to play the piano! I could ask him to play "black" keys, and he would, and "white" keys. I could say, "Play with one finger, or two fingers,"......etc. One hand or two, etc. He also loved to play the recorder.....or at least blow it. I would finger it for him and he would blow. He would get so excited! Since I had him with 12 other special ed. kids, combined with a regular ed class of 24, I couldn't give him the individual attention I would have liked, but he was a joy!
Based on what I know about CP, this boy's manual dexterity will probably not allow him to play the recorder. (CP) I do not, however, widh for him to get nothing out of music and be bored in my room. Are there any ideas of related activities that I can have him do while he is with me???
I have experience with CP and many other disabilities. I had a girl with CP who wanted to play guitar but she couldn't strum with her fingers and couldn't hold a pick, so I stuck one in the middle of a blackboard eraser, which she could hold. I also taught one child who had no left forearm/hand. I allowed her to play her recorder "backwards", with her right hand on top. When she got to the stage where everyone else was playing with both hands, I wrote harmony parts for her to play with one hand. I did this another year for a boy who had had a stroke during heart surgery; his left hand just could not grip, so we switched. You might also find that your new student can hold onto a larger size recorder-alto or even tenor, since the grip isn't too small. (I have rheumatoid arthritis, and many days I'm much more comfortable playing my tenor while the kids play their sopranos) You could also put the new student on bar instruments or unpitched percussion. You can buy adaptive mallets-check in your special ed. teacher's catalogs-or figure out some way to create an adaptation that works.
How about being the conductor? Holding a baton might be a tough one, but again, you can adapt a dowel, a rhythm stick, etc. I did this kind of adaptation when my kids performed The Nutcracker one year. I had a little girl, legally blind, autistic, very poor motor skills and w/c bound, who was one of my Sugar Plum Fairies. She had a magic wand, just like the other girls, but I modified it so it could be attached to her hand. Then I choreographed a wheelchair dance for her and one of the other fairies. Her mother wrote a letter to me, to the principal, to the asst. superintendent, and to the superintendent saying it was the best thing anyone had ever done for her daughter!
I once had a CP kid who couldn't do anything with a recorder except prop up his chin on it and drool down the sides; but he was gung-ho. He was the first to volunteer for a solo every day; and the class would applaud him as if he were James Galway. Even now, I have several who are not quite as bad, but who cannot finger more than B-A. I've learned to tune out that specific recorder and hear the class as a whole. They enjoy it and do the best they can. However, I also have a girl who knows that she'll never be able to play correctly. On recorder day, she simply doesn't come to class. It's OK with me; and her resource teacher has planty for her to do.
Finally, don't underestimate them - my life-skills kiddos NEVER stop amazing
me with what they can do if you just give them enough of an opportunity to
try! --- Emily in IN
AMPLIFICATOIN: 1. Attach a string to a plastic cup, and scrape the string-the student could hold the cup and feel the vibration. 2. attach string to 2 cups and attach the other ends to a coat hanger. Place cups to ear and let the coat hanger dangle to hit a chair or table. - Dana Wessel One thing that I would suggest is to get a book of simple sign language and learn some signs to use with her. By now, she should know some signs herself and she might be able to teach you a few things as well. If you try to learn her language, even just a little bit, she will be able to respond in class. Some simple signs that you can use in your class with her are sit, stand, listen, watch, quiet, walk, line-up, thank you, please, sorry, etc. There is a book by Lottie L. Riekehof called "The Joy of Signing." It's in textbook form with a great index in the back that you can look up words and try them out. This book has been used in many universities to teach interpreters and deaf ed. teachers.
11/03 I did a lot of movement with the classes with the deaf children. I made sure they were sitting as close to me and the stereo as possible. We did a lot of steady beat activities. I made sure that these kids were watching me as I spoke. This way, they could read my lips if I didn't know the signs to what I was saying. Deaf kids want to be successful in Music class. They want to be as much a part of the activity as any other child. They just need a little extra help. Most of them do understand that you may not know what they are trying to tell you and that you can't respond. Don't get frustrated...make the effort to learn the signs she's using. Don't give up. I learned so many signs last year and I miss those kids this year. They would help me out if I didn't know exactly what I was signing. This can be a great blessing for you!And the added benefit is that the more signs you learn, the more you can say things to your hearing children with sign language and you can save your voice! - Contributed by Melissa Wainman
I use songs like " Little Red Wagon" and the kids move their shoulders as we
sing to simulate we are riding in a wagon and fixing the wagon with various
tools each verse.
The kids love "Hot pototato pass it
on" and they pass a potate shaker around which I purchased from one of the
music store.
I would suggest you learn a few very basic phrases in sign like "move like a
__________" If I don't know the word, for example 'bunny', I hop like one.
I also clap loudly to get the attention of the student if they are day
dreaming, but that doesn't seem to happen often. This also seems to bring the
attention of other hearing students around who also have been daydreaming.
My students move very well to the beat, but I do need to turn up the bass so
they can feel the vibrations.
Get with him privately. I suggest have a joint meeting with the principal, counselor and/or class room teacher. Tell him you understand he has a hearing problem and that you are willing to work with him as long as he works co-operatively with you. Suggest: I will use a private sign with you, that no one else will know about. (Possibly, tug on your ear - got that idea from the movie "Perfect Harmony:") "What will this tug mean? "Student, you are not blending in with the group. You are too loud because your hearing aid is not in. Please cut back your volume level.")
If he is cooperating, he will cut back. If he is not cooperating, you will know because he won't cut back and then you can deal with it as a discipline problem.
Using this approach will do several things:
Then, I will whip out my trusty "recorder straw" and go
blow on the back of the hand of the hearing child that is too loud. Then if one of my hearing impaired kids are having the same problem, I'll ask if they remember what I did to help Johnny. Then I will proceed to do the same for them by either signing myself or asking the interpreter to do it if my hands are full! I treat my hearing impaired kids just like regular everyday kids. I tell them one on one that yes, you do have a loss of hearing, but you are NOT different from anyone else. You are a bright student whom I love very much
and I am going to do my best to help you succeed. (I really tell this to all my kids, but make a special effort to point it out to my kiddos with handicaps.)
These are 3rd graders by the way. I also give constant feed back myself or I will ask the interpreter to do so and let the kids know when they are doing well. Just last Friday, we played for our "Blue Ribbons" and most of my deaf kids were playing so soft that I could barely hear them!! After they played a little louder, I heard that they were tonguing and playing correctly.
If this young man really wants to succeed and learn, then he will do his best to adapt to the way YOU want him to play. As far as turning off the aids go, forget it!! I never allow my H.I. students to turn them off and for the profoundly deaf, I ask for an auditory trainer to even amp. the sound more. If it gets too loud, they will sign to me "too loud" and I will adjust their trainer, NOT their aids.
Have you checked with his H.I. teacher to ask how to best to motivate him? I had one boy one year that if I would put out a jar with jolly ranchers in it and tell him if he could control his air and still play the notes correctly, etc along with the class, he could earn a jolly rancher at the end of the week. He kept track of the days and after the 4th or 5th day of coming without over blowing, squeaking, or singing the note names too loud, he got his choice of jolly ranchers. The reg. kids in the class did not mind because they were well aware that he needed extra help and the kids were very supportive of him and applauded him every time he earned a jolly rancher.
Sunshine on my shoulder
LOVE GROWS (By Carol Johnson). This is great with American Sign Language in the chorus)
Here's a great site for sign language. Click on a letter, then the word you want. After a few seconds you'll see a video clip of someone doing the sign. http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
Bryan Kerr asked about teaching singing-I don't have specific curricular ideas, but a way of thinking about singing that I learned at the Orff Institute in Salzburg this summer from Reinhold Wirsching. We began with movement and sound; that is, through imitation, we made silent gestures with our arms and bodies that we then made sounds to. The sounds at first were consonants; "shh" "chh," hisses, bbb, etc, then we explored vowel sounds. The movement supported the rhythm of the breath, so we were properly breathing without a lot of talking at us about "how to" breath correctly for singing beautifully. So instead of just standing with arms at our sides in proper choral formation, we danced our singing. With 5th graders who haven't had much experience singing, I can imagine spending plenty of time just exploring vocal quality through movement, having fun with sounds, - and then singing rounds and moving to them.
05/21 My first couple of years of teaching, I had what was referred to as the DD class. (Developmentally delayed) Talk about not knowing jack to teach them! But... I really enjoyed them after awhile. I found that I could do almost the same thing with them that I did with regular kindergarten, but their attention spans were even shorter. Lots of movement, flannelboard songs or any other things using visuals. I had a poster of 5 Green and Speckled Frogs with velcro on the frogs so that they could jump into the pool - and I had 5 frog masks that I made, so we did that song over and over and over... Also had 5 masks for Halloween: pumpkin man, big black cat, skeleton, spooky ghost, and wicked witch sung to the tune of Muffin Man. (Do you know the pumpkin man, etc. who comes on Halloween.)
Use a schedule of songs for the kids. Ask the teacher aides in the spec. ed. classrooms to help you create these using laminated icons to represent the songs you choose to do. Laminate a manila folder, cut lengthwise, attach velcro to icon and cut folder. Post somewhere for kids to see. Also, this is a great opportunity to let kids choose, too. (For instance, for the dance song, you could give them a choice between Hokey Pokey or the Chicken Dance.) ORGANIZE CD’S: The past two years, I have fumbled through music and CDs in each class, taking up time, and making a mess. This year, I have set music on each CD, so that I can just pop it in, and that's that. It goes along with the order of class. I'll have about 6 CDs or so once I'm finished (this has been my summer project.) I also want to make photocopies of the various songs on the CD, or songs that I accompany on the piano to go in order so it's all set. (Does that make sense?) With my higher functioning kids, a lot of times, I'll do the same lesson as I would do with say 1st or 2nd grade - whatever functioning level they seem to be at, with a few minor changes. (Again, I always include that opening and closing bit.) UTILIZING AIDESMake it clear to the aides who come into your classroom what your expectations of them are - for instance, is it okay for them to chat while you are trying to give instructions (which should be no, it is not okay... the kids are so easily distracted as it is! :)) What do you want them to do during activities? ASK ASK ASK ASK ASK the SP.ED. teachers for help, ideas, advice... at the same time, realize that YOU are the music specialist. (They won't realize that you can actually teach them music. They will often view this time as great for the kdis, fun, a time for them to let go... etc... much like our reg. ed. teachers. SLOWER is often better. Some songs on CDs are much too fast for the children - specifically if they are giving instructions (like touch your head.) If you can do them with piano/ guitar accompaniment or accapella, often it will be more effective. ROUTINE: 2. Steady Beat practice - (Sometimes I combine this with the opening song.) - I really like "Chimes of Dunkirk" for this. One student in the lowest group really latched on to one of the songs (maybe #1 - can't remember what I used.) He would count to four with it. IT was his FAVE! 3. Action song - song that gives directions about marching, shaking hands, standing up, touch your (nose), etc. 4. Instrument Song - give students a choice between two instruments. They thrive on choices, and it is usually one of their goals in their classroom. (Ask your teachers if they use boardmaker or some other sort of icon for choosing.)*Be aware that with autistic children especially, noise is not good... try instruments such as a guiro, cabasa, maraca, egg shaker, chimes, rainsticks, etc... anything with texture too! The art teacher at my school one year did an activity with the classes on making rainsticks - that might be another idea! I made kazoos this past year, and my higher functioning kids LOVED to use them in class - it also helped their singing! 5. Rhythm activity, depending on the level of ability of the class. 6. Song with a book or language component - sequencing songs, rhyming songs, etc. 7. Sensory activity - use other forms of their senses. For instance, they loved when we'd do "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and I made spider hats for them to wear, and a couple of "sunshines" for them to hold... and when it rained, I pulled out a little water mister bottle, and sprayed in the air. SO FUN - they love MK8's version, too, with the talking spider. 8. Dancing activity - hokey pokey, chicken dance (a favorite), beanbags or scarfs, etc. I once started a 12-year-old beginning student on piano who was dyslexic with ADHD. He was never truly fluid in playing a song until he memorized it, but the process of taking concepts from keyboard to staff and focusing on direction more than note names allowed him to self-correct as he learned a new song, and he was just as successful as my other students (if not more so than some of my less-motivated or less parent-supported students). - Contributed by Beth in AZ Low C - Brown for "chocolate" I had parent volunteer helpers (don't overlook parents as helpers - they can be wonderful!) "color code" each recorder piece for the dyslexic kids, and occasionally the regular kids would request a copy. Why can kids learn a code and not just sit down and read the notes? I don't know. I just know it helped my struggling kids and they were able to transfer to regular sheets after about 2 semesters of color-coding.A parent with a dyslexic child showed me how she thought her son was seeing the notes and asked me if there was anything other than writing the letter names on the sheet of music. That's when the color-coding began.Since I needed about 40 sheets each year with five classes of third graders, we color-coded them, laminated them, numbered them and gave them out with the threat that if they were lost they would have to color-code 5 sheets to make up for the 1 lost sheet. Of course, they could have gone down to Kinkos to copy them, but the threat of extra work made these sheets rather sacred! - Contributed by Cak
The second type of dyslexia is aural, and this is a bit more nebulous in approach. I have found that very short phrases of music (2-3 notes) can be played back. And then, once the student is gaining confidence (usually after many weeks) I extend the phrase by one note. I have found that there is breakdown number at which the listening becomes confused and the number varies from student to student. Important to
develop both rhythmic and tonal vocabularies separately, as combining them can easily mix the student up.
With regard to music for dyslexic students, I am assuming you are speaking about the written page. I have had experience working with such students, and have learned that two types of dyslexia exist. The first is visual and the best results, in this case, are achieved when the music is very large print (125%-150%)and very uncluttered. What I mean by "uncluttered" is that the student sees exactly what he/she hears. I had to create much of the music myself. I used Finale, as it allows me to increase or decrease page/staff size without limits. I eliminated all, "superfluous" notation for the beginning student. The only notation that was present was absolutely necessary pitch and rhythm (no ties).
One of our most successful tools for dyslexic students is the color code system devised years ago by a Fourth Grade class at O'Hara School. Each note is a specific color that matches a word starting with the letter name of the note.
middle C brown for "chocolate"
He adds that "The correct fingering makes 'dog ears' with the middle and ring finger being Fido's nose." If there is no color printer available, the notes could be colored by hand. Fortunately, there are usually only a few students who need this service, and the color-coding only continues until the students become independent. Cak's message happened to arrive right after one of the mailing lists sent me a message about synaesthesia (confusing one sense with another, in this case confusing music with color). I hope Cak doesn't mind, but I copied his message and submitted it to that list, along with the comment, "It's better to induce synaesthesia in dyslexic students than not to teach them music at all!"
Keep it al echo imitation and modeled performance goals for as long as possible. The dyslexia is a visual problem, and does not affect musicality when learned by rote. Go with the strength. I had a downs syndrome student in my music classes for 5 years and this was his all time favorite song. He's now in grade 7, and whenever I run into him (his Mom teaches with me, so I see him often) he starts to sing it again! There are lots of other familiar (and some not so familiar) action songs on this CD - it's split track so you can use accompaniments only in performance. More importantly, I have worked with the Phonic Ear company for the past 7 years and think they are wonderful. In my experience with them, they have been consistently responsive, flexible, and personal. The systems can be used "on trial" for something like 45 days and returned if found unsatisfactory. The company stands behind their products. We have equipped many of our classrooms with this system. My room is bigger, therefore, I have four speakers. Most have two that are mounted in the ceiling. The two ports I have are for my mic and for a cordless hand-held mic that the students use on occasion. My system was about $900.00. I have had it now for four years and have not had ONE single problem. The battery loads overnight in a wall plug. It couldn't be easier. I never have to shout over the other sounds in my room. When I am reading a book, it is like magic to be able to use all sorts of tone colors and still be heard in every corner of the room. Most of all, I have kept my voice in perfect vocal health. It is worth every single penny and more. If I moved to another school and did not have this system, I would buy it myself and use it as a tax write-off! Our voices are our communicators. We must treat them with respect and caution! Another note: my son has a 70% hearing loss in one ear and has had the good fortune to be placed in classrooms that have this system. It has helped make his schooling more successful.
I also in the beginning was very clear as to what they could do and
would mention some of those things as the need arose. The thing is - these
aides are with the children all day and know all those little things that we
can't possibly know - for that I found it valuable. I have to say though
that all my kids were mainstreamed and I have never had a self contained
special ed class in the 26 years that I have been teaching. So maybe my
call would not work for everyone. I had a VERY challenging child once
with Down Syndrome and I used to hold her hand and look at how small it was
and it would make me stop and realize just what was going on and who I was
dealing with. Talk to any teachers in your field who have dealt with
Special Ed. classes and I am sure that they could even be more helpful. It
is quite an adventure, Dianne, but I NEVER would be where I am today if I
hadn't had that ongoing inservice.
-------------------------------
Bryan Kerr asked about teaching singing-I don't have specific curricular ideas, but a way of thinking about singing that I learned at the Orff Institute in Salzburg this summer from Reinhold Wirsching. We began with movement and sound; that is, through imitation, we made silent gestures with our arms and bodies that we then made sounds to. The sounds at first were consonants; "shh" "chh," hisses, bbb, etc, then we explored vowel sounds. The movement supported the rhythm of the breath, so we were properly breathing without a lot of talking at us about "how to" breath correctly for singing beautifully. So instead of just standing with arms at our sides in proper choral formation, we danced our singing. With 5th graders who haven't had much experience singing, I can imagine spending plenty of time just exploring vocal quality through movement, having fun with sounds, - and then singing rounds and moving to them. After about the 3rd time, they automatically would sit down and color another bulb without me saying a word. It was so cute to see them giggling and coloring and standing up and singing and sitting down and giggling and coloring. The 30 minutes flew by and we accomplished a lot. - Contributed by Janet in MI
12/03 Teaching ESL through Music: http://caslt.org/research/music.htm
ARTICLE: https://cml.music.utexas.edu/online-resources/disabilities-information/fetal-alcohol-syndrome/
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR CHILD The rest of the paper is filled with lines for parents to write on. I encourage them to continue on the back if they wish (and a lot of them do just that!) -- Kathleen Bragle http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031215-556865,00.html -- Contributed by Dianne Park I start with the hand bells. I have the students sitting in color order beg all the red low C sitting one behind another. etc. I talk to them about in the key of C that the C will be the most important note and everything is worked out from that note by skipping a bell or boomwhackers. When teaching the IV chord I literally walk from the C line to the F line by counting and stating that the F will be the root of chord IV etc. and then skip one to A and then one to C. Since my bells are only one octave I fill the chord out by stating that on the piano I can have the high notes but with the bells if we don't have the D in the V chord we use the low D and I even throw in the F fro the V7. Hope this makes sense. I had a SEd class today absolutely enraptured by the harmony. They had remembered which chords they were in too. I felt so proud of them when they played the Westminster Chimes with me pointing at the color chart of the music and then added the three chords at the end. I had to call some people from the office to hear them as they were beaming from ear to ear. They did better than my fourth and fifth graders so don't ever give up on Special Ed kids.....they went back to class singing the notes of the three chords and the principal couldn't believe that this was the class which is often in trouble and frequently in her office! These kids can find D on the piano and from there work out all the other notes.....they are my star students and want more!. Just give them a chance to soar and they will.-- contriubted by Susan Michiels
Severely Disabled is a blanket term that encompasses a EXTREMELY WIDE variety of disorders. If a child has full blown MS, they are severely disabled, if a child has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, they are severely disabled - but the treatments for the two are different but only through an empirical checklist of cognitive skills and tasks can we assess where their strong and weak points are as well as how they are tracked with their past work, and compared with other students. Enjoy these kids, it's very challenging and frustrating at first, but they always LOVE music. 1. Welcome/Beat practice - I begin every class with a MK8 song and let students take turns being the "leader" keeping the beat; These kids can't get enough beat practice & they LOVE listening to "cool" music (3 minutes) 2. Instrument time - practice keeping the beat, explore and discuss instrument timbre (woods, metals, skins, pitched, unpitched, etc.) (included with number one or number 4; 2 minutes) 3. Voice exploration - singing, speaking, whispering, shouting; sing simple songs; couldn't live without solfege! AFTER THREE YEARS, THESE GUYS SING BEAUTIFULLY!! (8-10 minutes) 4. Every class we have at least one speech piece - A Horse and a Flea, Way Down South, etc.; we always add the beat, instrument sounds, change voice, etc., dramatize (8-10 minutes) 5. Motor Skills Development - guided listening activities where we decide 6. Something Fun! They LOVE Greg & Steve CD's (3-5 minutes) 7. Cool Down - Listen to lullaby type song, relax, and line up (2 minutes)
I wanted to share things that have really worked with my students... These children thrive on routine, so my basic lesson plan stays the same every week. I simply use different material for each section of the lesson.
1. Welcome/Beat practice - I begin every class with a MK8 song and let students take turns being the "leader" keeping the beat; These kids can't get enough beat practice & they LOVE listening to "cool" music (3 minutes) We would use simple folksongs and then on the
xylaphones play the 1 and 5 or whatever worked that was simple and easy. I
sometimes removed bars that they did not use to help them remember what two
notes to play. To help keep them on beat we did lots of beat games and songs
prior to this such as Stella Ella, hot potatoe , pease porrige hot etc.
I kept a very messy lesson plan book but if you like more ideas I can send you
a few weeks worth to help you. I also mark these students according to their
ability and we did try to do recorders this year with the older group. We
only did BAG and E but they loved it and I used fun music so if they didn't
play the correct notes, I could drown them out with the CD. 1. Penguin polka-all of our little guys could walk, so we each grabbed one and danced around the room to this song. It was the first time I ever saw one of them laugh! Gosh, that's all I can think of this early in the morning, when I think of more I'll let you know. I absolutely loved them, though. They would smile and laugh (none of them were very verbal) and were just sweet. I was walking down the hall one day, not really paying attention, when I felt a hand grab mine and I looked down and it was one of these little guys. The teacher was just amazed because this child was NOT affectionate, and I was tickled to death! - Contributed by Jill in NC Several years ago I bought a set of animal puppets at Costco. They just screamed "Old McDonald." It's amazing how children who wouldn't talk or sing would do so when using the puppets. Sock puppets would also do well and classroom teachers could make them to go with any unit of study. Kazoos were also popular with spec ed. and autistic children. I could never explain how children who couldn't sing on pitch could hum on pitch while using the kazoo. The classroom teacher was so impressed, she bought a kazoo for each student and used them in her room. My take on this is that both puppets and kazoos take the focus and attention away from the children and they are able to overcome their shyness and fear of failure. -- Contributed by Connie Soles In my experience, schools will do everything possible (whether it is legal
or not) to avoid assessing the problems some of the kids have and providing
services or treatment for them. So much so for the "Children Left Behind."
There is always due process if you have the stamina to fight the school
attorneys and if you prevail, your child gets the brunt of the conflict.
We do qualify for a benefit called the Katie Beckett waiver. This
program is provided in some states for parents who don't qualify for SSI
benefits for their disabled children. It allows the children to have
Medicaid benefits that cover any medical services not allowed by a medical
insurance policy. Even medication for a child that needs it is not an
insignificant expense for the average family. Our prescription co-pays are
$17 for brand names and our son takes 6 prescription medications (including
his allergy meds.) and our daughter takes 5 medications. Those $17 co-pays
(which are probably less than many people pay for their prescriptions with
insurance coverage) add up to a significant bill every month. Fortunately,
the Medicaid coverage from the Katie Beckett waiver covers our son's
medication co-pays. He needs occupational therapy twice a week (our son is
now homeschooled and OT services were denied by the school even though he
clearly qualified for them). Our medical insurance does not cover OT and he
would not have the therapy if the Medicaid did not cover it. Our son is
homeschooled at the moment and will continue to be until the point when he
is ready to return to school-if ever. I figure I'm saving someone a whole
LOT of money by keeping him at home but many parents simply do not the
option to do this.
Children with early onset bipolar disorder can display symptoms of all
of the diagnoses you mentioned here. My own opinion of "oppositional
defiant disorder" is that it is not a disorder unto itself, but rather a
symptom of other problems that have not been uncovered and diagnosed by a
qualified mental health professional, physician, neurologist, or other
qualified medical personnel. Quite often, the symptoms of "oppositional
defiant disorder" often disappear after a case of ADHD, Tourette's, bipolar
disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder or anxiety disorder have been
correctly diagnosed and treated. Many of these disorders occur co morbidly,
meaning they occur not as a separate disorder many times but as combinations
and degrees of each other.
It also sounds like this boy may have some significant sensory integration
issues and/or Tourette's Syndrome which may explain some of the strange
noises, mumblings, etc... He could also be experiencing some type of
seizure activity. If this child does have undiagnosed Tourette's syndrome
of some degree or even a shadow syndrome, he may have some control over the
tics but may not be able to contain them consistently. Anxiety (caused by
someone paying too much negative attention to them or someone reprimanding
him for the noises) will definitely increase the occurrence of tics. The
fact that he is "behind" in his recorder is probably a reflection of his
very real but as yet undiagnosed and untreated problems and he should not be
admonished or punished for this. My own son is 10 and even though he has an
IQ of 128, he still cannot write more than one or two sentences at a time.
He is currently undergoing occupational therapy for sensory integration
dysfunction. In the past, teachers have wrongly accused him or being "lazy"
or simply "unmotivated" as well as "non-compliant" or "needing anger
management classes." Any of us would need anger management counseling also
if all our lives, we had been asked to do something over and over again
which we were simply not capable of doing or which was much more difficult
for us to do than our peers.
The parents of this child are probably as frustrated as any of the
teachers and even more so. They obviously recognize there is a problem or
they would not have taken him to see a psychiatrist or experimented with
some medications to begin with. Our son was misdiagnosed with ADHD and
anxiety disorder not once but twice. Antidepressants and stimulant
medications were prescribed for him but those medications caused more
problems since our son really had bipolar disorder. He is now in 5th grade
and we have been experimenting with medications since he was in first grade
and it has only been in the last year or so that we've seen positive results
and have felt that we were on the right track. There have been several
severe reactions to a few of the medications our son tried and when that
happens we have to start all over again.
In some kids who do take stimulant medications for ADHD such as
Concerta, Ritalin, Dexadrine, or Adderall, the medications do in fact, cause
a slowing or halting of growth rate and the parents probably stopped the
medications on the advice of the physician. Finding the right medication
combination is a tricky, very long and VERY SLOW process that cannot be done
too quickly without significant risk to the child. There are still some
psychiatrists who think that it is not possible for a child to have bipolar
disorder but most of those trained in the last 10 to 15 years do recognize
the disorder and understand how to treat it, but even so, I've heard many,
many horror stories about incompetent or poorly trained psychiatrists who
continue to prescribe antidepressants and stimulants for children with
bipolar disorder without putting a mood stabilizer in place first or very
carefully ruling out bipolar disorder. Bipolar children can become
aggressive and psychotic on antidepressants and stimulant medications. (This
reaction can happen in bipolar adults also).
I would definitely call this child's parents and invite them to come
into the classroom to observe their child's behavior in that environment.
It is clear they are searching for answers and there are several reading
recommendations I can give for you and them. A very important book for any
teacher dealing with behaviorally disordered children is "The Explosive
Child" by Ross Greene. Another is "The Bipolar Child" by Demitri and Janice
Papolos. There is also a book about Sensory Integration Dysfunction called
"The Out of Sync Child" by an author whose name I cannot recall at the
moment. Blaming the parents or taking a "know it all" or controlling
attitude with them will only put them on the defensive and will not help
this boy at all. The parents have already taken a punitive approach with
this child as evidenced by the Mom's advice to you to "not tolerate any
belligerence or negative attitude" but it has probably not been what this
child needs and parents often try this type of approach to avoid being
judged by teachers as "too lenient" or "ineffective parents." They also may
be getting misguided advice from teachers or the principal about needing to
"punish" their child more or to be "tougher" with him. Unfortunately, for
most children who really do display the symptoms of ODD (oppositional
defiant disorder) and its underlying causes, this type of approach only
makes things worse. This is also probably a last ditch effort to try to
"straighten this kid out" without having to face the fact that there is a
problem. One of the toughest things for the parent of any child to face to
accept is the possibility that there may be something wrong with their
child. The disorders I've mentioned above are not visible like a psychical
handicap and it is often easier to deny their existence than it is to deny
physical paralysis, a limb deformity or some other physical malformation.
The current term for these disorders is "neurobiological brain disorders."
Think about how difficult it might be to accept the fact that something may
be wrong with your child's brain. The best way to help the parents find
answers is to give them as much information as possible and to suggest some
testing or evaluation that may be helpful for their son. Here are some
links that may be helpful for you and the parents:
DEFINITIONS: TS, OCD, ADHD: http://www.freewebs.com/tic_and_twitch/classroomhelps.htm
I really believe that while these students need extra attention and adaptability in their learning, they should not receive it at the expense of the twenty other students in class. (soapbox coming up!) Which is why I personally find it frustrating to hear from other teachers about students in our district who have so many special needs, they should really be receiving specialized instruction, not inclusion instruction. The inclusion is not helping them, either metally, academically, or socially. (I don't buy that "social argument - what good is social interaction for a severely retarded student who has repeated third grade multiple times?) It is also not as effective instruction if the district does not train teachers - specials (art, music, pe, spanish) included! - in ways to adapt to these special needs students in their classrooms (There are two teachers at my school who are *very* frustrated with this lack of training and I understand because I am sometimes at a loss to deal with their special needs students myself!).
I am not going to say I am against inclusion, because for many children it is amazing!! But it would seem to me that there is a right way and a less right way to go about it. A lot of things need to be considered, examined closely, and resolved for inclusion to be a success. And right now my own district is questioning its success in inclusion.So I guess what I'm saying is get as much help, advice and assistance as you can with this student, because he is not your responsibility alone. He is special and will require a different type of attention from *everyone* in order for his education to be a success. Ask for updates on his progress (I am so grateful I receive copies of meetings for my special needs student, although I am never invited). Ask for resources from your school and district (books and other resources, local workshops or clinics to attend). Ask for help from these *great* people!
Nevertheless: When I taught music to gifted kids for 10 years, I was able to experience the quintessential gifted kid in a music ed setting. I discovered by experience the truth that gifted is NOT the same as talented. It is also not the same as high-achieving. Gifted kids are different. Period. I bristle when I hear poppycock like "everybody's gifted, just in a different way." That is feel-good blather in my opinion. Maybe everyone has an area that they are better at, but gifted? Don't think so. Either that or we better start back at the beginning and check our definitions of "gifted." I have experienced these kids! They ARE a different breed of cat.Gifted kids as a group (always noting individual differences) who drift into music are almost always your best musicians. If they are also talented, then WOW. The comments below are only about gifted kids. 1- they have a better memory and will remember that you told them to cut off on beat 3. They will be the ones that can remember the script right off or with less struggle than others. Are there characteristics that tend to be less pleasurable? Yes. 1 - they will try to talk you into anything they think they want (with adults we sometimes called it "baffle them with BS). Teachers have to learn to say with great aplomb, "no - cuz I'm the teacher and you're the kid." 2 - that sense of humor can be very vicious, sarcastic and cutting. Teachers have to make a zero tolerance rule of "no put downs" and work to avoid zinging back which is verrrrry tempting. 3 - smart minds do not necessarily make smart fingers. Kids who have never had to try too hard to learn something can get very frustrated when their 3rd grade recorder-playing fingers can't do what their 6th grade minds want. Teachers need to explain to them the difference between mental learning and physical learning.... psychomotor/proprioceptive learning. They need to explain that their minds learn after only one or two (or three)repetitions but that their muscles are dumb and need to do things over and over again until the muscles learn the task. 4 - they want to know "why". Many, many times they are just asking to understand the rationale - NOT to question the authority of the teacher. Just explain! Running in the hall is dangerous. They have to take this test to prove to me that they know what's going on. Note: sometimes they are just stalling the inevitable by asking questions. Teachers have to know their kids well enough to know when to pull the explanation plug. 5 - they can be very stubborn. If they don't see the relevance, they can "get their backs up" and be very resistant. 6 - their extra strong sense of justice and fair play, which can be wonderful when expressed positively, can cause chaos when they perceive an injustice to another student or to themselves. They can lead little revolutions by refusing to stop debating or getting more angry and poisoning the atmosphere of the room. Teachers need to find ways to address the core perceived injustice and then follow through with those ways. 7 - they tend to ask far-reaching questions. Teachers have to be intellectually humble enough to say, "I don't know, but I'll find out." 8 - that intellect can work out where a teacher's soft/sore points are and capitalize on them. Teachers need to learn themselves better/well enough so they can deflect the little ways the kids are trying to get one-up. 9- they will pick to death your rules or test questions, etc. If you want them to walk down the hall, then for Pete's sake, don't make the rule "don't run". They will follow that rule explicity by skipping, turning somersaults, etc. "But we didn't run" they will innocently say. And -durn it- they're correct. Better make the rule "Walk in the hall."If you put a multiple-choice test item on a written test and give two answers that can possibly be correct and they see that even if you didn't, then you better be ready to be humble enough to say "I see your point. I will eliminate that question from the test." 10 - if you make a mistake, you will hear about it. It will not be a 'gotcha' from them but rather it will be just for clarification and accuracy. It's usually intended as a kindness to you. It's only a problem if you let it be. Teachers often put the incident down to a power trip or ego thing from the kids, when more accurately, it's just a correction, not a put down. Makes me ask - who has the ego problem??
Difficulties abound.
A few general things I've noticed through this program (and other more general teaching discussions).
Chris in an early piece you mentioned asking students for some harder (to them "dirty") questions. I have noticed in the teaching of Future Problem Solving that a very effective strategy to get kids thinking more creatively is to ask them after they have exhausted their easy come ideas to think of the "zaniest" ideas they can. The really good thinking then begins. I have also used what I think deBono calls a PO word with great success. When thinking is drying up give a one word stimulus. The other day when students were trying to think about the issue of Kids and Violence, the word "sandles" thrown in by me produced the most marvellous ideas. I find it useful to teach kids to keep changing their focus - e.g. to move from the big picture to the detail, to look from many points of view - deBono's 6Hats, mind maps, tree diagrams, any different way of ordering the information seems to encourage the making of new connections.
I had one third grader get a perfect score three years ago on the intermediate tonal test and she has perfect pitch. She auditions successfully for every children's honor choir that I have involved her in-state, regional, and national level. One drawback is that the tapes do wear out and I found the company not wanting to replace them. The tapes lose their accuracy when they get worn. That's when I stopped using them and relyed on my own evaluation of the children - pitch pattern accuracy and steady beat. If you don't have the time to individually evaluate each student, then try the tests. I found them very useful. : Never underestimate the ability of children. They can surprise you when
presented with a challenge
National Association for Music Therapy: 8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1000 Silver Spring, MD 20910 1-301-589-3300
You might contact the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Their headquarters is in Washington. They may have some suggestions. It has been my experience, in the classroom residencies that I do, that music and other performing arts activities help get educational information through to learning disabled children. I find that concepts that may not get through to them with other more traditional methods are more easily taught to learning disabled children. It's my feeling that music is good for everyone not matter what the challenges are-- You might try contacting a local Music Therapy group-- surely in DC there will be at least one. Also, the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Childhood Education Through the Arts (703)255-1933 may have some contact ideas, as well as the Lincoln Center for The Performing Arts.
I suggest you teach recorder to your daughter yourself. This may mean that you have to learn to play it also. There are also simplified or "pentatonic" recorders available.
Check out a book with a title something like "Orff Schulwerk in Music Therapy." Your public library may not have it but a university library should.
Gunuild Keetman wrote a book called Orff Music Therapy which I've seen in stores and libraries. Its right on the money for using Orff Technique with disabled kids. I also saw recently a book advertised in conjunction with AOSA about teaching Orff to special needs kids in the class room but I'm afraid I don't remember where I saw it so can't get the relevant info for you. I have taken many ideas from a book called Music for The Developmentally Disabled by Edith Boxhill-Brown this can be found through the American Music Therapy Association at http://www.namt.com/namt. The address may have changed get back to me if you have any problems getting through. Good luck with your daughter, in all my years experience working with developmentally disabled people I have never found anything that is more effective than musical exercise you're definately on the right track!
Desiree I have worked with many learning disabled kids and each one teacher who is willing to modify their lessons to suit your daughters needs. For example if the child has great difficulty reading (books that is) then to expect that child to read traditional notation is being very narrow minded. I make many modifications for my students but each one is unique to that kid. Try contacting schools that deal with special ed. kids and as for recommendations from their music teacher.
Here's a book which offers numerous suggestions on accommodating children of different levels of capability. It also offers numerous suggestions on adapting musical instruments for physical handicaps. Bailey, P. 1973. They can make music. London: Oxford University Press.
Chorus:
Note by note we make a song
(Repeat Chorus)
So let me take your hand my friend
(Repeat Chorus)
I'd suggest you find some books on--or better yet, a course in--educational kinesiology or brain gym. It's a wonderful system that fits right in with music education and provides children with a way to monitor and fix their behavior in a non-punitive way. It has worked wonders for all the children I teach. By the way, I have 33 years experience and wish I'd found this about 33 years ago!
I am a teacher with 18 years experience in elem. music and yes I do find kids with learning disablities a challenge. Hang in there. Children with ADD, ADHD and any other grouping of letters can be very successful in music with the basic curriculum if the teacher can add some creative twists. For one example use pictures drawn on the board to teach new lyrics. My drawings are very poor and the kids usually laugh at them but all of the children can read the pictures. If I'm talking about a whole rest I draw it on the board and say "there once was a man walking along a path and he fell in a hole and sat at the bottom and took a rest." The picture is a stick man walking on the line the rest fits on. Word and visual pictures work great for everybody and they don't take any extra time. The junior high kids enjoy
coming in the room and trying to figure out what the lesson was about by looking at the pictures on the board.
I offer this advice knowing that tomorrow I will be helping another teacher and the guidence counselor work out a program that will work to keep a 5th grader in my music classroom. His problem is behavior, parents blame it on ADD(which none of us new about) and the kid says he acts the way he does because his brothers and father were just like him. Mom wants him out and wants him to take F's for the rest of his career in music. I've been dealing with this particular child since he was in kindergarten. We get along most of the time. But when he decides he isn't getting enough of my attention he puts all the attention on himself. His good behavior seems to run in 2 week spirts so we will use that as a tool. This young man, by the way, has written songs right along with the rest of the class and can do theory worksheets quite well too.
ADD, ADHD, LD etc. often will thrive in quick pace mode because their attention spans are fairly short. It just depends on what the goals are for the day. These are just some of the activities I used. In general, anything about following directions, body parts, nursery rhymes, animals, colors, numbers, letters. Use visuals, manipulatives, stuffed animals. Some of my students could even read a bit so I made visuals of recurring words. -- Judy Jackson
My school, as do most, houses several special ed classes, one of which is
Pre-school Special Needs. The kids in this7 class are 2 to 4 years old, with a variety of needs, including 2 autistic and a Down Syndrome, among others. The ultmate goal for the best of these kids is to mainstream them into our regular Pre-K class. I meet with Special Needs in their room for 15 minutes each Monday; then they come to my room with our regular Pre-school class for 30 minutes each Wednesday.
Today, in the regular Pre-K class, we were working on fast/slow; and I used this song. With my regular ed classes, I start painfully slow, then sing it about 10 time, getting faster each time. The regular Pre-K kids weren't singing yet. (They tend to sing only when it's the right speed for them, not if it's really slow or fast.) So I was singing alone, or so I thought. I looked up and this one Down Syndrome kid (oh, so cute!) was grinning from ear to ear and signing right along with me. He was beckoning on the "Get on board.." part and doing the sign for "more" on "There's room for many-a more."
SONG:
One person, hands up in the air, hands up in the air, hands up in the air.
Unfortunately I do not have access to music writing software. The notes are spaced in order to reflect the timing. Minums have 4 spaces, crotchets 2 and quavers 1. The tune is as follows (4 beats per bar).
m d s llssf ssffm rmfls
m d s llssf s m f t d
For verses after the first one stay on the note d as the children's names are called out. Seat the children in a circle and call one child to
stand in the middle. This child will do the actions for the first verse after which the singing can be stopped while a second participant is
selected. Between verses the children can be asked to count the number of children standing up.
Assessment Comments: This is a simple little song which the children enjoy singing. Pupils who have not been called up to do the actions like to
count the number of children who have been. Different actions can be introduced to keep the children's enthusiasm alive. This helps the children to learn names for the various actions they can carry out using their bodies.
Today, in the regular Pre-K class, we were working on fast/slow; and I used this song. With my regular ed classes, I start painfully slow, then sing it about 10 time, getting faster each time. The regular Pre-K kids weren't singing yet. (They tend to sing only when it's the right speed for them, not if it's really slow or fast.) So I was singing alone, or so I thought. I looked up and this one Down Syndrome kid (oh, so cute!) was grinning from ear to ear and signing right along with me. He was beckoning on the "Get on board.." part and doing the sign for "more" on "There's room for many-a more."
I think you have to define what success means in the context of each child
and then work out what that will look like - and be sure you have support
from the kid's handlers - I do know that I don't consider social goals
("he/she is in class with other kids") as primary (sometimes, though,
that's all you can manage). Every kid (if Gardner is right) has a musical
intelligence somewhere - that's my primary criteria for success - it's
what the wiring looks like to connect with that that gives you conniption
fits, but ultimately defines the success of your work with the child -
sorry - no easy answer - regards They love to play
the rhythm instruments, experiment with the little keyboards, pretend to
play guitars, etc. I do a lot of repeating of songs and activities and
they do not seem to tire of them and get better as time passes. I always
have to compliment the teachers and aides on how well they sing. They are
my best singing class. (Usually all you can hear is the adults singing!)
There are several autistic kids, Downs syndrome and other rather severe
problems. I try to make it a happy time and help them learn to follow
directions from another teacher. They are a lot of work as we are moving
and helping them the entire time. I'm always a little tired when they
leave but they do bring a lot of "sunshine" with them!
Try to color code some melodies and give him a few tone bars to play on.....I also use an autoharp (color coded the chord symbols) then he can accompany the class while THEY sing (maybe some christmas carols or simple folk songs).....he can draw a picture of what the music "feels" like and then dictate a sentence that describes his picture. hoep this helps, feel free to ask if anything seems confusing....or, just send me a messege about what you will be doing with the class and maybe we can brainstorm a way for you to modify your lesson/concepr, etc. good luck. Elissa Reichstein-Saperstein
I am a music therapist and I currently work with children in an early intervention program. I would suggest that you contact the American Music Therapy Association (their web site is http://www.musictherapy.org/) in Silver Spring, MD. They might know of someone in your area, or an agency in your area that provides music for children with disabilites.
Tell the parent she can do whatever she desires. My father was born with a birth injury and could only use his left hand. He sang, wrote songs, and played the piano so very beautifully that most people with two good hands couldn't play that well. He managed to drop his index finger of his limp hand on notes, and use his left hand more than you can imagine. No one who heard him could ever believe he used only 6 fingers. She will have 9 and that sounds like a lot. I'm sure she can learn to compensate and be creative. Maybe she won't play all the Bach things...but maybe she will! She can still learn to play and enjoy music.
I had a similar problem with a wheelchair student when I taught dulcimers to my 2nd graders. After trial and error, I had him play the same melody notes on songbells, or glocks, or xylophones, whichever I had out. Maybe your student would have luck with this, especially with removeable bars;-) ...no mistakes.
In response to a request re: child in wheelchair (1st grade) who can only use her mouth:
Last year I had two boys (gr. 6) with CP. I spoke with West Music's music therapist and she was most helpful by sending information and making recommendations. She did say that they would not be successful on keyboards, bells or the zithers (fine motor) and suggested Omnichord and autoharps. I'm eager to experiment, so we tried keyboard as both boys were highly motivated to play them. With the help of each boy's aide (holding their arm) they were able to play the tune quite well and were very proud of their work. The Omnichord and autoharps were much easier, but I'm pleased we tried the keyboards and so are they.
Tone Bells work great for students with motor skills problems! It is also easier because they are so much more visual.
I used a search engine and typed in "handicapped musician" to see what would come up. Here is an address for the
Coalition of Disabled Musicians. http://www.disabled-musicians.org/ This page has an article about the Coalition and an address/telephone number:
Bryan Kerr asked about teaching singing-I don't have specific curricular ideas, but a way of thinking about singing that I learned at the Orff Institute in Salzburg this summer from Reinhold Wirsching. We began with movement and sound; that is, through imitation, we made silent gestures with our arms and bodies that we then made sounds to. The sounds at first were consonants; "shh" "chh," hisses, bbb, etc, then we explored vowel sounds. The movement supported the rhythm of the breath, so we were properly breathing without a lot of talking at us about "how to" breath correctly for singing beautifully. So instead of just standing with arms at our sides in proper choral formation, we danced our singing. With 5th graders who haven't had much experience singing, I can imagine spending plenty of time just exploring vocal quality through movement, having fun with sounds, - and then singing rounds and moving to them.
You should contact Lee Collins at Collins and Williams Historic Woodwinds: white: Hot Cross Buns I found the alternate materials in various recorder books in my possession. The most important thing is to find a piece of music that covers the musical concept that the two handed players are also covering.
I took neon colored circles (hot pink, yellow, green) and placed
one over each of the first three holes on the recorder. We have
only been working on BAG. I put pink on 1st hole, yellow on 2nd,
green on third. Then I took her music and over each note, used a
highlighter of the same color to show which holes had to be
covered. I put the highlighters in order so if a G was supposed to
be played, the top color was pink, middle was yellow, and bottom
green. I did this for all four songs.
<
I also taped over the thumb hole with masking tape (even though
this wasn't a problem for her, it was insurance).
There has been a WORLD of difference in her playing. Now when I
say B...she knows it's just pink. When I say A, she knows it's
pink and yellow, and G is all three. It has really changed the
sound of the group and she has been doing well.
The other children aren't really aware of what is happening and she
is very happy. We are beginning a song that has E, so I will have
to cover the other holes and do her paper for her. It takes so
little time, but the results are wonderful in the long run. The truth is I can live with this. If I had a kid who had a problem (bigger than what I can deal with) who couldn't move (broken leg, for example, or asthma), I wouldn't demand that she move cuz she has to "participate a little bit." I would allow the child to participate at her own self-selected limits. I just don't have time for mediating all the little (or large) uniquenesses of every child. Some things I just gotta let go. And the truth is that some things SHOULD be let go - I think this is one of them. It's weird that this just came up because I've been having an internal discussion about whether or not to encourage her (or not)to sing, publicly or privately, or just let her know by incidental comments that when's she's ready "I can't wait to hear you sing." I'm still ruminating and I'm leaning to the private and unimportant throwaway comment about "I can't wait to hear you sing when you're ready" said in the most casual, non-pressured manner I can manufacture. I've been wondering if selective mutism is related to eating disorders in some way --- each of them is a way to exert personal power in situations that may seem to leave the person powerless. I think my little one may be in that situation somewhat - there is a troubled family history. My little first grade sweetie is welcome to participate at her own comfort level. Martha in Tallahassee I was encouraged last year when I saw my girl move her lips a little, but no sound ever came out and she still won't respond to me. She smiles and laughs (silently) and now she does motions and things like that some (which she wouldn't do the first few years), but no sound. I have graded her down some in the past because, like you said, how can you grade her on singing if she won't sing? But I gave up and now I look for other ways to know if she is learning the lessons, like clapping, motions, and other responses. And sometimes, if she doesn't see me watching her, I can catch her moving her lips a little. So I grade her on that and usually give her an S. She did get an E in recorders because she did do well in recorder karate. But in 6 years, I have never heard that child speak. I suggest you let your little guy just do his thing, miss all his turns in games that require speaking (don't let the others speak for him - that lets him off the hook - just skip him), and keep on going. Just watch him for signs of understanding - that's the most you can do. Encourage him to clap, pat, do rhythms and play instruments. -- Pat Price *I* was the one who needed to make the adjustment. I figured for whatever reason,she needed to do this, even though it made life quite inconvenient. I decided not to add to her stress whatever it was. When I would see her I would breathe,, smile and show her with my eyes how glad I was to see her. Just LOVE her well! In order to communicate I would give her multiple choice or true false and she would nod or shake in response. In Helen's case it was not a manipulation.. She had something real..I just accepted her fully as is... and I just decided ... heck we ALL have SOMEthing.. and we worked around it. Hope this helps, Anne Brazil
5/01 TEXT: One of the better published sources on the subject is Betty Atterbury's book:
A site for Curwen hand signs: http://cnet.unb.ca/achn/kodaly/resources/curwen.html
Early Childhood Education Through the Arts (703)255-1933 may have some contact ideas, as well as the Lincoln Center for The Performing Arts.
National Association for Music Therapy:
COALITION FOR DISABLED MUSICIANS: . http://www.disabled-musicians.org/ This page has an article about the Coalition and an address/telephone number:
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06/15 The best advice I can give you is go with what the child can handle. If he wants to play drums let him play drums...... When he gets to the drum play with him explain in a calm voice play gentle. Many Autistic friends want to be violent with the instruments but give lots of reminders to play gentle. After a few times tell him teachers turn now Johnny's turn....we will also play the beat hand over hand if he is ok with someone touching him.
When he sits quiet sit next to him and echo sing a simple phrase like "hello Johnny" he sings back "Hello Johnny" or "hello teacher" which ever he is capable of. They often times can say their name so it is easier to use their name.
I almost always have kid friendly music playing such as wee sing or Greg and Steve. I have all my music organized by season or holiday so I play the most resent holiday now we are playing thanksgiving songs. Then whatever instrument he wanted to play we would gently play the beat together. Even if it is pitched different they done understand it and it didn't bother me to much to hear the difference in keys.
The last few years I had a little guy who loved Mr. Potato heads so I put all my potato heads and parts in a box with several different upp instruments. He would separate into potato head parts and instruments he would play them as he put them In the right box. I made cards with the instrument pictures and he found the instrument for me. He got so good he could find all of them with no problem. This is also a good way to start integrating them back into the classroom. Have his aide sit and play potato heads with him while you teach the class he is occupied during instruction time but interacting with the students.
I had another guy I would sit in my big teachers chair and I would sit opposite and we would read/sing song books like wheels on the bus, happy and you know it and many others. I would sing Wheels on the bus go....then he sang round and round. I would also put a chalk board in his lap and let him write(scribble) we would practice writing alphabet letters. Singing the alphabet song. That little guy can now write his name.
I also used a few smartboard instrument apps that my students loved. If your interest and I can get the names of them for you.-----Theresa Steffy
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06/15 I would start with "I'm So Glad to Be Here" every time he comes to music. Find out what his favorite song is and what his favorite instrument is. I love using MK8's songs introducing instruments... such as Tambourine Kid, Maracas, Play the Drum, etc. Have a song to work on and then give him a choice between two different songs. My kids love Sam, the Robot Man and Elephants Have wrinkles by Denise Gagne. Teaching some self control on the xylophones is also an option. He can learn to walk the mallets up and down. Use the book Up, Up, Down or Mortimer. Whatever you do with the kinders, do that with him, but let him make choices, unlike you would do with an entire class! ----- Caryn Mears, Kennewick, WA
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12/13 FAVORITES I teach several classes of self contained special needs students that
include autistic children. I usually confer with their teachers to see
what goals they are working toward and build my lessons around those. I
also have a few tried and true favorites that they love. They need
repetition! Favorites include Pete the Cat books, the bear hunt, the cd
fingerplays and footplays and Mother Goose Rocks cds. I just recently had
a severely autistic student who started to sing and respond to some of
these after 3 years of being with me and being very unhappy about being
made to participate! LOVE IT!!! ----- Robin Lavinder; music teacher, Franklin County Public Schools
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12/13 ROUTINE: You can do anything with them!! A big thing that is helpful is to have a whiteboard with a checklist of "things" you are doing. If they are too young to read-draw a picture. As you accomplish each task-put a check by it or better yet-erase the picture. ---- Denise Wilkinson
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12/13 ROUTINE: The most important thing that I have found is routine, routine, routine. I always sing the same "Welcome Song" and the same "Ending SOng" so they know that it is time to find their places and then time to line up. I also have a routine where each child is the student of the day. We call them the star student. They get a certificate and get to be the helper of the day. I also have a Magic Music Box that has various music articles in it. We have a little made up song that we sing about the Magic Music Box and the star student brings the box over to the group and we look at what is inside. For instance, it could be a drum, a boomwhacker, a maraca or a tambourine. Or it could be a book and a stuffed animal. I always include a book somewhere in the lesson. I also allow the star student to choose their favorite song. Since I have had these students for several years, they choose things like The Freeze, or Elephants have Wrinkles, or Move, Move, Move, etc. I have introduced a tone of movement songs that they love. One little girl in a wheelchair loves Sam, the Robot Man, which is one of Denise Gagne's movement songs, as is the Elephants Have Wrinkles song. We also do listening to classical songs. They love to listen with the "Listening Lights", or even sometimes with just fake candles burning! Think Star Wars or Holst's Planets. They love a little story to go along with the classical music, but nothing too detailed. Some autistic students don't like loud music, while others don't mind it. You'll have to be careful at first to find out if drumming is too loud, or if all of the instruments are too loud. We always have a marching song and after they have learned about all of the instruments, I will sometimes let them march with an instrument of their choice, or sometimes we all have one type of instrument. ------- Caryn Mears
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12/ 13 STUFFED ANIMAL: We had a stuffed animal or some sort of visual representation for every song we sang. For example, for 5 Green & Speckled Frogs, I had 5 frogs sitting on a rain stick (that was our log). Another was the Playskool Little People bus for The Wheels On the Bus. We could show the wipers on the bus and the door opening and closing with this toy. Back to the frogs......We sang the song and 1 by 1 each frog would jump into the pool. We tried to demonstrate whatever was happening jn the song. Also, I used this as a reward......if I needed to fill a bit of time at the end of class, I found someone who was doing a great job and they could pick a song by walking over and bringing to the circle whatever toy that represented the song they wanted to sing. --- Judi Thomas
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RESOURCES & PROPS: There are some wonderful resources out there by music therapists that I use to help, especially when it comes to tactile and sensory issues. Anything by Alice-Ann Darrow is a great start. I've also worked with Cindy Colwell at the University of Kansas on some case studies for my PhD. Like Denise said, schedules and images are a must. These kids thrive on routine and need to be told if the routine is going to be changed as soon as possible. My kiddos I have in my self-contained class love instruments and experimenting with them. Socialization songs (like a "see what I can do" song and any song that might involve other student names) are particularly good. Don't worry about things that are published. Make up your own! And, if they want to go barefoot, let them :-) Again, it's a tactile thing. For the little ones I have, there are some instruments certain kids just won't touch because of the sensory issues and some they love. Let them experiment with your autoharp. Get the adaptive paddle mallets (I'm sorry, the brand escapes me right now) for hand drums, congas, etc. if the kids have tactile sensitivity to the heads. ----- Karen Stafford
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PERSONAL SPACE: All my students have tape on the floor to show where they sit or stand. He has that as well and a box drawn with tape around his tape. He is to stay inside his box. I also have 3 boxes drawn on a board near him. Yellow. Red. Black. If he needs a warning, I draw a big X in the yellow box. That means, whatever you are doing, knock it off. If he continues, I draw a big X in the red box. He has to go sit on a red tape then. It's away from everyone else. If he continue to be a distraction, he gets a big X in the black box and that means, go to the principal. ---- Kristin Lukow
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Found at: http://travellingmusictherapist.blogspot.com/2012/03/hula-hoop-fun-in-music-therapy.html
Hula hoop as an "island" to sit in, to prevent being in each others personal space while singing songs like "You're too close too my face, I need my personal space"
HOOPS: Dancing with hula hoop; the kids often come up with new moves on their own, but here are a few suggestions of things you can do with a hula hoop:
jump through hoop by using it like a jump rope
(older students) make the hoop come back to you by flicking it backwards while rolling it forward
(older students) toss it in the air and catch (if there is a lot of room)
Do the horse riding idea as described above but involve the entire group, i.e. most participants have a hoop around their waist while holding on to someone else's hoop. very fun and takes team work
Walk around a circle holding hoops, moving them up and down, maybe taking one hoop away per song verse so in the end the entire group is holding on to one hoop only
Jumping from one hoop to another and doing different tasks per hoop; e.g. play the tambourine in one hoop, play the sticks in another, etc...
10/12 REPETITION: I've found doing the same activities for about a month usually gives the kids enough repetitions to begin to follow along with the activities. However, I've had classes that need two months of repetitions too.
I use a lot of visuals and if your building has board maker(its a program that creates visuals for students with special needs). I would see if you can create some visuals for your classes. ---- Beth Trudelle
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10/12 PRODUCTS & IDEAS
Activity Suggestions For An Autistic Class
http://www.musick8.com/html/ideadisplay.php?ibid=892
Expectations Of Piano Lessons With Autistic/PDD Students
http://www.musick8.com/html/ideadisplay.php?ibid=1087
Ideas For CDC Classes
http://www.musick8.com/html/ideadisplay.php?ibid=975
Multi-Age And Multi-Ability Class Ideas
http://www.musick8.com/html/ideadisplay.php?ibid=1357
Suggestions for an Adaptive Learning Classroom - Amy Taylor
http://www.musick8.com/html/ideadisplay.php?ibid=1577
Suggestions For Teaching Guitar To An Autistic Student
http://www.musick8.com/html/ideadisplay.php?ibid=1354
As a reminder, to get to the Idea Bank page:
1. Go to: http://www.musick8.com
2. Click on the Resources button in the navigation bar (at the top of any MusicK8.com page).
3. Click on the Idea Bank link.
4. In the Idea Search, type: autism or: autistic
5. Click Go!
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12/11 PUPPETS: Things that have worked for my class (primary) puppets - they all want to make the puppet make sounds or sing, kazoos - with a kazoo you can get the breath moving, tell whether the child can match a pitch and they don't realize they are singing. The book Pete the Cat was a winner. We use a visual schedule with pictures of all we are going to do. When we finish an activity, a child turns over the card. Since coming down the long hall to music was difficult for them (much crying and screaming, disturbing everyone on the way!) I wrote and illustrated with photos a little social story called Today is Music about all the hall displays they would have to pass and how they would know when they had arrived at music class. A couple of the kids were successful exploring on Groovy Shapes on the computer.
Learning the names of the unpitched percussion instruments we did with a passing game. We use the beany beat babies for singing names of animals, Mr. Potatohead for body parts, I made several activities out of shoe boxes. I put Velcro pieces on the backs of picture cards and put two long strips on the lid of each box. As I sing the song, they have to find the picture I am singing about and put it on the Velcro strip in the right order. At the end of the year, everybody knew their colors. Since directions seem to go in one ear and out the other, locomotor movement can be a safety issue. They will love anything they can hold in their hands. ---- Sarah in SC
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07/11 BOOK: Temple Grandin received a classic Autism diagnosis as a young child. In her book "Thinking in Pictures" she says that today she probably would be identified as Aspergers. "Thinking in Pictures" is a wonderful book, in which she describes what her childhood was like and how she views the world and participates as an adult. Pretty easy read. -- Stephanie in Tacoma
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07/11 VIDEO: Autism, the Musical:
http://www.autismthemusical.com/index.php?session=myhomepage&id=
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12/09 CHOOSING INSTRUMENTS: In terms of the child choosing/refusing an instrument, I might be tempted to just let that child have the instrument they want. If it's goingto get them to participate, then it might be worth it. When I've done that kind of thing with my students, there will occassionally be another student who will ask "why does he get what he wants and I can't?" I will answer simply, "because that's the decision I've made." It usually never goes further than that, because usually the rest of the class is aware that the student has larger struggles at hand. --- Becky Luce
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12/09 EVALUATION: If the child doesn't have an IEP, you HAVE to grade him using the same standards that you do everyone else. Otherwise, it could be construed as favoritism, and diminishes the authenticity of your assessment. If he does have an IEP, you have provide the required accommodations and grade him on whether he is making progress. Of course, the accommodations are never written specifically for music, and it sounds like progress for him would be sitting where he was supposed to for just a few minutes, and that is not a music goal, but you could at least use it for a conduct grade. I think you have to give him 'U's. --- Cara Swenson
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12/09 LISTENING TO TEACHER: Sometimes children with Autism Spectrum Disorders can focus much better if they have a fidget toy or something to allow them to move part of the body in order to be able to focus on what you are saying. I don't know that you need something music related for this purpose unless they have specifically asked for that. One thing I have used with some success with children who have similar issues is one of those little fidget toys from Cracker Barrel. I don't think it has a name other than "fidget" and it costs something like .99 - 1.49. 12 small colorful blocks are connected with elastic and fit nicely in the hand, giving the child something quiet, yet also serving the purpose of the need to move.
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12/08 PROBLEM: He WILL NOT play his instrument carefully and correctly. He just beats it as hard as he can.
SOLUTION: Can you give him a special set of mallets to take with him from instrument to instrument? I have a set that I wrapped with extra padding, and lots of it, that are only used by my special kiddos. In a class with Mallet Mashers, any time we do a rotation activity like MM, I give each student their own pair to travel with. The mashers get the padded mallets, but they don't realize theirs are different so they don't fuss. --- Andrea Cope
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12/08 STRUCTURE & BRIEF ACTIVITIES: A couple of things to consider..... they typically love to sing and dance, they need LOTS of structure, keep each section of the class no longer than 10 minutes before changing activities, you can repeat activities often, use lots of motions with songs (motor skills). Many of our autistic students have wonderful musical talents. But it takes patience and understanding of the disability. --- Christine Proefrock, Music Educator
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12/08 NO SURPRISES! - One of the things I've noticed is that many of them do not respond well to change or unplanned events. You can minimize the trauma for them by warning them if something is going to be out of the ordinary. Another thing we were told is that when many of them are working on something they work to "doneness." If they aren't going to have time to finish what they're doing, make sure you have a consistent signal that tells them "the next time I hear this, I have to stop what I'm doing and move on to something else." --- Megan Russo
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12/08 IEP'S: Make sure you insist on copies of the IEPs. In fact, if you can fit it in your schedule, request that you be a part of their IEP meetings if at all possible. It'll give you good insight into their individual needs, as well as insight into the family dynamics. --- Karen Stafford
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INDIVIDUALS: I would definitely try to think of this group as a group of individual students, each with a different disability, rather than a group of students all with the same disability. Autism takes many forms and individualizing your plans will be essential. At first, as you are beginning with them, I'd try easy, non-threatening activities which will not over-stimulate the senses, and with predictable structure. Save the movement, instruments (even small nontuned perc.,) movies, etc. for later, if/when you have a better handle on what each child can handle. --- Louise
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01/07 [This] student is a sophomore, great musician, excellent sight reader, but had trouble with volume and singing expressively. I gave him a CD of crescendo/decrescendo, forte/piano, legato/staccato, etc. and he LOVES it! It really helped hit home those musical concepts. I color-coded his music for volume, blue-soft, white/nothing-medium, orange-LOUD [which was helpful.] I made a gradient chart that fades from a dark color to a lighter color [which is helpful with volume.] -- Gail Noullet
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01/07 INDIVIDUALS: Make a listing of the children's names then ask the teachers the severity of the autism. Some autistic are happier not participating as they like a consistent schedule whereas others participate on totally another level than what you would like! Each autistic child is different. With one group I gradually built up to have the whole class together by having one at a time with a drum, some shakers and a glockenspiel outside the classroom to see what they felt comfortable with. There was one child who couldn't take the sound of a piano at all but loved every other instrument. I love teaching these children. There is one little boy who used to squirm when a CD was being played of a song. He now is in the school Chorus. He doesn't sing very much but [smiles all the time.] When he is on his way back to class he then sings the songs out loud by himself...go figure ! I am hoping that this year he will sing with the Chorus! Remember each child is different...take the child from where he or she is to his or her potential. -- Sue Michiels
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10/05 MAINSTREAMING Our school has become sort of a magnet for autistic children. [In regards to mainstreaming:] Yes, he is benefitting from being in your room, just as much as he is benefitting from being in any classroom. Moving from room to room is helping him adapt to change. Buy a pair of headphones, the heavy duty kind you get at the hardware store, and put them somewhere he can reach. Show him where they are and how to put them on. They're unattached but provide two purposes - muting the sound and giving the child some control over their environment. That's why it's so important for them to always be in the same place and for that place to be accessible to the student.
At the end of class help him put them back. You may have to practice a few times so he knows they'll always be there when he comes into the room. Just because he doesn't seem to be aware of you doesn't mean that he isn't paying attention in his own way. He isn't aware of you as a person. To him, you're more like furniture, but eventually he'll do something that lets you know he's in there and he's been processing what you do. These kids can be absolutely magical if you have the patience to wait. -- Andrea
(Note: The headphones from a hardware store are made to help protect the ears from loud sounds and will help filter out some of the sound, which may be overloading his brain and causing him to put his hands over his ears in an attempt to make the sounds he hears quieter. If you can minimize the aggrivating stimuli, you can minimize the reaction from that stimuli and the child will have a better chance of being able to participate. -- Stephanie Menefee
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12/07 PITCH MATCHING: [My special needs student, in a choir open to all, doesn’t seem to be able to sing in tune.]
If you choose several pairs of students to do this, it won't look like you are singling out that one student. Get some lengths of flexible tubing. It should be long enough for students to stand comfortably facing each other with the tubing held between them. Direct one person of a pair to hold the tubing to an ear; the other holds it close to the mouth. (Oh yeah, give out disinfectant wipes and make a *big* deal about wiping off the ends of the tubing.) You sing a simple vocal exercise and have the students who have the "mouth" end of the tube gently sing it to their partners. Do this several times and reverse jobs. Then, choose some students to hold the tubing without partners. They hold one end to the mouth to sing and the other end to the ear to listen. repeat your singing exercises. Sometimes it really surprises students to hear themselves and can help correct pitch reproduction issues. By the way, I wash and use the old tubing from my CPAP when I get new tubing. Heck, I save money and recycle, too! -- Monica in Tennessee
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MATCHING PITCHES: One of my first grade classes was playing Mr. Potatohead. Since my new room has no sound proofing, I have to get out the karaoke machine so students can be heard when singing answers to me. As luck would have it, my student with autism got to take a piece off the potato. I just knew he would not sing to me. He hasn't sung anything all year. I put the microphone to his mouth and he sang!! PERFECTLY ON PITCH IN HIS HEAD VOICE!!! I just looked at his aide dumbfounded. She had the same look. The best part was he sang it 3 times because the students couldn't guess who was singing. Nobody had ever heard his singing voice before! Ahh. I love my job. Delynne in AR
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07/05 SENSITIVITY TO SOUND
I used to have a student that had headphones to protect his ears for sensitivity. By the time he was in 4th grade (my 2nd year with him) he no longer needed them...although we did have them. I think you can actually just use noise reducing headphones like wood cutters and machinists use. -- Rhonda in WI
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07/05 DISRUPTIVE STUDENT: I had a student sensitive to sound that wasn't autistic, but had special needs. We worked out a solution of letting him use foam ear plugs in music class. He could still hear, but it cut the louder frequencies. He was a third grader, so he brought them, put them in, etc. Our school is county-wide magnet for special ed, so we have or have had about every kind of special need imaginable. Luckily, we also have a top notch special ed staff that works with the rest of us very closely. Most of the Spec Ed kids are included in at least music and art. -- Laura Mc in IN
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07/05 DISRUPTIVE STUDENT: I have almost all of our Lifeskills children in my music class. Most come with an aid. My very disruptive austitic child, I learned, is hypersensitive to sound, which was why he kept disrupting all of the time. Our music was causing chaos in his brain. Anywho, he doesn't come anymore. The children who still make disruptive noises all have aides that I have talked with. They know that if their children disrupt to the point that we can no longer carry on music class, they have to take them out. All I need to do is look at them. Go to the teacher and the aides and try to get on the same page. If that doesn't get you anywhere, then go higher up. Your special ed teacher will probably appreciate you coming to her instead of going over her head. Good luck! -- Jennifer Biles
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07/05 DISRUPTIVE STUDENT: As frustrating as it is, I would just roll with it. Ask the aid if there are things she can do to quiet him more, and maybe (if you haven't already) make sure the ADHD kid is sitting right next to you where you can quickly correct his behavior. As the daughter of a special education teacher, I know how this other teacher probably needs her break. Sometimes spec. ed. teachers don't get to work with all of their students the way they need to because of one or two disruptive, extremely needy students that need constant care and assistance. If they get that student out of the room for a while, they have a chance to work with their other kids. I would talk to the special ed. teacher before going to the principal if I were you. Thre might be a way to work things out between the two of you.-- Ruth G.
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07/05 CD’S/COMPUTER Try letting the student use headphones with a CD player or computer (if he will respond to visuals). He may just hum, sing, or vocalize and it won't help the noise problem. But perhaps (fingers crossed) he might listen and be quiet during. Maybe while music is playing, the aide or a student peer helper could use a computer "paint" program to "draw" the music and further engage him. Maybe a combination of class time and individualized instruction would work as well. Individualized instruction begins approximately the same time he starts to vocalize too loudly. Perhaps other forms of peer helper instruction could be taking him to the hallway and singing to him "Hokey Pokey" as aide helps manipulate right arm, left arm, etc. Or a peer helper could read a book to him having to do with music. The kids in the class would take turns and so wouldn't miss your instruction too often. Hope this helps. Whenever I've had children with aides, the aides have always been wonderful and always took a disruptive (whether meaning to be or not) child out of my room at least for a while if not for the whole time. -- Laura Bartolomeo
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07/05 CABASA (instrument) One of the parapros showed me a tip from the music therapist---some of the autistic students like the sensation they get from rolling the cabasa up and down the arm--like a lint remover roller. Margaret in GA
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07/05 STUDENT EXPERIENCE Two years ago, we began mainstreaming a noisy autistic child into specials. Pretty quickly, we learned that the only [class] he could tolerate was music because of sound sensitivity. I began watching a tiny bud opening in the interactions in the beginning of it all. Steven was beat competent almost from from the beginning, could match pitch, and would move to music (sepecially if I could incorporate jumping into the movement). Granted, he is considered very high functioning now, but I've had similar experiences with other SpEd mainstreamed kids. Over the last three years, Steven has begun to make eye contact (even to an extreme - we've had to teach him the concept of "personal space" - I really miss his unique bear hugs!), learn to respond to questions, choose and work with a partner, play independently ensembles. During 2nd grade, he only attended music, and on 3 days a week. As a result, his peers became accustomed to the echolalia, and some kids volunteered to partner with him as we began to wean him from his paraprofessional support. Now he attends all specials on a normal schedule, and usually without an assistant in the classroom. The key for Steven and me was a team of teachers who stayed in contact. His SpEd teacher, homeroom teacher, and his personal assistant and I had regular meetings before IEPs were set. Classroom strategies were agreed upon by all involved, and any concerns I had were handled via a quick email or impromptu conference in the workroom or briefly before or after class. Music was a key to opening Steven's mind to the world. Look for those tiny steps, and rejoice in seeing a miracle in the making.
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Some things that have worked well for us:
2. They do well playing scale songs on barred instruments. Some play the exact rhythm as they go. (Ebeneezer Sneezer is the favorite with our group.)
3. Our most magical moments are when we bring out the karaoke machine. Kids who
rarely sing will sing all by themselves with the karaoke machine. Try "Twinkle,
Twinkle" or some song they know really well.
4. I have keyboards and they love exploring them.
5. The book/CD "85 Engaging Movement Activities" by Phyllis Weikart has lots of great ideas that they've been responsive to.
6. They love to manipulate scarves or streamers to music.
7. Buy some cheap garden gloves and sew a dangling ribbon from each finger. Have each student wear a glove and move their hand/glove to music.
8. Play music and have them copy however you move, keeping your movements like tapping, clapping, swinging, etc. to the beat.
9. Mine also like to be sung a music story. They're pretty visual. Our favorite is "I had a cat and the cat pleased me...". Others: This Old Man, There Was an Old Lady, Summertime, Take Me Out, ... there are so many!
10. They like repetition so repeat things from the previous lesson. My district paid for me to observe some music therapists work with autistic classrooms at a convent. It was so beautiful to watch what they did. I learned alot from observing them. I had had no prior experience with autistic children before I got this class three years ago. They are one of my very favorite classes. - Contributed by Debra Krispin
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(See also "Books" in this file)
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02/03 ASPERGER'S It's a form of autism. It has only been "discovered" in the last couple of years. But, now I am noticing that it is being diagnosed all over the place. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, these children definitely have something that is causing them problems, but do you ever think that sometimes a medical diagnosis is a fad? No one's ever heard of it, and suddenly, one out of every four children has it.
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02/03 May I recommend a website to you http://www.aspergersyndrome.org/ You will find information on what is really Aspergers and what is this child taking advantage of his disability because he's been allowed to.
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02/03 I had not heard of Aspergers until my son was diagnosed with it this summer. He had previously been diagnosed with ADHD/ODD and even with medication and counseling was getting into trouble with his mouth. He scored past High School on everything on the SAT-9 in the 5th grade and obviously was learning. The "unwritten" social curriculum in his classroom had him feeling he was stupid and ugly. The diagnosis has allowed us to have him entered into Special Education and to get some of the help he needs - including the "brush" therapy you mentioned.
Sensory integration therapy is good in calming AS kids down.
Social skills training is important, too. I didn't realize how real this diagnosis was until my child came home with it. He took a day-long battery of tests - including an IQ test that showed great disparities in his verbal and nonverbal IQ. As a parent, I have been fortunate to have teachers who would work with him and with me. I consider all of us to be together on my son's team. My husband and I hold him accountable for his actions and we work hard to explain why people react to his misbehaviors the way they do. We consider his "disability" a "problemtunity" and do our best to help him learn from his mistakes.
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02/03 Good info on Asbergers Syndrome: http://www.artzoo.com/health/autism.htm
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02/03 Asperger's syndrome is not a "fad", neither is it a new diagnosis. My nephew has Asperger's syndrome and is 19 years old. It took years to get him properly diagnosed, but the diagnosis was made well over 13 years ago. He graduated from high school and is now starting his first year of college, after completing a year in a state vocational rehab./preparation program.
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10/02 One teacher said she had recently seen a documentary on autism and music. Her memory was that the show said that autistic children do respond well to music and that you may get better results by singing your instructions instead of speaking them.
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Things to look out for: some autistic children are good at music. They like to listen, and sing very well. Others have very sensitive hearing and may need to wear ear plugs, headphones, or a hat to muffle the sound. Some people believe that autistic children can't do music, but that has not been my experience. You will need to discover what they can and can't tolerate, though.
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I had an autistic child in my classroom quite some time ago, and during
first and second grade years, he rocked back and forth, muttering "Ford 'n'
Chevy, Ford 'n' Chevy" over and over and over. Then, in third grade, he
discovered the violin, and was enthralled with music from that day on. I'm
sure that people have written books on the subject - - isn't it
interesting?
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9/01 Last year, my 4th graders had done a beginning recorder unit. The 100+ did one or two songs on the Christmas program on the recorders. A musical aide had helped an autistic girl blow on her recorder. Monotone, but she blew in perfect rhythm! The aide sat on the risers beside her and simply pulled it out of her mouth on each rest! With that many OTHER people playing it wasn't obvious, and her mother was in tears. Poor Alicia had never gotten to be in a program before!
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6/01 I taught a class of three, non-verbal autistic kids for two years. I have
missed them all year this year, the classroom was moved to another school.
Aren't they wonderful? I used to tell them I wished my 6th graders were as
enthusiastic as they were! Anyway, some things I used for them-remember,
they were non-verbal- were:
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1. Check with your school's special education department to see if there will be any paraprofessionals with you during the kindergartener's class time. Having additional "help" will make movement and playing of instruments much more accessible. If not,consider asking the sixth grade staff (I'm guessing your school is K - 6?) if they could share one or two mature mentor-type kids to participate as helpers during the kindergartener's class. Their presence during this class would enable you to spend a little more one-on-one with the special needs child while your "helpers" sit amongst and participate with the others.
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Several years ago, I had a boy in a small early childhood class that was very disruptive. He too had an aide, but when he was completely out of control with the noise, the aide took him out so I could continue to work with the others. You need to establish this with the aide and the child's teacher.
Also, as more studies were done on this boy, it was learned that loud sounds annoyed and sometimes hurt his ears. Consequently, he would come to classes with headphones on. After a couple of months of this, the headphones were gradually taken off and he adjusted better to the musical sounds. If things got too loud for him, he could remove himself to another part of the room or leave with his aide. He moved out of district, but I did hear he was dealing with sound much better.
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I am a big believer of keeping records - I admit I can get a bit obsessed with the organization and paper work required for this task but I must suggest to you all, with any student you may be having "situations" with in your classes (sp. ed or not) DOCUMENT EVERYTHING! At the end of each class, take the time to sit and write a brief synopsis of what occured in class, good or bad - simply how the child responded to the lessons presented during that day. This way, you are not only covering yourself, should you need to meet with teachers/parents to discuss the alternative placement for this child, but you may find that you are able to discover certain "triggors" simply by reviewing your own notes on a monthly basis.
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There is a theory that some autism is caused by hypersensitivity to sound. The child tunes everything else out in an attempt to deal with the noise. At lest one clinician in France works with these children to 'reverse' their autism.
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The autistic children included in my classes aren't the worst cases, but here's something worth trying. Autistic children are often very sensitive to noise, which may be causing some of his distress and behavior. Try giving him some headphones. He can be in control of when to put them on. I have one student who doesn't want headphones, but always wears a sweatshirt with a hood that he pulls over his head to cover his ears when he needs. Also, make sure he has a place to sit that isn't overly distracting, or maybe a safe corner to go to if he needs it.I have a student who comes in a minute before the rest of the class so he can get settled and focused. Some people believe that autistic children are incapable of relating to music and so attending music class is a lost cause.
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I have an autistic student in 5th grade that has some difficulties. The type of autism that he has is set off by aural stimulation. It sounds like your student has a similar problem. The special ed teacher and the classroom teacher were very helpful with dealing with my student. The parents will have suggestions on dealing with your student, too. One of their suggestions was that when speaking to the student, make sure you are right in front of them, making direct eye contact and put pressure (firm pressure) on the shoulder). My autistic student doesn't even realize when I'm speaking to him unless I'm right in front of him with my hand on his shoulder. He always sits VERY close to me.
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Autistic kids are a wonderful challenge. I have worked with autistic children for 4 or 5 years. They love music and can be quite talented, but make sure it is soft. Higher frequencies tend to be hard for them. Dynamics are hard,{sudden changes in recordings, etc}. Repetition is the key. They find comfort in a routine. I used many hand puppets to help them sing along with a pretend microphone. Small rewards throughout the lessons are a plus (I used pretzels, or cereal). I also found much success from old charts for Rhythm Band (sticks, triangles, etc). They are able to follow visual cues for playing quite well. Mark your floor well with areas to stand (gym floor tape). Above all, remember the repetition with your lessons
Ex.
1. I'm So Glad to See You
2. Pizza Hut
3. colors
4. Pass out instruments etc
His aide has a pencil, and allows him to cross off each activity as we go through the class. It is very helpful to him to see what we are doing and where we are in the plan. He can't otherwise internalize and speculation about class. this has worked very successfully for us.
I also had them try to get a sound out of pop bottles by blowing across the opening. This was to reinforce the idea of breath support that their classroom teacher was trying to teach. I used cut out figures glued to pop-sicle sticks, for example horses, to move up and down to the beat when I played a pony song . And of course I gave out music stickers and gave lots of praise to them.! AND I always insist that the teacher aides always be in music with them. I would appreciate any ideas for this class though! I am exhausted when their class is done.
BACK to Special Needs topics
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BEAT BUDDIES
11/01 I am actually bringing my two boxes of buddies to the meeting and am going to make them
all bounce a buddy! Here are the ideas I collected. I attribute them all to
Artie, except for the ones I have credited to me! Enjoy having them all in
one place!
BEAT BUDDY IDEAS
1. Who likes Beat Buddies?
? Pre-K-grade 1 and special ed
2. Where do I get my Beat & Melody Buddies!
? I just put a note in the school newsletter saying the Music Department
needed good condition, used or new stuffed toys, and I got about 100!
? Raid your attic. I got two boxes full of saved stuffed toys from my own
kid's collection
3. What do I do with my Beat Buddies?
? take the big beat buddy box and dump it out in the middle of the circle,
then let a few kids at a time pick their beat buddy (call them by clothing
colors, hair color, birth month, pets they own, whatever).
? I'll use the buddies 3 or 4 times throughout the year.
? use them for steady beat, up & down melodic direction (climbing up our
bodies and down), and loud & soft (put to sleep w/a lullaby, then woke
w/loud "Wake Up!").
? We take them with us when we do a moving song and sometimes they take
'naps' in our laps when I'm talking. The beat buddies get lots of hugs and
kisses before they are put back in the bag!
? always try to do at least 5 or 10 minutes of steady beat activities in
each k-2 lesson
? We bounce them on our laps and sing nursery rhymes, or chant poems. Simple
stuff is best, like Frere Jacques or Row Row Row Your Buddy (boat).
Cobbler, Cobbler and To Market, to Market ,work well. When you do nursery
rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, let the beat buddies take the tumble for fun.
? There's also a little parody of Frere in one of the Wee Sing collections
"Walking, walking, walking, walking, hop, hop, hop. Hop, hop, hop. Running,
running, running, running,running, running, now we stop (rest) Now we
stop(rest).
? We stand up in the circle and do that one with our beat buddies in our
hands.
? They like to sing Rock a Bye Baby to their buddies, even the little boys.
If they get rowdy, or unkind to their buddies I take it until they
remember their manners. (Taking one instantly insures good treatment by
all of the other kids - and I return it to the offender in about 2 minutes.
? When we use them as melody buddies, we show the melodic direction with our
buddies. For instance, in "mi-re-do"songs like Hot Cross Buns, or Mary's
Lamb, we put them on our head for each mi, our shoulders for each re, and
our laps for each do. We'll sing Do-a-Deer and move them up and down in
front of us. Teddy Bear (with its repeating 5-5-3, 5-5-3 pattern ) works
great, and so does Twinkle. We add our own bodies on the repeats, showing
the direction with our buddies in our hands.
? One of their favorites is singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and they sing
whatever their buddy is. Ex - The Itsy Bitsy Penguin . . . etc. This is
also a good solo opportunity. One child brings his beat buddy up front and
he sings the first line as a solo "The itsy bitsy doggie went up the water
spout - the whole class sings the next two lines (down came the rain . . .
out came the sun . .) then the soloist finishes the song with "and the
itsy bitsy doggie went up the spout again." The soloist dramatizes the
verse with their buddy up in front of the class. I usually pick 3 or 4
soloists each time we get the buddies out.
? Greg & Steve recorded Brown Bear to the tune of "Twinkle" on their album
Playing Favorites. It's a very sweet arrangement, or you can sing your own.
Then Karen Medley (I don't think she'll mind me sharing this) did a version
where all students have stuffed toys and sit in a circle. The whole class
starts by singing the song (tune of Twinkle) and putting in whatever animal
the teacher is holding. For instance, "Yellow duck, yellow duck, what do you
see?" and the teacher (holding the yellow duck) then sings the next line
using an animal that some child is holding, "I see a pink elephant looking
at me."
? Use Music All Over Me mini-musical by Alan Billingsly and John Jacobson. 2
songs from this musical are "March Around the Room" and "Sway". March with
buddies and sing along. "Sway" is good for settling down, rock your buddies
to the music.
? When it was time to put the beat buddies away I sang new words to "Put
Your Finger In The Air":
? Put your buddy in the air in the air...how's the air up there?
? Put your buddy way down low...see how far he'll go
? Put your buddy by your side...do not let him hide
? Put your buddy in the box...this game really rocks-put your buddy in the
box, in the box!
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR BEAT BUDDIES!
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11/01 BEAT BUDDY IDEA
I had the opportunity to buy some historical figure beanies last
year on close out: Cleopatra, Emilia Erhart, Christopher Columbus,
Beethoven, Mozart, Leonardo da Vinci, Ben Franklin, George
Washington, Hariet Tubman, to name a few. We talked about the
historical significance (very briefly) - actually, I would ask them first
to guess who it was (with a hint, if necessary) and then handed
them out. We then performed "Eanie Meanie Beanie Beanie" from
Music K-8, Volume 10???Spring???, bouncing to the beat to the
directions in the song. Great song for this purpose.
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11/01 Here's an idea I have used with Beat Buddies that has been successful. (Thanks
Artie, for sharing such a powerful idea!)
We put the buddies to sleep by signing and singing "Sol-mi, Good-night." When
I say, "Let's put our buddies to sleep," the children automatically get the
sol hand position ready.
We wake them up by signing and singing the Do octave "Do - Do, Wake-up." When
I say, "Let's wake up our buddies," the children automatically get the low Do
position ready.
Each student knows that his buddy will be put back in his cage if he touches
his buddy during sleep time. This has really been a fun way to keep control,
when I don't want them using their buddies. Yet, their buddies stay close at
hand so that we can use them to help learn or practice a concept.
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11/01 I just started with Beat Buddies with first grade about two weeks ago. I
ordered a box of assorted little ones from Oriental Trading.
I always do attendance with call/response, so I tried going around the room,
looking at each Buddy, and singing "Who has the black bear?" It didn't work!
A child looked at me funny, and said "That's a dog, not a bear!" So of
course half the class had to correct me on how I named the animals! So last
week I decided to let THEM be in charge. Each child sang about his own
Buddy, and the whole class responded. "I have the bunny." "Sarah has the
bunny!" We got through a class of 30 without anyone losing interest!
And they LOVE Eenie Meenie Beanie Beanie.
Then I didn't get the box put away and the 4th graders begged to know what
they were for, so they did the call/response and song too.
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BIPOLAR DISORDER
09/03 Difficult Student:
The individual praise remarks would not be any different than what I would normally do with others. I'd just make a point of trying to find SOMETHING in this boy's behavior that I COULD praise. For ex., during Mon's class, he contributed a correct answer to a question. I simply remarked, "Great answer, good job." or something like that. Also, as he was walking in Mon, I noticed his hair was highlighted and it looked good, so I said so as he passed me. Things like that. I would not make it obvious tho.Also, the class commendation would be directed to the WHOLE class. Not the whole class commending him. For example, if some time goes by with no disruptions from anyone, I could say, "Class, I am so pleased that I was not interrupted during the last 2 activities. Way to go. Give yourselves a big hand (applause applause)." Something like that. I would not single this boy out for something like this at all. Now, I might say something privately to him say on the way out of class like "**** you participated very well today. Good job." As for the candy rewards, I think I'll toss that idea and opt for a high 5 or something. Like "Sara, gimmee 5 for raising your hand and waiting for me to call on you. You go girl!" That kind of thing.-Contributed by Gretchen in IL
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RECORDINGS
CDs by Jim Gill. Check out JimGill.com (I think). I believe he has a Master's degree in Child Development, and it shows. I greatly prefer Jim to people like Greg and Steve or even John Jacobson. What's funny about these CDs is that I also use them with my fifth graders, and have even had fifth grade boys ask me where they can buy those CDs! To me, that is one of the tests or true quality ( as opposed to, say, Barney, where kids outgrow and sometimes even despise it after a certain age).
Recordings by Ella Jenkins esp. "Walk and Stop," and "Play Your Instruments and Make a Pretty Sound", Greg and Steve
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SEEING IMPAIRED, BLIND CHILDREN
06/16 RECORDER: I would suggest creating midis (if there's no cd with the book), teaching him a few fingerings and have him learn by ear OR Create a midi reciting the note names of songs (rhythmically - after you teach him the fingerings - which you could do that by midi as well)
I use a voice recorder (from $35.00), then load files into computer, reformat the file to mp3 then you can burn a cd or email the files. Works great !!-- Sandy Toms
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12/09 When I had a blind student the state loaned me the Braille edition of the music book. The special ed coordinator took care of ordering it. We kept the boxes and sent it back at the end of the school year. It would have been helpful if the book also had the print version of what was on the page. When we did Mr. Everybody with the bells I had my blind student at a keyboard and his aide helped him. I retired the year before he was to play the recorder so don't know how that went. --- Nancy in IL
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12/09 I had a blind student two years ago. She had a full-time assistant who typed the words in Braille for me. I used painter's tape to show placement on keyboards, etc. It didn't harm the instruments, and was easy to remove. Another student or the assistant would place the sticks we were using to practice rhymns in front of her. When we did movement, I would stand behind her and tap her arm to show direction. We had to adjust the movements for her, but she wanted to do everything everyone else did. After a while, it just became natural. I hated it when she moved to middle school. Her mother was also a teacher, and a big help when I had any questions. I hope you have as much fun as I did. --- Judy R. Haley
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12/09 I had both boys at different times from K-5th gr. My advice is to get them integrated into the group as quickly as possible and don't baby them. Let them play instruments with a student guide. My first student was an excellent recorder player. He took to it like a duck to water. What really cinched it for him in the eyes of his classmates was when I turned my back to class during an echo exercise and this boy was the only one who could do it. The other kids were amazed and wanted to know how he did it. I had to explain that he was relying on watching me, he was listening. Cool! --- Rita Oglesby
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12/09 [The student] had a full-time assistant who typed the words in Braille for me. I used painter's tape to show placement on keyboards, etc. It didn't harm the instruments, and was easy to remove. Another student or the assistant would place the sticks we were using to practice rhythms in front of her. When we did movement, I would stand behind her and tap her arm to show direction. We had to adjust the movements for her, but she wanted to do everything everyone else did. After a while, it just became natural. I hated it when she moved to middle school. Her mother was also a teacher, and a big help when I had any questions. I hope you have as much fun as I did. --- Judy Haley
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12/09 One of the aides made a staff on a felt board with raised Velcro for the lines. She put Velcro on the backs of poker chips or checkers (can't remember) to use for identifying/writing notes. (I do not remember how she made things like half notes, etc.)
Lower vision students in our district sometimes use resonator bells, rather than recorders. (The students I'm thinking of had other issues, besides their sight, and struggled mightily with recorders). These students also had aides with them during specials. I don't know how some would have managed on their own. The students also had a consultant who worked with teachers of blind/low vision students to see if they needed anything and to make suggestions to the teachers that were very helpful.--- Mary Grebe, Shenendehowa Central School Music Department, Clifton Park, NY
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12/09 1. Any and all textbooks, even music ones, are available for borrowing from the Library of Congress. With that, she could have her own copy of any book you want to use. Terry Gibbs, a blind singer from the late '70s, attended my local college; and a professor said that he ordered all of her books in Braille from LoC. If they don't have it, they'll translate it for you.
2. Find a teacher of the visually impaired, either in your school district or at a local college. That person can teach you the rudiments of Braille music. I learned it in college special ed. course, when I observed in a vision impaired class. I took home a Perkins Brailler (like a typewriter) and a self-study book to teach me. Although it was not specifically a music book, there was a chapter on music notation in the back. The things that we see all at once, like "quarter note A-flat on treble 2nd space" must be spelled out, so that each note will have about 5 consecutive symbols. I found it quite fascinating.
3. If you have a jigsaw (not a puzzle, but a tool), It would be great if you could cut the various notes out of plywood, several copies of each. That way, she gets the tactile, and the rest of the class could read the rhythms that she creates with her 3D notes. --- Kay Lovingood
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12/09 There are also felt board and magnetic board note sets that might work well for this child.
Judy S
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06/06 I enlarged all of the music on the copy machine and ran it off on huge paper, I think 11 x 17. I made a large book for her of the songs. She was very musical, so quickly memorized the music. She also had an aide that would sit with her and help her manage it. -- Caryn Mears
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10/05 Sing the music singing the note names and sing the same thing with the number of fingers needed ...record it on tape. When I teach a new piece of music we do exactly that before we put our lips to the instrument. 1) move hands to show up and down to the music 2) say the note names 3) sing the tune saying the note names while fingering the notes 3) sing the tune singing the number of fingers while fingering the notes (this really helps you to see "who has got it") 4) THEN sing it singing the tonguing sounds (tu or doo) 5) then play it!!!!!!!!! Have an aide singing the names of the notes as it is being played. In LAUSD we have a music teacher who is totally blind so when I have a moment I'll see if I can contact her for more ideas. -- Sue Michiels
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10/05 10/05 Call the National Braille Association at 585-427-8260. They will Braille anything that is in print and shipping is free. I've found them very helpful. However, reading Braille music is a special skill that has to be taught. Around here it is not being taught to the younger students who tend to be mainstreamed in the public schools. Judy in Wi.
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10/05 There is some information on this website: www.dancingdots.com
You will find a LOT of info there. Our preacher is blind and plays the piano wonderfully (and sings). In fact, he has a CD! Too cool! He says reading Braille music is HARD! The concept is so different from reading sighted music. He says you end up memorizing... Paula in GA
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07/05 I had a wonderful student Paul, several years ago in 3rd grade. I made the exact same inquiries and was told that it would be difficult for him to learn Braille notation, then have him reach up to read an entire phrase, then reach back to play the piece. We worked by rote and he was fabulous! I did, however, order a Brailled, student copy, of the 3rd Grade series. I think it was Silver Burdett...something. I believe all of the textbooks eventually are available in Braille. It is a service that our Special Ed. department told me about and keyed me into. -- Kathy Kelly George
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07/05 Sigma Alpha Iota (women's professional music fraternity) has a philanthropy which will Braille music. You might also want to contact the National Federation for the Blind (http://www.nfb.org) to find out where you can find Brailled music. There may also be a resource center in your area that can send you in the right direction. Stephanie Menefee
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08/04 Here are the things I have found useful.
1) If you use a textbook series, call your local CESA unit or county special education director NOW and ask them if they already have your textbook enlarged for the blind. If not, they should take responsibility for providing that for you. You may want to have your principal make that call, and include all of the textbooks the student will need for all of his academic classes. He may have to lean on them to get this accomplished.
2) Have your special education teacher or whoever is in charge check his IEP. You should find an enlargement number in there somewhere. For instance, for my 5th grader, any paper I hand out to the class...worksheet, test, etc. has to be blown up to 127%. When I run off papers, I just automatically enlarge the first one for her with the enlarging setting on the copier, and then reset and continue with the rest of the copies. I always check with the special ed people at the beginning of the year to see if the enlargement percentage has changed.
3) Get on line and go to www.maciepublishing.com Ed Sueta has wonderful desktop music stands in the products section of the site. It's very tiring for a student to constantly have to hold a paper up in front of their face, and I discovered that these stands are wonderful, not in my room, 'cause I don't have desks, but in the regular classroom. The student can flip the stand open, put the worksheet the class is discussing in the stand, and move it as close or as far away as needed without having to keep it in their hand all the time. My student has two of these that I provided her, one at home and one that she carries from class to class. They fold flat, and she carries it right along with her books. In my classroom, the student always has a music stand for papers, books, etc.
4) If chorus is an issue, as it is for me, write to the publishers of any octavos you will be using. Explain that you have a student for whom all copies have to be enlarged, and ask for blanket permission to make one enlarged copy of any octavos you might use during the year. Of course, this isn't an issue with Music K-8, but with other publishers, it covers you and sets a good example for your students as well. I keep a file of permission letters that I can pull out if I need to defend myself. Some music publishing companies are very cooperative about this, and others, well.... I actually stopped purchasing any music from one publishing house because they were less than cooperative about it. Most of them are great though, and you shouldn't have any trouble.
5) If you have a smart board or electronic white board in your school, it makes things a lot easier. If the class is brainstorming ideas and you write them on the board, the electronic board can make a copy for you to hand to the student.
6) Encourage the student to be assertive right from the beginning. Letting you know his needs is not being a whiner, it's teaching him that he has to stand up for himself. Some kids are better at this than others, but an 8th grader should be learning to do this for himself ( rather than mom, the special ed teacher, etc.). Hope some of these ideas are helpful. -- Contributed by Becky in WI www.bry-backmanor.org
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08/04 Legally blind is different from being totally blind. A legally blind student will have some type of vision. You will need to find out this person’s capability. I don't know if you use any type of music series, but if you do, they usually have a "large print" book that would be available to use. Also if you are in need of money and/or special equipment, your local "Lions" organization might be able to help you.
As far as the computer, you can have your teach person reset the computer screen to a different background(our friend who is legally blind has to have a black background with white letter for everything). There is also a program for enlarging everything on the screen also (sorry, I'm not sure what this is called, I just know it exists).
There are a lot of resources out there for you and your student. My master's thesis was "Music Education for the Visually Impaired". Richard Taesch from the Southern California Conservatory of Music has a music curriculum for the visually impaired available for a fee. He was wonderful when I was writing my master's thesis 5 years ago with sending me information. "
http://www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/currdet.htm
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08/04 Here are a few things I do think I did right. 1st - Assuming he reads Braille, make sure you get materials that the class will be reading (songs etc.) to whoever does his Braille writing for him. At my school, there was a person who came in a few days a week and put anything that was needed into a Braille machine. She was also the sight-impaired teacher, so if you have a person like that, consult them for good tips and advice. 2nd - He should be able to do any writing assignments that the other kids do. My student had something she called a "Braille light" She typed into this word processor thing, then could print out what she typed. 3rd - I never did figure out how to help her read music from the staff, but I did work out a rudimentary way to use Legos so she could read rhythm. (think that idea came from the MK8 list) However, we never strayed to far from quarters and eighths so I never had to develop anything more complex than that. I hope a few of these suggestions are helpful. Jennifer in IL
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08/04I have had a student with very limited vision. I enlarged some things to about 500%.
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08/04 I've taught a blind student for the past 4 years. She did have a personal aide who put lots of things in Braille for her. It helped her lots when I gave her material ahead of time. This past year, when Leah was a 5th grader, it became clear that my expectations for my 5th grade class had to be modified for her. We came up with an individual plan for her, putting more emphasis on ear training (intervals, etc); recorder skills, piano and listening skills. My student wasn't on the same emotional/intellectual level as the other 5th graders, but once we individualized her program, she soared musically. I agree that working with your student's aide is going to be a huge resource for you. -- Contributed by Becky Luce
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08/04 If your student is "legally blind" that may mean he has some vision. If so he just may need to have his materials enlarged. There are reading machines that enlarge print a great deal and can be set to the needs of that student. He should qualify for such a device. It may be available through your state School for the Visually Handicapped. Also some Brailled music materials, such as texts, are available free through National Council of the Blind. -- Contributed by Judy in Wi.
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08/04 If you look in your crafts store or craft section of Walmart, you can get that craft paint that comes in little bottles that you use to paint fabric. There is a variety of that stuff that is made to paint just dots - it's used to make dotted designs on stuff. You could easily use it to write Braille letters on stuff. It makes raised dots that dry hard and are permanent. -- Contributed by Pat Price
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09/03 http://www.amla.org/teachers.html
On this page you will find some information about Orlando Fiol, who is a blind musician. He teaches music and might be a very good resource for you. Orlando is very open in answering questions about his blindness and I know he would have some great suggestions for you. - Contributed by Christy Erickson
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I have had success with rhythm reading using legos. Each block has a dot on them.....the littlest ones have one, then 2, 4, and 8. You just have to decide whether you want to subdivide or not...... the littlest block will be an eighth or quarter. Of course, it is easy to change this as the kids get older. I kept ours in an EZ ziplock bag and did his rhythms on a board when I wrote patterns on the chalkboard for the other kids. It worked really well. - Contributed by Kari Gordon
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10/02 Legally blind: I contacted the music book publisher and they provided special editions that didn't have all the pretty pictures but they did have all the words and music in very large print. The students had an aide who accompanied them to specials, so she helped them follow the special books.
---
I have a blind student, who is now in 4th grade. I share my lesson plans with her aide a few days before class, and the aide prepares what she's able for that child. Manipulatives I've seen her use include a magnetic board, on which she places square, round, triangular and star-shaped magnets for rhythm reading (star = quarter note, etc.); a felt board with raised staff, putting felt note heads on lines and spaces to help her understand how the "seeing" world reads music. This girl's aide is proficient in Braille, and will teach her to read Braille music beginning in 5th or 6th grade, when the girl is pretty solid in reading Braille words..
---
I have a 4th grade student who is SEVERELY sight impaired. This has also been a challenge for me. Actually, my student has 20/600 vision in one eye and no vision in the other. So, his one eye looks like you are looking through waxed paper at about 50 feet away from everything-not much help:)
----
10/02
1) The American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, KY has many textbooks. There is a chance they could help out with the text you're using. Jeff says that they have a surprising inventory of textbooks.
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01/02 Regarding the visually impaired student, here's what I'm trying now. I have
a 3rd grader who is totally blind and always has been. I have been told by
a blind musician friend that Braille music is very difficult to learn and to
read. So I'm trying this: I drew a staff on cardstock with the vinyl slick
paint that you buy at craft stores. This made lines that are raised a bit
and are smooth. I'm going to have his VI teacher label it with her Braille
writer so he can refer to it. She can type Braille onto peel and stick
things that can be used almost anywhere.
I made him a page that has the space notes, another that has the line notes,
one with a treble clef only on a staff.
---
01/02 How about making her a poster board lap-staff using yarn for the lines and
clef. she could hold this during the game and finger-locate notes to identify
according to your verbal cues: "second space from the top", etc...
---
01/02 I have a nephew who is blind and has been since birth. Because of him, I
wrote my master's thesis on this topic.
Bill McCann is a blind musician who has developed a computer program for
blind musicians. You can reach him through his web site at
www.dancingdots.com
He also has many links at this site also. One link is to a curriculum for
teaching Braille music. This curriculum was created by Richard Taesch. He
is an instructor at the Southern California Conservatory of music.
You can also link to the site for "tack-tiles". These were developed by
Kevin Murphy. He got the idea from "lego's". You can also go to the
tack-tile web site for more information on this at
www.tack-tile.com
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11/01 I have some experience with teaching blind students and I would suggest you
contact the state commission for the blind -- what ever it's called in VT.
This organization can provide you with local groups and resources. Learning
Braille is certainly a valuable skill. There is also a Braille system for
musical notation. I have been able to order hymn books for the blind both
with the music and text and with the text only.
For the immediate lessons, I would suggest having your student "map" the
keyboard. Instead of starting from middle C, start with finding a D. ("D's in
the middle of the two black keys." Singsong rhyme I use with every student.)
Building from this point, the student can explore (learn) the sequence of all
the keys up and down. The student soon discovers that the keyboard is a
repeated sequence of only 7 different keys or letters and there is a marker
for D in between the two, not three, black keys. Half and whole steps are
then easily taught by, "Any two keys which are exactly next to each other,
are one half step apart." This assists the learner when dealing with B to C
and E to F, as well as the white to black association which the seeing
impaired student can feel, not see. The next step is steps and skips and
"finding" tunes hidden on the keyboard. Singing the pitches and the
intervals will assist any learner. Within a very short time, introduce chord
patterns (II, IV, V'7,I) major and minor. Always concentrating on learning
and hearing the included pitches. I call this approach, "Playing by ear,
with knowledge and understanding."
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I just completed my master's thesis on Music Education and the Visually Impaired. If you contact Bill McCann at http://www.dancingdots.com (Dancing Dots Braille Music Technology is the company that helps blind musicians make music with their computers) He was of great help to me in my research. There is also Richard Traesch at California Conservatory of Music. They can help you out with different types of lesson plans as well as tactiles. BACK to Special Needs topics
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BREATH SUPPORT
06/15 Severely Handicapped - Trouble speaking - NEEDS MORE BREATH SUPPORT
Flatten the end of a drinking straw. Cut small triangles from both sides of the flattened end (the resulting shape of the end will be \_/ ) Blowing into the end and trying to get the right placement to produce the double reed vibrating sound is fun...and if he's motivated to "make it work" it will get him using his breath. Then, once you get a sound, there's added fun by blowing into it (making the sound) and cutting pieces away with the scissors - making the pitch go up. ---- Norm Sands
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CEREBRAL PALSY
First off, don't assume too much until you actually meet this child. CP comes in many "shapes and sizes," and while he is in a wheelchair, he may possibly have enough use of his hands to play a modified recorder (as in taping certain holes shut and limiting the number of pitches needed). If not, try another instrument. I'm thinking tone bars, because if needed, you can strap the mallet into his hand with velcro, and also velcro the bars down to a work surface. The child may not play exactly the same melody as his peers, but if you simplify the rhythm
patterns (aim for the beat), he'll have something musically appropriate to work on along with the recorders. Or write a simple accompaniment pattern (as in, I-IV-V, or whatever goes with the song) to play instead. If the child has an aide, you could consider autoharp, too, for playing accompaniments. He could strum with what is called a "monster pick" (BIG!!!) while the aide (or willing classmate) pressed the chord buttons. If there is an occupational therapist involved with the child, check with her/him, and see what they have to say too. By all means, FIND ways to include him in "regular" activities! CP is nothing to be afraid of, and quite often mental capacity isn't diminished as much as the motor skills might make one think. Go for it!
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Tone Bells work great for students with motor skills problems! It is also easier because they are so much more visual.
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There are recorders where you can change the positioning of individual fingers and then glue them together if the child has resonable mobility...they can play any note with I think is any 6 fingers or at least most of them....Another option is have them keep the steady beat on a drum for the class....The students I've worked with with CP are extremely enthusiastic when it comes to music...they would love the chance!!! BACK to Special Needs topics
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GENERAL CURRICULUM IDEAS
12/09 I taught music to a class like this. I had four students and three aides. What we did is as they came in they had to say Good Morning to me (assuming they could speak) and then go into class and sit down. The aides sat with them. I went to the piano and I played all the "Kindergarten Greatest Hits" I could think of; like Baa Baa Black Sheep and Bingo and Old Macdonald and songs like that. I sang along and the aides sang along and we all encouraged the students who could speak to sing along too. I did this for about half the class time. Then I went over to the songcards I have from CJ (National Education Network, I think it's www.n-e-n.com) and we sang through those with the CD as well. I used this exact pattern (piano, songcards) every time they came; and although I might vary the order of the songs, I didn't vary the songs. As the year went on, I asked them to choose a song. If they were being disruptive outside of their IEP, like hitting another
student or something, they did not get to pick. I had one boy who could speak but never did, and one day when we asked him to pick his song, he finally said "cow". We figured out that meant Old Macdonald with the cow verse, and he loved it and sang along when he could. The students were successful with this, and the teacher (who came once or twice, the aides were there every time) said my classes were the best music classes they have ever had. I think this had a lot to do with my expectations for them. I know that if I had tried to teach notation or recorder or anything else, the students would have not been successful. As it was, this was one of my favorite classes, because the students were enjoying music. ----- Jennifer Wiebe, Ohio
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12/09 Structure, structure, structure - I ALWAYS run class the exact same way. We always begin with the exact same welcome song and end with the same goodbye song. They love this and it helps them to transition - which is difficult.
2. Sit on the floor in a circle with aid(s) mixed in. I generally between 8-12 students in my classes, usually with 2-3 aids who focus on the students who are unable to do much on their own. (Usually one aid sits with students in their wheelchairs and another sits on the floor)
3. Make very clear rules/boundaries and use them every time. For me, this means that the students are not allowed to touch their instruments/scarves until we all do, are not allowed to move out of dance space, etc. Of course, you need to know your own students well enough to know what is possible with each of them.
4. Do LOTS of songs involving taking turns and following directions. This is really important for life-skills classes. I use tons of nursery rhymes with motions, Greg and Steve CDs and some modified kindergarten songs and dances for these
5. Get them up and moving - every time they get antsy we dance
6. In my classes, very few things go well the first time, but then we just do them again and again and eventually they get better and better. My kiddos can now share instruments with each other by passing in a circle - this is huge for them
7. Ask the teacher what they are working on and try to reinforce this in music class - that will give you an idea of where to start.BACK to Special Needs topics
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HEARING IMPAIRED
12/13 I learned some signs such as sit, stand, sing, look, play, colors, numbers etc. so I could do them as we sang and gave directions. Everyone in class learned along with me and they naturally did the signs with the music. At the end of the year we learned The Lion Sleeps Tonight with the signs and the whole school learned it that way! They loved it and it keeps their hands busy. The fifth grade class chose to do the graduation song in the may k8 with the signs ( I forget the name of the song!) so that Ashton would be able to participate with them. I had to be careful to always ask the teacher or the interpreter to make sure we were using the same signs. There are differences in sign languages just as there are dialects and slang in language. The other suggestions so far are great also! If you don't have speakers for them to hold, sometimes a bouncy ball or balloon and sitting near the speaker, will allow them to feel the beat. ---- Robin Lavinder
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12/13 Note: Songs with multiple verses need to have some sort of visual manipulative. (Yes, that's helpful for Regular Ed. Kindergarten students, but even more for Deaf Ed.) In fact, I had a stuffed animal or some sort of visual representation of EVERY song we sang, so that if we had time at the end of class for them to choose a favorite song they just brought over the animal, airplane or whatever. They have a language level 2-3 years younger than their peers so they need help with visual cues.
1.) The suggestions about movement with the music are great.
2.) If you can learn some signs and teach some songs in sign language that would be wonderful....not only for the deaf students but for your hearing students too! They will love it!
3.) Don't shy away from doing songs like "Ring Around The Rosie" without signs though. They won't care & they will get the idea of the game even without signs. It's hard to sign when you are holding hands!
4.) If a game calls for a blindfold, I would not do that game. If you take away their sight (and their hearing is already gone) it can be very frightening for them.
5.) Songs that have words that are literal are the best. Songs with silly or nonsense words are hard for them to understand.
6.) I had some Deaf Ed. students who could sing on pitch, so encourage them to sing even though it may take longer. Plus the other students will need to be sensitive to their situation so that no one laughs.
7.) Sound maps are great with Deaf Ed. students because the maps are visual. One year after we made one, a little deaf girl made her own at home & brought it to me the next day! Of course we played hers & celebrated!!!!!!! It was very cool! ----- Judi Thomas
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07/11 SIGN LANGUAGE IDEAS:
1. Go to: http://www.musick8.com
5. Click on the "See Issue/Kit" link to be taken to that particular
issue of Music K-8 magazine, and you can scroll down to the bottom of
the page to hear a sample of the song.
There are 28 songs and 1 recorder tune in this category.
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01/07 http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm This site is my favorite for sign language. You click on an alphabet letter, look at the word and you get a verbal description of the sign and a short video showing you how to do the sign. -- Linda Z.
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01/07 He [a fourth grader] has recently been fitted with a cochlear implant, which has made a large difference, but he still really struggles. Two things that have worked very well for us are having him have a paper copy of all songs/poems, etc. That way he doesn’t have to rely on translation/lip reading/etc. for the words. Also, we have done a lot of work with solfege and hand signals so far this year. This allows his hearing classmates to practice using their singing voice, yet in a way that he can participate fully. The signals are much easier for him than for the other students (I imagine it’s the connection with sign language) so he is a real leader in these activities. The other students always look to him when they can’t get their hands to do what they want them to! This has been a great opportunity to allow him to shine in music class. -- Emily in IN
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01/07 The movement activities are great.
I had a deaf student that had a full time person who signed. They were such an inspiration to the class. When we had listening activites I let him put his hand on the CD player to feel the vibrations. One day we all held a balloon and felt the vibrations. The kids really thought this was cool. - Nancy Jolley
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01/07 VIBRATION EXPLORATION EXPERIMENTS
1. place paper clips on a drum head and watch them dance as you hit the drum head.
2. discuss how sound is created using a tuning fork-place a vibrating tuning fork in a full glass of water and watch the water splash. more fun if you have one student hold the water and "watch real close for the vibrations in the water"
3. cut off both ends of a soup can, cover one end with plastic wrap and glue a small piece of aluminum foil to it, turn the lights off and pull a screen down. Shine a flashlight on the foil, and watch it move as someone speaks loudly into the can.
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06/06 We are signing Silent Night in our winter program. I also suggest America the Beautiful and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. -- Dianne Park
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Another song would be “Each of Us is a Flower” on album: Charlotte Diamond's "10 Carat Diamond"
http://www.songsforteaching.com/store/product.php?productid=979&cat=326&page=1”
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My little ones picked up the signs for "I Love You" (MK8) nicely and they love singing and signing it. It only has seven words, but the melody and signs are sooooo lovely together.
**Sing About Martin worked.....
**American Tears (MK8).... not every word, but the jist
**Free at Last (MK8) worked very well. We did all the words in the chorus and a lot in the verses. This one brings down the house. -- Martha in Tallahassee
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America the Beautiful My Heart goes on Gentle Wind by Ken Lonnquist ( www.kenland.com )
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star -- Rhonda in WI
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07/05 If you don't have this, it's wonderful. There is a little video clip of each sign.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
-- Dan Fee
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12/03 I used to teach a HI class that was all ages (4-13). We did a lot with the autostrum autoharps, we did dances -- they can feel the vibrations in the floor, I also asked that the older students interpret the words of the songs that were being sung on the concerts into sign language and then the class interpreted during the concert. It was really beautiful. As far as playing instruments goes, the older students were able to play just about anything I gave them as long as we practiced and they had a clear, visible beat to watch. Verbal stimulation does help quite a bit, but singing may take awhile and may never come at all. Appreciating music is something that all students, deaf or not, can learn. You just have to approach things a slightly different way than you do for hearing students. You may want to do a search for HI music lessons. I'm sure there are some on the web somewhere. - Contributed by Alyssa in WI
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12/03 From what I've heard about the cochlear implants is that the wearer does
not hear sounds as we do. They are very mechanical/electronic. Music
is usually unrecognizable to the point of not being able to tell which
instruments are being played. - Contributed by Stephanie Menefee
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12/03 I have a student with an implant and she is able to discriminate musical
instruments and most other sounds as well. She sings, played recorder and
participates the same as all other students. - Contributed by Jayne Herman
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Type a word and see a symbol! - http://www.commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
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11/03 My deaf 3rd grader holds a balloon whenever we listen to or sing along with recorded music. That way she feels the music with the vibration of the balloon. This suggestion came from the deaf specialist that visits our school once or twice a month. - Contributed by Stephanie Menefee
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I would be sure to read "Moses Goes to a Concert" to this class. - Contributed by Judy in WI
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11/03 Last year, I taught in a school with deaf children in every grade. One of my K classes had 3, sometimes 4 deaf children in it. Luckily, we had 3 interpreters in our school that came to classes with these children.
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09/03 Have you tried the cafeteria gallon cans with your classes? Have one child hold the can towards a child so that he or she can feel the vibrations while another child talks/sings........The can of course has to be empty and clean! - Contributed by Susan Michiels
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05/03 Here is a great sign language site. You'll need QuickTime or something like that.When it works right, you'll get a little video clip of each sign. www.commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm -- Contributed by Dan Fee
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02/03 Book about sign language: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
says they are "signing a song" because there is a BIG difference between the way you sign a complete song & signing a few selected words. The sign language is a total different language from "spoken English! There is even a difference between ASL & ESL! I learned this from a Wolf Trap Artist. I teach lots of simple ASL signs when I do teacher workshops, conferences, & when working with children. I have also used the site suggested. It's great! I have found that the signing books are helpful also! Another great resource is Gaia! Check out her web site for fun signing learning. Her CD's are great & even tell you how to sign some words right on the CD (verbally!)! She also has Video's & books available.
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Just a word to the wise on signing: Be sure to say you are teaching the children some sign language signs for the song & not say your children are learning how to sign a song! There is a difference. The deaf community frowns (& gets upset!) when someone
The ASL browser site that is the BEST is:
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
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11/15 ASL sites:
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
http://www.handspeak.com/
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11/01 I've gotten a lot of use out of this website. Good luck!!
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
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10/01 I work with 2 hearing impaired children but both are intergrated. They both
have aplifying hearing systems and they also have teacher aides which
sometimes come, but most the time does not. I use lots of music that they
can put actions to and move to the beat. I use songs like "Tony Chestnut
know I love you" (Toe, knee, chest, head, nose, eye, crossheart ,point to
you). I use a CD put out by "Themes and Variations" called Movement songs
that has songs like one "Green jelly bean," again the children move to the
words and beat. "Sam the Robot Man" the kids move to a beat while they are
robots which I turn on to begin and turn off and they slump to the ground.
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9/01 I work with 2 hearing impaired children but both are intergrated. They both
have aplifying hearing systems and they also have teacher aides which
sometimes come, but most the time does not. I use lots of music that they
can put actions to and move to the beat. I use songs like "Tony Chestnut
know I love you" (Toe, knee, chest, head, nose, eye, crossheart ,point to
you). I use a CD put out by "Themes and Variations" called Movement songs
that has songs like one "Green jelly bean," again the children move to the
words and beat. "Sam the Robot Man" the kids move to a beat while they are
robots which I turn on to begin and turn off and they slump to the ground.
I use songs like " Little Red Wagon" and the kids move their shoulders as we
sing to simulate we are riding in a wagon and fixing the wagon with various
tools each verse.
If you need more ideas please email me. Thekids love "Hot pototatoe pass it
on" and they pass a potate shaker around which I purchased from one of the
music store.
I would suggest you learn a few very basic phrases in sign like "move like a
__________" If I don't know the word, for example 'bunny', I hop like one.
I also clap loudly to get the attention of the student if they are day
dreaming, but that doesn't seem to happen often. This also seems to bring the
attention of other hearing students around who also have been daydreaming.
My students move very well to the beat, but I do need to turn up the bass so
they can feel the vibrations.
9/01 Just got this in the mail yesterday Todd, Say, Sing & Sign Songs- American Sign Language Series, Volume 2 Patriotic Songs
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When in doubt, always think that the student has the physical problem. So, how get through the dilemma, when deep inside you think he's just being ornery?
(1) Keep you out of trouble.
(2) Help the child, if he is honestly wanting to cooperate and can't help it.
(3) Put the burden on him.
(4)Have your principal, ect. involved when telling the student of your "secret" plan for administrative support.
(5) Please the parent because you are trying.(6) Give the right to discipline him, if he needs it.
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I have been working with hearing impaired students in the music room for about 6 years. First, does he have an interpreter with him? If so, talk to the interpreter and her ideas on how to communicate with him effectively. I, myself, can sign. So when my profoundly deaf kids come(with their H.A.'s on and in) with their interpreter, we use signs for soft and too loud, etc. By the way, I can correct them in front of the class, because my hearing kids are playing louder than they are!! I use my corrections POSITIVELY!!
I will first find a hearing child who is having trouble controlling their breath and we will all talk about how important it is to blow softly.
Keep things as positive as you can and play "dumb blonde" if you have to and smile and say no, that's not what I meant , let me show you again.....and again.....And again.....
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Does anyone have any insight as to how sound production is interpreted by a student with a hearing aid? Also, do they hear other instruments (other than the one they're playing) the same way we do (as in ensemble rehearsal)?
I recommend contacting Very Special Arts- the national association has a Website. Also you might contact someone at Gallaudet College in Washington D.C. (I think that's how it's spelled) This is a college which serves hearing impaired students in particular, and I think they have a music department.
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I do alot of work with sign language. One of the best things to do is to get a basic sign dictionary with very clear pictures and explanations. My favorite book is one called The Joy of Signing by Lottie Riekehof. I usually have an artist illustrate the songs I publish and do not know if I can get these graphics on the computer. When I teach signs in a workshop, I try to give the participants a chart which has the English word(s) of the song on one side and the equivalent sign on the other. For example, using John Denver's song "Sunshine on my Shoulder" (one of the 1st I learned to sign) it would look like this:
sign "sunshine" or just "sun"
Makes
sign "make"
Me
sign "me"
Happy
sign "happy"
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Moses Goes To A Concert by Isaac Millman (Frances Foster Books). Moses is a hearing-impaired little boy who goes to a concert with his deaf class from school. The percussionist is barefoot on the stage, and they find out it's because she's also deaf, and needs to feel the vibration through the floor to know when to play. In the end, Moses tells his parents about the concert and says he wants to be a percussionist when he grows up.
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I want to share the title of a wonderful book I just discovered. "Moses Goes To A Concert" by Isaac Millman, $16.95/hardcover (published byFrances Foster Books) is about a deaf boy wholearns that he can become anything he sets his mind to. He wants to be a percussionist. I highly recommend this title, both for teaching percussion family and for helping children understand a bit about deafness.BACK to Special Needs topics
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DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED
12/07 HINTS: COLOR CODE code your chairs, use carpet squares, or put a circle of tape on the floor... something that defines the child's space. Assign each child "their spot." (As you said, they thrive on routine.)
I see the kids twice/ week for 30 minutes.
1. Opening song (can be a soft song, a get-up and dance activity, a warm-up song.) This song stays the same throughout the year. It is a signal for the children that music has begun. (I have used both classical music and fun crazy music - it depends on the class.)
9. Cool down song - I use the same song for cool-down. (I like Greg and Steve's Music and Movement series - I use them almost every class period. But the kinder one has a great song "Quiet Time." One of my autistic kids who had very little language one day out of the blue said "Quiet Time" when I showed him the icon - he'd heard me say it day in and day out - totally rewarding moment!)
I don't always get through every one of those. But I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS do the opening song, the steady beat practice, a dance song, and the Cool Down song. -- Amy Taylor
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12/07 When I taught one day a week at a totally special needs school, ages 5-21, only a few of my students actually sang. They did enjoy echoing individually and making sounds, but rarely did the class have a good group singing sound. I had the most success with rhythm and unpitched percussion instrument activities. They remembered activities that had patterns, such as some of the Hap Palmer activities.I tried to use recordings that had vocals when we did singing. They loved using scarves and beach balls (or balloons). If you do find a piano, you might occasionally let them "doodle" at the piano. We even found an autistic teenager who could play by ear.There are lots of activities you can use with the MK8 accompaniment recordings. -- Patricia Bellar
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05/21 My first couple of years of teaching, I had what was referred to as the DD class. (Developmentally delayed) Talk about not knowing jack to teach them! But... I really enjoyed them after awhile. I found that I could do almost the same thing with them that I did with regular kindergarten, but their attention spans were even shorter. Lots of movement, flannelboard songs or any other things using visuals. I had a poster of 5 Green and Speckled Frogs with velcro on the frogs so that they could jump into the pool - and I had 5 frog masks that I made, so we did that song over and over and over... Also had 5 masks for Halloween: pumpkin man, big black cat, skeleton, spooky ghost, and wicked witch sung to the tune of Muffin Man. (Do you know the pumpkin man, etc. who comes on Halloween.)
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DISLEXIA
06/06 Over the 9 years I've been teaching I have worked closely with our dyslexia teachers. One thing that I learned is that for some dyslexic students the lines of the staff seem to constantly be moving. They have difficulty seeing whether a note is on a line or in a space. I color code the pitches to help those students succeed. -- Susan Young
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06/06 Our school has worked with LOTTIE helps. Don't ask me tonight to remember the meanings of each letter, but something about low tech assists. Colored cellophane in strips have helped kids with different reading problems follow and read along- like a narrow window of a color, paper frame all the way around. We have several colors- some students really see better with blue or green, rather than the traditional yellow. Note: Better use colored overhead pens- the dry erase comes out black (opaque) on the overheads. -- Kristi Keast
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06/06 I didn't even KNOW the words on the page were formed into lines until I was in college and my mother made me take a typing class. I just see a great big swirl. If I don't read quickly, I'm toast. For serious reading, I use a white envelope below each line. Makes all the difference. I learned to read music by "lasering in" on each note. -- Andrea Cope
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11/03 I have a degree in piano pedagogy, and have taught several students with processing challenges. I agree, definitely use something other than numbers to count rhythm. And try to focus the student away from finger numbers in general--obviously they need to know them for starting position or position changes, but other than that, focus on the idea that notes go up and down the keyboard and staff (step up, step down, skip up, skip down) instead of attaching a finger number to a specific note. Introduce these concepts at the keyboard, then show them what it looks like on the staff--notation.
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09/03 Some years ago, our fourth graders were put to the challenge of creating a color code that would make sense to the learning disabled kids trying to learn recorder in the classroom:
Low D- Yellow for "daffodils"
Low E- Purple for "eggplant"
Low F-Black for "Fido, the little black dog"
G - Green for "grass"
A- Orange for "apricots"
B- Blue for "blueberries"
High C - Red for "cherries"
High D - This one will take a little more imagination! It was "turquoise" for the water in a swimming pool.
High E - Hot Pink just 'cause they liked it
High F - Yellow-Green just 'cause they liked it
High A - Light Pink-just 'cause they liked it
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09/03 I have dyslexia and for me reading notes on a staff can be a challenge. The smaller the
print the harder it is. Making the staff larger does helps. For me the notes move around on the staff. For example line E looks like line G. Also reading accidentals are difficult. The sharp and natural signs begin to look the same. I often learned my music by memorizing the music. Use lots of rote with your dyslexia students and try enlarging the staff for them this could help. Also use lots and lots of repetition with them. Another thing that may help is use different colors when writing notes on the staff or when writing rhythm patterns. I do this with my students mainly for my benefit, but I also find that doing all of this helps every student and not just students with dyslexia. - Contributed by Tami Mangusso
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09/03 I would be the Dyslexia Poster Child (telethon starring Cher on a station near you) and had no trouble at all learning to read music. I can't follow a grand staff though I can read a conductor's score if I highlight heavily. I had a wonderful teacher, WAY before children were tested, labeled and accomodated, who taught me to "laser" in on one note at a time. Many dyslexics have trouble controlling the small optic muscles and tend to flutter all over the page. I still laser to this very day, and I've taught that to all of my private students, whether they needed it or not. - Contributed by Andrea Cope
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With regard to music for dyslexic students, I am assuming you are speaking about the written page. I have had experience working with such students, and have learned that two types of dyslexia exist. The first is visual and the best results, in this case, are achieved when the music is very large print (125%-150%)and very uncluttered. What I mean by "uncluttered" is that the student sees exactly what he/she hears. I had to create much of the music myself. I used Finale, as it allows me to increase or decrease page/staff size without limits. I eliminated all, "superfluous" notation for the beginning student. The only notation that was present was absolutely necessary pitch and rhythm (no ties).
low D yellow for "daffodils"
low E purple for "eggplant"
low F black for "flies"
low F# black for "Fido"
low G green for "grass"
A orange for "apricot"
B blue for "blueberries"
C red for "cherries"
D turquoise for a "dunk" in the community pool
high E red-violet just because we liked it!
high F yellow-green also just because we liked it!
high G pink because we ran out of colors and reasons.
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Greetings! I am fascinated by this as well and have been anxious to share an experience. Two years ago I had an unusual number of students who were having difficulty finding the appropriate pitches when we sang. I scoped out five of the ones who were quite self conscious about this and offered after school assistance. The fascinating thing to me was that when they sang using just oohs, ahs, etc. they did very well. As soon as we added words - their pitch went into new dimensions. I shared this information with the appropriate teachers and..... it turns out each one of them were dyslexic! I don't know if this is old news but it was a revelation to me and I have been thinking that this would be a fascinating study. More importantly, it was a revelation for these kids as well as myself. (I let them sing on oohs until they felt confident and they were later able to add the words far more succesfully).
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DOWN SYNDROME
1207 My Downs kids are stubborn, lovable, supported by their peers and paras, and enjoy just being included. Can you make a CD of your songs so the child can take it home and use it to learn the words? Some of the warmest moments you can get in a program can be from their singing, no matter how well they do...they're doing their best and putting their hearts in it! I had to chuckle today. I have a Downs child in third grade, too, and his para is working with him on recorder. The kids had to fill out a self-assessment section and goals section on the belt checklist I use, and one of the things was "My Strengths" and "My weaknesses" (This is an awesome task sheet at the Dojo by Tami Mangusso that I've started using this year, but I digress). My Downs' student's para helped him out, and his goal, "I want to play AWESOME" He didn't want to list a weakness, but his strength? "I want to learn!" Have your child near the front, with the para or teacher nearby. I'm willing to bet, though, (unless the child has exhibited any other behavior issues) she'll sing her little heart out to her best ability, and steal hearts in the bargain:-) -- Karen Stafford
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12/07 These are the first Down's kids I've had, and neither one of them has an aide come with them to music. I was really nervous at first about how to include them, but it has worked out fine. (Both of these kids are fairly high functioning though - not all Down's kids are alike. Down's is on a spectrum like autism). Because all of our songs are choreographed (on the risers), both girls are really "digging" the motions. They do very well with watching me and performing the motions - however, neither one of them is able to sing all of the words. But, since the motions are very visual - it looks like both girls are involved, even if not fully. I also have them carrying some signs in at the beginning of the musical (along with other typical kids) and so far, so good. -- Leslie Ritter
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12/07 You might try making a CD with the songs you are working on, and sending it home with the child to practice at home. Write a note to the parent enlisting their help, and maybe they'll play the CD in the car. If the rest of the class is singing, I'd have her participate to whatever extent that she can with the singing. If you've got complicated choreography, I might find an alternative activity for her. - Denise Arthurs
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06/06 Our students have successfully been in the percussion section [of the band]. That said, they were great taking directions by their fellow students and watching the director. The cymbals- point to them a beat (or two) before they are to crash. Or have a fellow student coach them when to start/stop a sound- maraca parts and jingle bell parts are often like that. One case had an aide paid to attend the concerts and continue her assistance until he was more settled in. -- Kristi Keast
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10/02 There is a recording of this song on "Action Songs Children Love Volume 1" available from Musick8. (Plank Road Publishing: http://www.musick8.com/ )
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Hearing Impaired
Sound System: (Our teacher's love the system!) The Radium system is the one we have purchased. Even though we have very little time logged with them I love 'em. I think they will prove to be a flexible system that helps more than just the kids with hearing impairments: teachers save their voices, kids with learning disabilities have more consistent auditory input, and it can be moved to a variety of places - i.e. outside!
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I use a system by Audio Enhancement that has two ports and four speakers placed at different corners of the room. The mic hangs around my neck (kind of like a snake) and points up towards my mouth. I never have to speak louder than a normal tone, and often, can use a quiet, peaceful voice. It is amazing how a calm voice affects the students. AND, each and every student has a front row seat.
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9/01 That's been my experience. I have also found that DS
kids are usually really great imitators. They may not
do what you want them to in class, but if they have
someone next to them to imitate, they will. I had a
DS boy for the last three years who danced up a storm
on stage, as long as the boy next to him (chosen
carefully) led the way. He's taking theater in middle
school
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"My student can't tolerate noise" ....
If you have colored chairs, give him a special one in his favorite color. Suggest they allow him to wear earplugs or unplugged headphones to tone down the sound until he is used to the environment. Routine, routine, routine.....find out a song he already knows aka If You're Happy, Old McD, etc. and use it the first few times he has music. If he is in a special ed class, tape some of your lesson for them to play before he comes to music to prepare him.
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5/01 As far as teaching these precious kids, my bottom line would be " love them
to bits"! Tell them that you love seeing them, love having them come into
the classroom etc. etc. Work out ahead of time, how they will be coming to
you - will they be mainstreamed or will you see them all together as a
group. Will you have an aide in there? Do you want an aide in there? (I
always appreciated having one in there, but that was me.) If you do have an
aide, be very clear as to how you want the aide to function within your
room. I was very casual about it. I told them that they could step forward
if something came up and that I wanted them to be comfortable in the music
room.
MAKE SURE THEY GIVE YOU A SP. ED. ASSISTANT FOR THESE CLASSES!!!
these are great kids to work with, but if you have them in a separate class,
you'll definately need help.
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Just wanted to pass on something that I learned from an Occupational Therapist years ago in the early days of inclusion in our district. As we struggled to adapt curriculum for a Down Syndrome child, she suggested in doing the recorder, that we use COLORED reenforcements to place over the top three holes. Bonanza! It made all the difference in the world. She was able to focus a bit more and loved the different colors. We were trying to get this child to be able to separate her fingers to place over the holes. It really seemed to help. I have since used them for other children, classified or not, who are struggling with this. I would LOVE to be able to tell you where to purchase them, but I can't.
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EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED
Emotionally disturbed: "One, Two, Three...Echo Me" has been a wonderful resource for me too. Many of the songs have visuals which are easy to reproduce, color, laminate, and place in the hands of the students. It is by Loretta Mitchell, not Cheryl Lavender. I've found it useful for classes from early childhood special needs up through regular 5th classrooms. (Thanks to Liz's admonition, I now have an itemized list of my personal teaching materials close at hand.)
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My behaviorally and emotionally handicapped class is always mesmerized by the Beethoven one, particularly the part about his difficult father, and we have very useful discussions about Beethoven's angry outbursts - -
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First of all, I would find out if this student has an aide. It should be required. And I personally would ask that aide to come to music class with him. I know some people find aides instrusive but they are there to help you so you can continue to work with the rest of the class. And they should be trained to deal with the needs of that particular student; at the very least, they will come to know him better and know how to help him better. Try to meet with the teacher and the aide and discuss this student: his special needs, what *you* should do to help him, what s/he should do to help him. For example: who will handle behavior difficulties, who will handle instrument help, etc? Perhaps the aide will have some musical knowledge; if not, be encouraging! :) I have an aide who comes with a kindergartner who once told me she's learning as much as the kids and enjoys it..
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EMI
12/03 I came up with this idea to review program songs with my class of 12 EMI students yesterday: I had some extra copies of a ditto of a string of Christmas light bulbs. They were each given a paper and a dish of crayons. Each time we sang through a song, they would then sit down and color one lightbulb. As soon as they finished, they'd stand and we'd go through it again. It gave them a chance to move, made the repetitions less tedious.BACK to Special Needs topics
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ESL: ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
06/07 Guten tag = good morning/day
Guten abend = good evening
Tschus = goodbye (slang)
Auf wiedersehen = goodbye (formal)
Wie gehts = how are you?
Gut, danke, und du? = fine, thanks, and you?
Wie heisst du? = What is your name?
Ich heisse Frau/Herr _______.
Was singst do gern? = What do you like to sing?
Wie alt bist du = how old are you?
Was ist los?= What is wrong?
Woher ist deine(r) buch? = Where is your book?
Hast du eine frage? = Do you have a question?
Hast du eine bleischtiff = Do you have a pencil?
Mochtest du ein bleischtiff = Do you need a pencil
Ich mochte = I need ____
Enschuldigung, wie bitte = excuse me, please. - Ruth Garcia
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04/02 EFFECTIVE TEACHING OF ESL THROUGH MUSIC
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In her introduction to the site, Dr. Median writes: "This site was created for educators who are interested in promoting the acquisition of English through music. Here teachers are provided with the tools which they need in order to foster the acquisition of English through music. Therefore, in this site, teachers will find the following: teacher-made and tested lesson plans, materials such as books, videos, and tapes/CDs which have been helpful to other educators as they use music for second language instructional purposes, and articles supporting the use of music in the ESL classroom." Go To:
http://caslt.org/research/music.htm
10/01 Oh, A-Hunting We Will Go by John Langstaff and pictures by Nancy Winslow Parker, Atheneum Macmillan Publishing. It starts with the fox and then has 10 other rhymes.It is good for the ESL classes I teach.
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EVALUATION OF A SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENT
01/04 I just find one or two things for the student to focus on instead of several things. For
example on the recorder when I assess I usually grade on Rhythm, Pitch, Note Accuracy,
Hand Position, Posture and Starting Over. I have one student who cannot accomplish all of these in one test. He can maybe do just one thing. I tell the student what I want him to
focus on. When he takes his recorder test I only assess him on that one thing. I have him
playing Hot Cross Buns and he will probably stay on Hot cross Buns until he can
accomplish at least 3 of the areas. I am hoping by the end of the year or sooner that he
will actually be able to play Hot Cross Buns and it will actually sound like Hot Cross
Buns. Right now it's not even close to sounding like any song, but we will take it one
little step at a time. I adapt Recorder Karate for the Special Ed. students. This
student will get white belt when he can accomplish one thing, yellow belt for two things,
and so forth. I figure it wouldn't do any good to expect him to play Hot Cross Buns
before he gets white belt because it could turn out that he will never accomplish it and
never get a belt. Then he would loose interest and give up. For me Recorder Karate is a program to help students improve their skills and not how many songs they can play. So if it means only learning one song that's alright because at least he got a lot out of the one song. - Contributed by Tami Mangusso
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01/04 Consider using grades with a "/" in them for the special education students. They will not be working per se on grade level standards so perhaps “I” could represent ‘Incomplete’ rather than “Inadequate.”
Or instead of O = outstanding; G = good; S = satisfactory; I = improvement needed; U = unsatisfactory.
How about O/SE = outstanding at their level
G/SE = good at their level
F/SE = Fair at their level
U/SE = Unsatisfactory at their level
OR
Instead of "I" perhaps "N = Needs to improve" (Just ideas as the IEP should determine what is expected of each student in both academic performance and behavior/effort.)
Note: IEP = Individualized Education Program - Contributed by Susan Michiels
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01/04 With special education students, I try to grade them on if they are living up to their potential, doing all that they can. I had two classes of self-contained spec ed. kids my first 2 years of teaching. They used the same grades, but I changed the scale to fit the children. I asked myself: Are they doing everything I expect them to be doing? - Contributed by Stephanie Menefee
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ESL
12/03 Teaching ESL through Music: http://caslt.org/research/music.htm
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FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME
ARTICLE on PLANNING: http://www.psychiatry.emory.edu/PROGRAMS/GADrug/Edfas.htmBACK to Special Needs topics
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GENERAL CLASSROOM IDEAS
08/15 COALITION FOR DISABLED MUSICIANS: . http://www.disabled-musicians.org/ This page has an article about the Coalition and an address/telephone number:
http://www.disabled-musicians.org/
06/15 When I worked with pre-k I used a lot of Hap Palmer stuff like "Sammy" and "Grandpa builds a Table" and we acted it out, moving in place or in a circle. I recommend the " Green Jelly Bean" song and some others from kindergarten materials by Denise Gagne, and some of Greg and Steve too. Particularly some of their echo clapping and voice imitation stuff like " Scat Like That" and their version of abc, can't remember but I think it was " Rock around the Alphabet", and the " Hokey Pokey" and " If You 're Happy and you Know It".
I did ( made up) imitation games with patting, clapping and teacher led movement to music with steady beat reinforcement and practice galore! Later I encouraged students to lead the group or smaller groups.
I also used a stick clown puppet for echo singing and imitation and other puppets for exploring high and low and loud and soft voices and singing.
The kids have a wonderful imagination and to them, those puppets were real and they learned and were full of joy when they had music class. ( a friendly nod in remembrances of Tod , RIP.) and the teachers who inspired me to do these things.
I'd work in books like, "Max found two Sticks", books about songs like " What A Wonderful World" , "Bingo", " ABC's", fairy tales like "The Three Little Pigs", "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" and act them out with UPP instruments and vocal sound effects, etc...----Martha Stanley
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06/15 Have them come into the room and try to get them to sit in their special spots. Hopefully you have about six teacher's aides coming with them! Then have the same song start class every single time they come. I use "I''M SO GLAD TO BE HERE", but I use the second verse, twice, instead of using the first verse. Then I have a special star student who gets to be the helper for the day. We have them get the magic music box. We sing a little song I made up, "Oh magic music box, oh magic music box, what have your brought today?" The student looks inside the box and tries to describe what is in the box. Usually I have the instrument and book that we are going to use for the lesson. So for instance, I will have the book, The eency weency spider and some little spiders and we will play a game, or I have rhythm sticks, etc. First I demonstrate how to play the instrument and ask the star student to demonstrate the instrument. Then I have that student, "If they are capable" to pass out the instruments, usually with my help. We very methodically give the sticks to the first person and we say their name and encourage them to say thank you. They have to put the sticks on the floor. Everything is very meticulously spoken and and demonstrated! This takes time. Then we use the song or the book to sing and play. Then if we used the instruments with the song and the book, then we stand up and we use "A BEAT IN MY FEET" to march around the room, playing our instruments. Initially I am the line leader, but as they learn how to do this, they can be the line leader when they are the star student. I have some students who are no verbal and are in wheel chairs, but I still try to help them be the star student. The parents are thrilled to see their star student certificate and know that they got to be the center of attention in the music room.
You can also use lots and lots of pictures if you have them. After we have used the book and the instruments, we sing, "Thank you Magic Music Box. T-H-A-N-K. T-H-A-N-K. T-H-A-N-K, we thank you very much! THANKS! Then the box goes back to it's place to be refilled for another day.
I try to do a very quick book and include them in the telling of the story... think "PETE THE CAT", or "THE WHEELS ON THE BUS". I usually use a pre-K curriculum. We keep the beat and do a lot of rhyming. Sometimes I might be the only one singing the real words, but luckily I have para educators who sing along and provide great role models for the students.
We have used a pipe to do the LIMBO ROCK, to work on the word, UNDER. We use a jump rope laying on the floor to use the word JUMP or OVER. They love all the movement songs, especially some of the latest songs, like HAPPY or WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL.
Towards the end of the time, I have the star student choose their favorite song. We have done OLD MACDONALD, THE FREEZE GAME, THE TWIST, HOKEY POKEY, a song from the Beatles, or One Direction or whatever you have. They love ELEPHANTS HAVE WRINKLES. Keep them moving! They love marching, jogging, tip-toeing, jumping!
About five minutes before it is time to leave, I play "ADIOS AMIGOS" as our goodbye song. This lets them know that music time is over. It takes this much time for them to get in line and then we sing, "LITTLE RED CABOOSE for the person who is last in line.
Do not think of them as handicapped. They all love music and love to express themselves. I try to follow some of the curriculum they are doing in their own classroom. One year it was the alphabet, one year it was consonant blends, another year it was regions of the world. It always provides me with a challenge, which I love! You are probably not going to teach them to be great musicians, but they will all walk away with a love of music.
My group even loved the story UP, UP, DOWN and we used the xylophones. But it doesn't just happen. It takes a lot of following directions first and you have to be able to trust their abilities or lack there of! Plus the most important part is in the final statement... THEY LOVE REPETITION, so do songs over and over every time they come to music and sometimes I might even do a song two or three songs. They love it! ----- Caryn Mears
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06/14 I teach a PPCD class (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities) which isn't exactly named appropriately. The students in the class are (age-wise) 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th graders. The students have varying disabilities ranging from Down's Syndrome to being somewhere on the Autism spectrum to severe and profound MH/MR issues. What I do for this class is modify my Pre-K plan (usually supplementing a song or activity here or there but sticking to the main objective for the day). The class has two aides who usually attend and, frequently, the PPCD teacher also attends. They assist students with playing instruments (keeping the beat or playing a simple rhythm when required). This is especially helpful for students with severe physical impairments (if they can't hold an instrument or can't hold it AND play it).
The primary thing to do is what was already suggested: Talk with the teacher and find out what is in their IEPs. You need to know what the goal is for each child being in the music class. I have witnessed extreme growth in several of the students - it's incredibly rewarding. They love coming to music and we always have a good time! I've developed good relationships with all of them and many of their parents. The key is to plan for varying levels of participation. Not every student will sing independently (but the ones that do always blow me away with their ability!), and not every student will be able to play an instrument part the way you want it to be played. Set your expectations in each lesson knowing that not every child in the class will be able to do every thing you plan - have alternate activities/modifications in mind (or better - written in your lesson plan) for students you know won't be able to do certain things.
For example: this week we will be working on meter in 6 (being able to feel the strong beats). We will be playing "Farmer in the Dell." For the students in the class who will not be able to play the game (wheel chair for example), I will have rhythm instruments/Orff instruments ready (C-F ostinato). Keeping with the "farmer" theme, we will listen to "Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow" and I will teach the first verse by rote for those who can sing it, but we'll all play maracas ("shaking our seeds") as we listen to the recording. Then I'll recite "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Humpty Dumpty" and ask if they can identify which poem has a meter in 6. If you have a parachute, you can have them raise and lower it to the strong beats. As with my regular ed. classes, I always try to include some singing, some playing, some moving, and some listening in the lesson.
---- Norm Sands
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12/07 BEGINNING OF YEAR: Kathleen sends home a note to all parents of music students:
I would love to know a little bit about your child! I teach hundreds of children throughout the week in Music class and would like to get to know them better. When you share with me information about your child then their needs, desires and strengths are so much clearer to me. Anything that you think will help me do a better job of teaching your child would be such a help. Please fill out the form below, put it in an envelope and give it to your child to give to their teacher. They will be sure and get it to me. Thank you so much for your cooperation in this! I look forward to hearing from you!
(Your name and school phone number/extension)__________________________________________
Child's name__________ Child's teacher_______________
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I like Music and Movement in the classroom by Steven Traugh and Greg and Steve for pre-k-2nd for these type of classrooms--lots of singing, instruments, controlled movements with lesson plans and CDs.
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06/07 INTERACTIVE METRONOME THERAPY: This device is generally used by health-care providers (although some schools are also using it). IM is used to measure and improve an individual's timing. This therapy is being used to treat ADD and other types of learning disabilities. Basically, a patient is hooked up to a computer via earphones and has sensors for hands and feet. The program emits a steady beat and the patient is put through a series of exercises of hand clapping and walking. The machine measures in milliseconds how accurately one is in sync to the beat. On average, just 15 hours can achieve substantial increases in timing. For more information, a demo, and research check out http://www.interactivemetronome.com/. - Helen Tormey
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06/06 There were 5 [5th grade boys] total. The only request that I wished I'd made early on was to split them up. Because they are in a self-contained classroom with the same 5 kids all day long, I think getting away from each other would have been nice. At times they would feed off each other. If one was having a bad day, the others would often pick on him. I know their teachers kept them together to make it easier for them as far as scheduling, but I would tell them now, hindsight being 20/20, that it would have been better for them socially to come alone. You may be surprised to find that these kids strive in your room.- Alison Rohrbach
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10/05 CONTAINING A CHILD WITHIN THE GROUP: Is there a way in your room arrangement to keep him right next to you so you can reach out and restrain him, etc.? I always worked on the floor in a circle with kids that age and always put that child next to me. I'll never forget a K girl I had whom I almost wrapped myself around or put my leg across, all the while teaching. Fortunately she was observed in the 2nd or 3rd week and moved to a Transitional Special K at a different location. The next year she came to K again and was a jewel to work with. She just needed to learn about rules and boundaries in an environment with fewer kids. Can the teacher send an aide or someone with him?. -- Ardith J.
Roddy
10/05 CONTAINING A CHILD WITHIN THE GROUP: Document, document, document! Write down in definitive terms his exact behavior, ie: Asked class to turn to face the board. "P" got up and walked to the instrument center. Did not respond to verbal redirection. Did not respond to gentle touch on shoulder. Etc., etc., etc. ad nauseum. Perhaps there is someone in your school who can come to class and do this for you. That would mean that you would teach and interact as you normally do, the "auditor" would document every movement, etc. At any rate, get it on paper, even from a few weeks running, so that you can show where this child needs help. (another suggestion...set up the videocamera so that it covers your classroom and let the teachers/sped people/parents SEE what is happening!). Describe to the teacher exactly what is happening; ask him/her for strategies that work for this child. -- Becky Luce in NH
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10/04 BOOK Lois Birkenshaw-Fleming has an excellent book: Music for All. Pub. by Gordon V. Thompson Music, (c) 1993. Chapters on all types of disabilities, includes an appendix with helpful addresses at the end.
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10/04 USE BOOKS Find books that you can sing to. Sing books with lots of repetition so that they can response at least mentally if nothing else to the patterns. My very special kids LOVE repetitive books. I sing almost everything on s-m so that they can repeat and slowly they are developing singing voices. I actually have heard vocal improvement. Do the ones everybody knows and find new ones. I discovered at the super bargain bin at Wally world a book called "What Makes a Rainbow?" It's worth finding. I made up way to sing s-m lyrics for the words that I can repeat for every color of the rainbow. By the third color, the kids join in. And they really do like this book. A little bunny asks his (her?) mom what makes a rainbow and then s/he finds a red lady bug who says red makes a rainbow. Next page an orange fox, then a yellow chick, etc. The coolest thing about this book is that when you open the red page, a red satin ribbon appears near the top of the page. As you add colors throughout the story, more colors appear till at the end you have 7 pieces of ribbon that are really very pretty as the go across the page about an inch from the top. AND then, when you turn the last page, Mama Rabbit says, Ah, but you also need the sun' and there's a pop-up of the rainbow with a sun on it. It always evokes an 'aaaaah.' Another thing is that each child must have an IEP. Ask to read them. That may give you a clue about what the teachers are focusing on in their class. You may have something special that lights up in your brain when you read the IEP's. Heck - ask the teacher what s/he wishes that you could reinforce. -- Martha in Tallahassee
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10/04 LIGHTS I'd turn the lights down low and play different styles of music for them. If autism is an issue, don't play it too loudly as they don't react well to loud sounds. Do things with them that involve their senses. They just need stimulation through musical means. I'd request suggestions from the special ed. teacher, as it's part of their job to clue you in. Web searches for music therapy might also give you some ideas. I worked in a special needs unit much like the one you described. I wound up thoroughly enjoying my time with them. I hope you do, too. -- Linda in KY
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12/03 ARTICLE This is an interesting article in the latest TIME magazine- about young children and aggressive behavior. I am having my college students respond to this article for their final.
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04/03 CHORDS I teach chords on hand bells , boomwhackers and glockenspiels.
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04/03 SEATING MAT We use a musical mat activity called Playtangle. It is an individual mat for each child that has shapes, colors and numbers. A song tape with 10 songs is used with the mat. Scripted music and movement lessons come with the mats. I have used these with my special ed students at school, adding scarves and instruments and it is very good.
These mats are available through a company called Therapy Zone. They give a 20% school discount when you order 10 mats or more with the teacher kit.
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DEFINITION OF SEVERELY DISABLED: What does "severely disabled" mean in the context of brain functioning?
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08/02 STICKERS One thing I have tried that is very effective with behavior in special ed classes is to give stickers for "super students" If they get a sticker they get to do something fun at the end - if not then they get to sit out and watch.
----if the music walks, hops, gallops, skips, runs, etc. (3-5 minutes)
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ENJOY!!My school houses seven self-contained classes - classes with various mental, emotional, and behavior issues. These classes are always a challenge, simply devising lesson plans for each class each week is a full-time job. In my fourth year teaching these classes, I finally feel like "I GOT IT!"After so much time with these special kids, I really believe that our job as music educators is to ENJOY! Some of these kids have NOTHING to look forward to - we bring beauty, laughter, imagination and MUSIC to their lives. I cannot imagine a greater gift to give these kids...
2. Instrument time - practice keeping the beat, explore and discuss instrument timbre (woods, metals, skins, pitched, unpitched, etc.) (included with number one or number 4; 2 minutes) 3. Voice exploration - singing, speaking, whispering, shouting; sing simple songs; couldn't live without solfege! AFTER THREE YEARS, THESE GUYS SING BEAUTIFULLY!! (8-10 minutes)
4. Every class we have at least one speech piece - A Horse and a Flea, Way Down South, etc.; we always add the beat, instrument sounds, change voice, etc., dramatize (8-10 minutes)
5. Motor Skills Development - guided listening activities where we decide if the music walks, hops, gallops, skips, runs, etc. (3-5 minutes)
6. Something Fun! They LOVE Greg & Steve CD's (3-5 minutes)
7. Cool Down - Listen to lullaby type song, relax, and line up (2 minutes)
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01/02 TALENT SHOW For Talent show program: I have an idea. How about giving them instruments like: maracas,
tambourines, and a couple of drums, and letting them play a band with
recorded music (instrumental)? They could do this with minimal practice.
And it would sound good, and they would have fun.
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01/02 TALENT DAY (I have two special needs students who keep asking me if they can be in
Talent Day. I would love to let them, but I can't think of what to teach
them. One student has Downs Syndrome and the other has no diagnosis, but
is pretty low functioning. Can you give me ideas of an activity I can do
with them that they can do together for Talent Day?)
I have discovered that my special ed kids just like to be included. I have had good luck combining them with other children and having them "accompany" on the tambourine, or drum. Some of my older kids like to help others enough that they are willing to "co-star" and then it is billed equally.
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I have two special ed classes two times a week. The first group is grade 1-3
(7 students) and can be as old as 10. The second group is grade 4-5 and ages
from 9-13 (10-12 students). I do lots of games with them from Special Days
and Games level 1,2,3, all written by Denise Gagne- (Themes and Variations.)
I do lots of fun songs such as Swimming, Pluto, Down by the Bay, Ram sam sam,
Johnny plays with one hammer, etc. I also did with the older group music from
K-8 - We are the children of the 21st century, Land of the silver birch etc.
With the younger group-Dip it ( easter song) Beannie song and they all brought
beannie babies from home. I do anything i would with a normal class, I just
move a little slower and try to keep their attention by keeping the class
moving. They loved working with the instruments and they love doing a simple
bordon on the xylaphones.
07/05 GENERAL IDEAS Would your student be able to mirror movement? echo free movement or vocal sounds with you? simple songs? Some autistic students with whom I've worked some have been upset by drum sounds yet not by something high pitched like recorder, and some vice versa. It's so individual, it may take some experimentation to find out what s/he responds best to. Be sure to look at this child's IEP, too. You may get some ideas from the goals in other areas (assuming none have been written for music). Is there a chance this student might at some point be included with a class? If primary aged, s/he might eventually learn a game or song that is repeated over several weeks. -- Edie Daigle Elementary Music Specialist, Orff Schulwerk Certified Kearsarge Regional School District,
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07/05 GENERAL One lady came and demonstrated how she used "deep pressure" on a child's shoulders or knees to help him/her focus better. Often these children are very defensive to being touched and this procedure helps them get gradually used to being touched. One lady even rocked one child gently to relax him before I started the lesson. One can then move on to doing one-on-one keeping the beat on his knees or shoulders or whatever. Bouncing a puppet on their knees also gets their attention while you are singing to them. Giving them unusual percussion instruments, e.g. cabasa or guiro, to explore is also a good idea. Go hand-over-hand and help them make sounds with it...or have an aide help you with this. I've also found that often these children can be aurally defensive as well. One child I had came to me unable to stand the sound of a single guitar string being plucked. He also became agitated when he heard a violin solo on a CD reach a high range. Check with occupational therapists as well. They are working on body image and coordination goals. One more idea: having these children bounce to the beat on a huge oversized gym ball (while an aide is spotting them or lightly holding their arms so they don't fall off) is something they enjoy. You need to carefully choose music that isn't really loud, though. Every child IS unique...some autistic children are low- functioning, but others I've worked with, like asper- ger's syndrome children, can be very verbal and gifted. It all depends! -- Veronika Schultz
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07/05 GENERAL For me, asking (and observing) a music therapist at the school for the district's low functioning students solved the problem. The first epiphany for me was "partial participation". We would do a number of songs from music therapy texts, using visual aids for student choice. For example the song "Signs Are Everywhere" is about stop signs, bathroom signs, ...During the song, the student picks one of the signs from a pile on the floor, I often did most of the singing. During another, "I Have a Dinosaur", the student picks the dinosaur of their choice and has to sing the color (or I sang the color) while the child stomps on the floor. For the more severely autistic, it took a few classes of repetition to see any participation. Much of the issue for me was letting go of academic music goals, and focusing, instead on IEP goals (which are often about eye contact, color and number recognition, making choices,...) Sorry about the "War and Peace"-length treatise, I have more info. if you'd like it. Just know that it takes time and repetition (autistic students generally enjoy the predictability of repetition). -- Becky Dougan
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11/03 I recently discovered a great album by William Janiak, Songs About Me. One of the songs, Stand Up, Sit Down has been very successful for all my students, including the non-verbal Autistic ones.
He also has another album, More Songs About Me. They are available from Kimbo Educational (www.kimboed.com)
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10/03 I had a class like this several years ago and I cried when they moved them to another school. You will eventually love them! I hadn't the slightest what to do with them, so I experimented:
2. Rhythm Stick records: we would put sticks in their hands, stand behind them, and help them follow the directions. They really liked this.
3. We helped them do the chicken dance. Not very well mind you, because we would start laughing too.
4. We would sit in the floor, I and the teachers would sing, and I would help each of them strum on the autoharp.
5. I would just strum the autoharp and give them all rhythm instruments and let them bang away. The lowest functioning child could keep the beat like a metronome! He started banging his maracas together one day, and the classroom teacher reached out to stop him when I told her to stop and look at what he was doing. We were floored, he was keeping the beat perfectly!
6. Drumming: we would help them keep the beat, and in some cases just let them bang away.
7. Christmas Makes Me Smile from Music K8, we would help them do what we could of this song and dance around on the parts that they couldn't do. They loved this one!
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One day I brought out my largest drums. I played music that had a very strong steady beat. Like you I didn't know what to do so I experimented. Children who had never responded at all , with help, began to beat on the drums. I got smiles on faces and teacher couldn't believe what the children could do. If you should have success with this activity, do it every time you see the class. Encourage the classroom teacher to have children play drums in the classroom. (There should be spec. ed funds to pay for instruments. ) As my students began to maintain any sort of rhythm, I saw some improvement in behavior and response. One little boy would open my classroom door whenever his class passed by, and would run immediately to the drums. Prior to this, we couldn't even get him to sit in his chair or participate in any activity.
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You said you are in a small private school so this child probably has no IEP
or services provided to him. It sounds like he needs many services that
simply may not be available due to lack of insurance coverage or other
reasons. Most medical insurance policies no longer cover services for kids
such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, autism services, counseling,
etc... Most insurance companies view these services as something the
public schools are mandated to provide to children who qualify and who need
them. ( and they ARE) If this [child's] parents are like us, our income is not
low enough to qualify our son for SSI benefits, despite his disabilities.
TESTING: http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/testing.ADD.html
ARTICLES & RESOURCES on ADHD: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/gen-1.html
BIPOLAR PARENT GUIDE: http://www.bpkids.org/
BIPOLAR/DEPRESSION: http://www.dbsalliance.org/
BIPOLAR & PHARMACOLOGY: http://home.comcast.net/~pmbrig/BP_pharm.html
BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/lesson-plans/lesson-10155.html
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INCLUSION
I feel that the aide should absorb as much responsibility in helping this student to play, sing, etc. as is possible - or that you are both comfortable with - because you have *the rest of the class* to work with!! You cannot be next to him the entire time, or always holding his instrument, etc. I would feel it might leave the rest of the class open to problems, but that's just me; maybe I don't have the knowledge or confidence to effectively manage this type of classroom situation, but hey, I've only been at this for a few years! :) I have found student helpers to be very helpful in the upper grades, but I don't know about kindergartners; they need to learn it first before they can help someone else. BACK to Special Needs topics
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GIFTED
09/03 So many people don't. I taught at a gifted pull-out school for 10 years as the music teacher. I had K-8 kids who were 130 IQ or better, from public, private, parochial and home schools. It was the best gig of my life, not a great match for many teachers, but wonderful for me. I started out as a gifted child and related perfectly to them since I have...ahem... direct experience with their type of existence. Been there, still doing that.
I taught 16 years without knowing that there were gifted "characteristics" that were typical. When I had been teaching about 12 years I heard about them at a faculty meeting and I cried. I had no idea how typical I was, after all these years of feeling so different.
I also didn't know that some teachers hate to teach gifted kids because they are threatened by these kids who can think right past them.
I didn't know the difference between extra work and enriched work, much less the concept of a differentiated curriculum. (This is jargon that has a specific meaning, by the way.)
I didn't realize that gifted kids are not always top of the group in every subject. Often they are very capable in many subjects, including athletics and the arts, and just normal in another.I didn't realize that the gifted population AS A GROUP behaves differently than high achieving kids with lower IQ's.
I didn't know that more gifted kids drop out of school than you could ever believe or that they have the highest suicide rate of teens.
I didn't know how many times gifted kids heard from teachers "if you're so smart, why can't you remember to bring a pencil" or something like that. How absolutely insulting....
Here's another one that shows the ignorance of the general population: "Gifted kids don't need any help. They're already the head of the classes - just ignore them, they'll be all right" (said by a principal in my district).
If you notice that the distinction seems to blur, then you may enjoy the mental challenge of reviewing all those kids you knew in high school in band, chorus, etc. How many of them were also in Honor Society, etc.? What does this mean for all those statistics that show that the kids who are in music in schools do better on the SAT, etc.? Hmmmmm......
========
Here's why gifted kids tend to be some of your best
musicians: Compared to the general population,
2 - they have a deeper sense of beauty and sensitivity, something that music can bring to them.
3 - they perceive patterns faster and better. And music is FULL of patterns.
4 - they tend to apply what you taught them to new learnings and try to make connections for themselves.
5 - they learn cognitive information faster and with considerably less repetition.
6 - they tend to get deeply immersed in a particular subject that interests them and suck it dry - so you'll have a child who suddenly wants to know everything about Mozart or clarinets or how to make a CD, for example. Or who earns every recorder belt in a month.
7- they tend to have great senses of humor, which is associated with their ability to make connections, that makes a performance class lighter and more pleasurable. And silly, sometimes, so you have to be gentle but clear about the edges of accepability.
8- they tend to love to read which works with reading music as well.
9- they want to know "why." Try to explain "why" a steady beat is so universal, why duple meter is so ubiquitous, why we sing..... go ahead.... it will challenge the teacher to think!
10 - they tend to be very creative. Getting them to improvise and compose is usually not much trouble. Their ideas tend to come fast, frequent and unique.
11 - they tend to love to learn.
They are kids. They need correcting and hugs. They have tendencies and propensities, as do we all, that can be trained, shaped, improved. They have intellectual strengths and weaknesses. They have different intelligences (as in Gardner)along with their higher IQ's. They are just kids. But they ARE different and should be understood and treated as the unique individuals that they are.
Do I love these kids? With all my heart and mind.If there's anything I can do for anyone on the list to help them learn more about their gifted kids , please let me know. I am an unofficial gifted kid advocate. - Contributed by Martha in Tallahassee, NBCT
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I once had a pull-out program for my 4th and 5th grade musically gifted students. They were my tone chime ensemble and we performed throughout the community--especially area retirement/nursing homes. It was a great group to work with! I usually chose the students based upon performance in my general music class. They also had to take a short theory oriented quiz and have approval from both parent and homeroom teacher.
------------------------
At my school (Loreto Normanhurst) we have been running for two years a program which we call the Autonomous Learner Program. It began because we wanted to try to make students more responsibile for their own learning and less dependent on spoon fed content. We want to put the emphasis on the learner rather than the teacher. We realise that if this is to happen successfully the students need skills or strategies they can use to be effective learners so we have a program of skills which different subject areas teach. Broadly we decided to concentrate on three areas - organisational, work management skills; general thinking skills (including many ideas from deBono);and basic school requirements of most subject areas (e.g. notemaking, accessing reasearch) The program is now in its second year and is slowly moving from a separate program to one that is truly embedded in the regular offerings of subjects. It has had different amounts of success according to teacher interest and
understanding.
--------------
Some really good features of it have been:
1. the shared published program across departments - so everyone can see things others are doing and try to reinforce particular skills and strategies in their own areas.
2. the increased level of staff talk about learning.
3. the breadth of the program. Because we are catering for students from many different learning backgrounds and styles, and many different ability levels, we have tried to offer something for everyone. Interestingly, when students have evaluated the program at the end of semester, their comments have shown the validity of doing this.
1. Maintenaince. As staff changes occur there are increasing numbers of teachers who don't know the thinking behind the program and so don't implement it successfully. We had some staff sessions before we began it but if you weren't there, you come at it cold.
2. The separation of the skill from material to which it should be applied is a perrennial. We are trying to overcome that by continually talking at department level. (de Bono of course says the skill needs teaching first without the confusion of significant content, but there is a sense in which this trivialises the skills and makes them seem not related to the real learning kids need to do)
3. The overload of content in the curriculum in many areas. The influence of the HSC driven senior curriculum - the need to pump out the content to achieve results (which parents demnd) mitigates against allowing students to discover things and make mistakes and learn fromthem etc. While this shouldn't stop teachers adopting a different approach in junior years it seems to.
4. The vast difference in abilities of children - especially in junior classes which are heterogeneous. Very bright students who employ some of the strategies naturally can get very turned off if too long is spent.
5. The apporoach really represents a paradigm shift on old methods - and while this isn't still new in the 1990's, its many classroom
implications are still not understood by lots of teachers parents and students.
1. how much even some of the very brightest students need to be taught basic rote knowledge and strategies. e.g. it hadn't ocurred to some that teachers record marks for all work they take in, so failing to do work will affect their reports. "Only class tests count" some said to me. These students are disappointed with their reports because success in this way is important to them. The gaps in even the cleverest are quite significant.
2. Student organisation is a critical issue. The most popular topic in Year 7 1996 was homework management skills - tricky to teach, but the Geography and Maths teachers tried and 90% of students asked for more!
3. Any approach picks up some students and leaves others out - so variety is important. The lesson that LOTE teachers gave on finding word origins and meanings was declared BORING!!! by most students, but for three or four girls (probably very bright students) it was the VERY BEST LESSON in the whole program.
----------
Investigate the organization Exceptional Children and the publication as well.
------------
I once had a pull-out program for my 4th and 5th grade musically gifted students. They were my tone chime ensemble and we performed throughout the community--especially area retirement/nursing homes. It was a great group to work with! I usually chose the students based upon performance in my
general music class. They also had to take a short theory oriented quiz and have approval from both parent and homeroom teacher.
------------
Resources
"Primary Measures of Music Audition" and "Musical Aptitude Profile" both by Edwin Gordon
"Measure of Creative Thinking in Music" by Peter R. Webster,
"Music Achievement Test" by Richard Colwell ($30 per test), and
"Simons Measurements of Music Listening Skills" by Gene M. Simons
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I have a book that has many good ideas about evaluations for giftedness, and samples several of the tests on your list, including
the Musical Aptitude Profile. When I taught for the Governor's School (a summer program for the gifted) we used this test, and I
have used it at other times when this kind of evaluation was necessary. The book is TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS IN MUSIC
by Paul R. Lehman(Prentic-HAll). It was published in 1968, so there may be a whole new horizon of tests made available since then.
---------------
I am familiar and have used Edwin Gordons Musical Aptitiude Tests. I do find them quite accurate. There is a Primary Aptitude Test (PMMA) which I used for grades K-2 and an Intermediate Test which used for Grade 3-5 or 6. There is also an advanced measure test for 7-12+. The Primary and Intermediate level tests are two fold-tonal and rhythmic aptitude. In tonal, they identify if two pitch patterns are the same or different and same for rhythmic patterns. The intermediate level is a little more challenging (longer patterns with closer intervals).
----------------
As a teacher of the gifted in rural NC for over 15 years, I can only say a big AMEN. I taught music here under a grant in 1980 and my two children were 10 and 12 at the time, identified gifted with no special services, and also in my performing groups. My son loved his role as the techno person; my daughter learned everyone's instrumental part and every performance she filled in for at least one person. I find myself doing that now as I work with students today. I can explain to the child that I need something very special from them and why and I know I can depend on them. I have several very responsible gifted children who literally take care of me at performance time and leading up to it. They feel great and I'm relieved. Go forth, appreciate those kids' abilities, and utilize them. They needn'T be up front on stage to feel important.
---------------------
I am a music therapist and I currently work with children in an early intervention program. I would suggest that you contact the American Music Therapy Association (their web site is http://www.musictherapy.org/) in Silver Spring, MD. They might know of someone in your area, or an agency in your area that provides music for children with disabilites.
BACK to Special Needs topics
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LEARNING DISABLED
04/02 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/
It's not music related but it's a fascinating insight into learning
disabilities
-----------------------------
Silver Burdette published a book in 1979 "Reaching the Special Learner Through Music" by Sona D.Nocera.
Love grows one by one
Two by two and four by four
Love grows around like a circle
And comes back knocking at your front door
Voice by voice we sing it
Choir by choir we fill up the world
With the music that we bring it
We'll each take the hand of another
One by one we'll reach for all
Our sisters and our brothers
------------
Language processing is primarily lateralized in the left hemisphere (in right handed individuals). Although a great deal of the neuro-anatomy of the "musical" brain is not known, it does appear that certain musical skills (particularly the perception of melody) is strongly lateralized in the right hemisphere. I just returned from a conference during which Dr. Antonio Damasio, professor of neurology at the University of Iowa, showed a video tape of a patient who had undergone surgery during which the ENTIRE left hemisphere was removed (due to a lesion - this was a short-lived protocol in the 1960s). The gentleman could not articulate the words for the simplest objects, yet when he was asked
to SING, he had no difficulty whatsoever.
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I used music for years when teaching my learning disabled students, and never thought of it as music therapy...rather as just a "normal" part of the teaching and learning experience and as integral as reading, writing or anything else!
When I worked with K children I wrote a song/story for every letter of the alphabet and my kids loved it. They not only learned, they remembered from then on - that's the power of music.
BACK to Special Needs topics
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MENTALLY HANDICAPPED
12/13 If these are students with motor skill issues, there are some percussion instruments made especially for students with limited range of motion - they're usually called adaptive instruments. I bought some called "Fingerstix" a few years ago from West music, but the student moved before I could try them out. They are small rhythm sticks that attach to fingers with Velcro loops. Also, check out this link: http://americandrum.com/catalog/therapy/therapycuffs.html for some other ideas, depending on your budget. If you don't have the budget for these, ask the sped teacher if they can order them with their budget money. ---- Carol Parnell
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12/07 RESOURCE: I use Denise Gagne's Singing Games and Actions Songs!! Excellent resources for students with disabilities. I usually do the same songs and games every week since these students thrive on repetition. I will also occassionally use an Mk8 song that involves movement such as the ever-popular "Freeze" dance, etc. -- Leah Isenberg
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12/07 LIFE SKILLS CLASS (Low functioning, mostly non-verbal) One class was ages 5-8, the other ages 9-12.
Here are some of their favorite activities from my last playlist:
1. Good Morning - (Greg and Steve) This was our warm-up song which never changed throughout the year. I would go to each student with palms of hands facing out and we would sway to the beat of the music. By the end of the year they would put their hands out to meet me when I came to them. This was huge!
2. My Head and My Shoulders - We pointed to body parts. On the interlude, we played the drums.
3. ABC Rock - I laminated cards with the alphabet letters on them ,and let them point to the letters as the song played.
4. Old MacDonald Had A Farm - Music K-8 version - We used puppets for this one.
5. Wheels on the Bus - Music K-8 version. I had a squeeze-type bicycle horn that we sounded at the end of each verse.
6. Freeze - Music K-8- I used a elastic stretchie circle, and we all held on to it and moved and then froze.
7. Elephants Have Wrinkles - (Movement Songs Children Love) - This was their all-time favorite! I had a beanie baby elephant that I would use to touch the parts of the body named in the song,
8. Snowpants - Music K-8
9. Rainbow Rock - Music K-8 - Waving streamers.
10. Ring Around the Rosy - Use the elastic stretchie mentioned above. Everyone holds on, walks in a circle, and falls down at the same time.
11. Jingle Bells
12. Clap Stamp Shake - Movement Songs Children Love - This was our ending song which never changed all year. They loved this song!
-------------------------
11/03 I recently discovered a great album by William Janiak, Songs About Me. One of the songs, Stand Up, Sit Down has been very successful for all my students, including the non-verbal Autistic ones.
He also has another album, More Songs About Me. They are available from Kimbo Educational (http://www.kimboed.com/).-- Contributed by Pat Bellar
----------------------
09/03 One child is an elective mute...never has spoken in class yet. We were playing on cardboard tube drums and then I showed them how a gallon cafeteria can may be used like a drum, a guiro, and also a megaphone. I went to each child in turn in the circle to get them to say their name into the can. Kennedy just sang "hmmm" into the can and everyone was amazed that he had responded.......Unlike the rest of teh class who can be quite noisy. At the end of the day while they were waiting for the Sp. Ed bus each one of the children gave me a bear hug and said "thank you" in their own way. - Contributed by Sue Michiels
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I had a class this year of "non-verbal" students. They were about 1st grade age range. An option class of 8 students. We did alot of rhythms! I used as many pictures and charts as possible. We used upper body movement, using our hands to copy my movement. One little
boy was very unsteady and wore a helmet. Also using velcro strips to help them hold onto the instruments like bells, finger cymbals and triangles worked. I laminated picture sheets to go with songs, to help them follow the song as I sang or played it. Each student could hold the picture page in their lap. We also used sign language for songs about color, numbers, anything visual was successful.
I also had them try to get a sound out of pop bottles by blowing across the opening. This was to reinforce the idea of breath support that their classroom teacher was trying to teach. I used cut out figures glued to pop-sicle sticks, for example horses, to move up and down to the beat when I played a pony song . And of course I gave out music stickers and gave lots of praise to them.! AND I always insist that the teacher aides always be in music with them. I would appreciate any ideas for this class though! I am exhausted when their class is done!
You might find this little action song useful. I teach young special needs children and find that they enjoy the naming, movement, counting and singing involved. I feel it is also suitable for young children in mainstream and that it might be a fun way of reinforcing counting skills. Counting Song Subject Area: Early Number + Music Subtopic /Strand: Counting 1- 5 + Movement to Music Level: Early Childhood (3-5)
One person, hands up in the air and her/his name is -----.
Two people clapping their hands, clapping their hands, clapping their hands.
Two people clapping their hands, and their names are ---- and ----.
Three people sitting on the floor, sitting on the floor, sitting on the floor.
Three people sitting on the floor, and their names are ---- and ---- and ----.
Four people turning all around, turning all around, turning all around etc.
Five people jumping up and down etc.
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I have a fourth grade student in the same situation. I have a little "desk" that is vel-croed (spelling??) to his wheelchair--thanks to a former attendant from a few years ago. I got a child's size bass drum mallet, made the handle larger by placing a cardboard tube over it. (I taped it on both ends to the bass drum handle.) He "bangs" the desk according to the rhythms we are playing. This seems to keep him involved and he is responsible for learning the rhythms. (Although, I know this is not something that he can totally grasp.) I don't know that this is a perfect idea, but it at least gives him a job. I have found that playing a drum is too hard for him (and others in the situation) because he can't control where he "hits" the mallet. Using the wheelchair desk is perfect because it's a large area. Also, using a drum is much louder and is a bitdistractive.
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In the Monday class, I can cater to their whimsey and special needs. We might sing the same song 4 times, if I get a response. One of their favorites is "Get On Board, Little Children." We begin it with choo-choos speeding up, and a woo-woo, then sing the song twice, then the choo-choos and the woo-woo. Some of the kids will sing, others merely vocalize or do hand motions. Part of their education/therapy is communication, which for them can include speech therapy and modified signing; so while we sing, we often include signing.BACK to Special Needs topics
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OTHER
"Special Needs" can run quite a gamut - we mainstream kids as much as
possible in our district - it depends on what their issues are - I have
one crack baby who is successful by not running from the room, another
kid with fragile X who is successful in repeating rythms, an autistic kid
who makes up rhythms, sings and perseverates to music, a Downe's syndrome
child who just came in last week able to honk through "Mary Had a Little
Lamb" on a recorder - in tempo, with good breath support.
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I had a similar problem with a wheelchair student when I taught dulcimers to my 2nd graders. After trial and error, I had him play the same melody notes on songbells, or glocks, or xylophones, whichever I had out. Maybe your student would have luck with this, especially with removeable bars; ...no mistakes.
I would try a bell set or even a soprano xylophone (then you can adapt it even further is you need too). There are special mallots you can buy (West music has them) that fit better in the hand, although a strap of some sort would work too (most cerebral palsey kids can't hold onto a mallot tight enough). He should also have an aide coming to class with him who can help him as needed.
I learned quite a bit in college about special learners, but of course most of it escapes me now. Something I do remember is that when a child has trouble holding instruments, elastic becomes your best friend. You can put elastic on mallets that will attatch to the child's hand. An instrument like the rain stick will probably be easiest for the child you described. You may also move his hands for him, helping him play the instruments, or assign a child to be his special helper. You'd be surprised how well little kids deal with this sort of thing. MENC has a great little book called "TIPS: Music for the Special Learner." It has plenty of fantastic ideas and methods that cater to children with special needs, so they are never left out of the fun.
In response to a request re: child in wheelchair (1st grade) who can only use her mouth:
Last year I had two boys (gr. 6) with CP. I spoke with West Music's music therapist and she was most helpful by sending information and making recommendations. She did say that they would not be successful on keyboards, bells or the zithers (fine motor) and suggested Omnichord and autoharps. I'm eager to experiment, so we tried keyboard as both boys were highly motivated to play them. With the help of each boy's aide (holding their arm) they were able to play the tune quite well and were very proud of their work. The Omnichord and autoharps were much easier, but I'm pleased we tried the keyboards and so are they.
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I teach a class of special needs kids (elementary) who are joined by the
middle school class of similar kids. Sometimes I have as many as 11 or 12
kids and quite a few adults. I always start with a "Hello" song and end
with a "Goodbye" song since routine is helpful to them. We do a lot of
echo clapping simple patterns, reading simple patterns (a few can do it).
I use a lot of books with songs - i.e. They love "Brown Bear" and any
Raffi books, to name a few. Any action songs my younger kids like, seem to
work with these kids. When we listen to a piece of music, we always have a
movement activity.(The scarves is something they enjoy.) BACK to Special Needs topics
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PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED
06/06 LIST SERVE: Check out www.musictherapy.org there is a nice list-serve filled with folks who work with children with disabilities all of the time that have fabulous ideas.
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06/06 WAYS TO ATTACH INSTRUMENTS TO STUDENTS: Perhaps jingle bell bracelets that have Velcro and can be worn on the wrist, interlaced through fingers, or place around an ankle would work. Also picking up some foam tubing that can be slipped over the handle of a maraca, or mallet so that it has a larger and softer space for gripping and can be gently placed into the students hand. If the student is able to move their arms vertically or horizontally, then with a maraca/jingle bells they will offer a contributing sound. --- Brenda Williams
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If you need aids for physically challenged people, check out this website: http://www.adaysworkmusiceducation.com/ -- Karen Stafford
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10/05 There's a great little company I've established a relationship with thru my web sites called "A Day's Work in Music Education". This man develops adaptive tools to enable physically challenged kids to participate in band more fully. http://www.adaysworkmusiceducation.com/
-- Karen Stafford "The Music Education Madness Site" http://www.musiceducationmadness.com/, [email protected]
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10/05 Sequencing, sequencing and more sequencing.....he can certainly color some pix....then, he can use these pictures and put them in the order that he hears them (basic order, of course) ex: if you are listening to a selection, what instrument does he hear during the intro? (You can give him 1 correct choice with 2 incorrect choices, never more than 3 choices), then what instrument does he hear for the melody.....his aide can be in charge of giving him the pix to choose from. Also, if you are watching a video clip, he can sequence what happened first, next and finally. If you are doing rhythm excercises with the class, he can be "in charge" of playing on the 1st beat of each measure, if he can do this (with limited assistance), then try to get hime to be "in charge" of the steady beat (with asst. of course).
------------------------------------------
11/03 I recently discovered a great album by William Janiak, Songs About Me. One of the songs, Stand Up, Sit Down has been very successful for all my students, including the non-verbal Autistic ones.
He also has another album, More Songs About Me. They are available from Kimbo Educational (www.kimboed.com)
--------------------
9/01 We have a 3rd grade girl in a wheelchair, and I've had her for music since
Kindergarten. I pretty much took my cues from her - she did everything she
was able to. I seat her on the end of a row so she has room. Generally when
we are moving she will move her chair - she does great circles! She is not
at all self-conscious or self-pitying, so she is "just one of the group."
During programs she is on the floor, in front, and I stand a couple of her
friends with her so she is not alone. When she had a part needing a
microphone, a friend handed it to her.
----------------
I learned quite a bit in college about special learners, but of course most of it escapes me now. Something I do remember is that when a child has trouble holding instruments, elastic becomes your best friend. You can put elastic on mallets that will attatch to the child's hand. An instrument like the rain stick will probably be easiest for the child you described. You may also move his hands for him, helping him play the instruments, or assign a child to be his special helper. You'd be surprised how well little kids deal with this sort of thing. MENC has a great little book called "TIPS: Music for the Special Learner." It has plenty of fantastic ideas and methods that cater to children with special needs, so they are never left out of the fun.
-----------------
She was involved in a hunting accident in Oct. and lost her left index finger to the second joint.
-----------------
National Association for Music Therapy:
8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1000
Silver Spring, MD 20910
1-301-589-3300
------------------
I would try a bell set or even a soprano xylophone (then you can adapt it even further is you need too). There are special mallots you can buy (West music has them) that fit better in the hand, although a strap of some sort would work too (most cerebral palsey kids can't hold onto a mallot tight enough). He should also have an aide coming to class with him who can help him as needed.
----------------
I have a fourth grade student in the same situation. I have a little "desk" that is vel-croed (spelling??) to his wheelchair--thanks to a former attendant from a few years ago. I got a child's size bass drum mallet, made the handle larger by placing a cardboard tube over it. (I taped it on both ends to the bass drum handle.) He "bangs" the desk according to the rhythms we are playing. This seems to keep him involved and he is responsible for learning the rhythms. (Although, I know this is not something that he can totally grasp.) I don't know that this is a perfect idea, but it at least gives him a job. I have found that playing a drum is too hard for him (and others in the situation) because he can't control where he "hits" the mallet. Using the wheelchair desk is perfect because it's a large area. Also, using a drum is much louder and is a bit distractive.
-------------
I also have a handicapped girl in a wheelchair. She has very limited motion with her hands and can swing her legs a bit. I called the West catalog. Another person on this list helped me to learn that West has a music therapist on staff. I called her and asked her for suggestions on what I could do with my student. She is there M-F until 12 noon. I also found that the omnichord will work well as I can use that in our class time.
http://www.disabled-musicians.org/musicpap.htmlBACK to Special Needs topics
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RECORDER, TEACHING THE
10/12 My student had an unusable right hand, but wanted to play both "top" and "bottom" notes. We took a spare recorder, covered the thumb and left finger holes with tape, and the student "wore" 2 recorders: 1 "regular" one, and the taped one. He insisted on getting all of his Recorder Karate belts. The 2 handed ones, he'd play twice - once with the left hand part, and the other time playing the lower notes. The kids enviously called him " The Doubler." It was a great solution for that (really intelligent} student, since the Aulos special recorder would not work for him because he lacked enough usable digits.(Yes, we tried several variations on it. ----- Barb in FL
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08/15 Check out our description of the Aulos Adaptable recorder ($19.45):
http://www.westmusic.com/p/aulos-a204af-soprano-recorder-for-players-wdisabilities-400220
The Aulos Adapted Soprano Recorder is for soprano recorder players with finger disabilities. In addition to the head piece, there are six separate sections for holes, fitting smoothly into one another. By rotating the holes and plugging certain holes, the soprano recorder can accommodate fingers that are missing or do not function normally. Once adjusted for an individual's hand, the sections may then be glued into permanent position. A person with any six usable digits can play an entire chromatic scale from C' to A'''. If seven fingers are available in any combination, the range is extended by three semitones. It may work for your student.---- Kristyn Johnson
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10/12 I also have a student with physical disabilities. He only has 1 finger. I will have him player a small electric keyboard. That way, he is still reading music and playing the same songs. His mom is very happy about it and I have also done this with a student with learning disabilities that found playing the recorder way too difficult with the fingerings, but he did okay with the keyboard.-----Deanna Liou
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07/11 http://www.westmusic.com/1002411-recorders/g6000-recorders/g6000b-soprano/aulos-a204af-c-soprano-recorder-for-players-w-disabilities.htm\
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07/11 RAISED HOLES: I use precorders from Suzuki Instruments. They are only $3. They have raised holes and they are perfect for disabled children. I use them for my 3rd graders. They sound like recorders and the fingering is straight up (no switching). I do recorder karate every year and the kids love them as they also come in three colors.---- Linda McVety Naples, Me. K-3
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THREE FINGERS AND ONE THUMB ON EACH HAND: http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.php?product_group=1531
Aulos Adapted Recorder, $18.95
The Aulos Adapted Soprano Recorder is for soprano recorder players
with finger disabilities. In addition to the head piece, there are six
separate sections for holes, fitting smoothly into one another. By
rotating the holes and plugging certain holes, the soprano recorder
can accommodate fingers that are missing or do not function normally.
Once adjusted for an individual's hand, the sections may then be glued
into permanent position. A person with any six usable digits can play
an entire chromatic scale from C' to A'''. If seven fingers are
available in any combination, the range is extended by three semitones.
------------------------------
06/09 NO RIGHT HAND: When you get to songs with more notes that student might feel left out. I had a student a while back that has some mouth and breathing problems. Instead I let that student use a xylotphone instead or a electric keyboard would also works. Have the student play the same notes on that or even on boomwhackers if you have them. The parent may be able to supply a small one or two octave keyboard though for just such a use or ask pta to buy it. You might even get that student to play accompaniment chords for your group. --- Listee, MK8 Newsletter
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06/09 NO RIGHT HAND: I had a student who could only use one hand. He used two recorders. One had the thumb hole and top three holes covered with masking tape. He could then play G and down. His other recorder was a regular one so he could play G on up. If we played a song mainly G and up but with a few lower notes, he'd play the one with no tape. I bought one of those adaptive recorders, but they only work well when you have use of at least 6 fingers so that was a waste I found. We used a neck strap just like all the other kids so he could maneuver and play even high D because his mouth and the strap supported the recorder even though the thumb was lifted. He blended right in and there was no feeling by him that he stood out in a bad way. --- Laura Bartolomeo
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12/07 We carry an adapted recorder:
http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.tpl?productgroup=1531
You glue it together in a way that works best for the student.
Lynn Crowell, Plank Road Publishing, Inc., Phone: 800-437-0832
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12/07 [For students with ‘numb’ fingers]: I had some success with placing corn pads over the holes for some students with neurological problems. That would give you "raised" holes. -- Edie Daigle Elementary Music Specialist, Orff Schulwerk
http://www.leecolli ns.com/index. htm
He adds keys to recorders and does other custom work to make recorders easier to play. I met several people this summer at a workshop who had keys added to their tenors (and some had the necks "bent") by Lee and were very happy with his work. You could ask him about adding keys or raising tone holes on your recorder. - Alan Purdum
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06/06 UNABLE TO PLAY RECORDER: If they cannot utilize the recorder due to breath control issues or difficulty holding something in their mouth for an extended period of time, perhaps rhythm instruments are the best bet. Maybe a drum in front of the student that is just struck with the hand and not a mallet, and or very gentle hand over hand assistance. Think in terms of what the student can do and not what they can't do, when we focus on the cant's it becomes frustrating and we can feel very helpless and annoyed at having another thing to deal with when we are overworked and stressed. I know that this student has as many can do's as every other child in that class it's just that his cant's are so visibly evident. -- Brenda Williams
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06/06 We have used individual tone bells for [the student] to play on [the] desk table that attaches to the chair. He has an egg shaker that has Velcro to attach to his wrist and he plays the shaker to the songs we sing and play on recorder. I bought a small finger table drum with finger sticks and he plays the drum for some songs as well. A small electric keyboard may also work. I am more concerned that the student feels accepted in the music room than playing the notes correctly. Michelle Ehlers
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06/06 I have a student similar in ability to the student that you are describing. We have used individual tone bells for him to play on his desk table that attaches to the chair. He has an egg shaker that has Velcro to attach to his wrist and he plays the shaker to the songs we sing and play on recorder. I bought a small finger table drum with finger sticks and he plays the drum for some songs as well. A small electric keyboard may also work. I am more concerned that the student feels accepted in the music room than playing the notes correctly. Michelle Ehlers
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07/05 A company that listed with the Music Education Resource Directory who concentrates on adaptable instruments and tools for disabled musicians.
www.adaysworkinmusicmusiceducation.com -- Karen Stafford
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08/04 Aulos sells an adaptive recorder which I have used with great success. Contact: [email protected]
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02/03 West Music has an adaptive recorder. It allows the player to adjust each hole of the recorder to fit their needs. I have just purchased it for a student who has Cerebral Palsy. We haven't used it yet, tho. I have also read some posts where people are using corn pads (for your toes) to raise up the level of the hole so students can reach it easier.
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02/03 I taught a student with muscular dystrophy for several years. Her left hand was stronger than her right hand, so playing recorder was a hard unit for her. We were doing Recorder Karate in class and I made a packet for her that would teach the same skills, but would only require the use her left hand. In it I included:
yellow: Gently Sleep
orange: Merrily We Roll Along
(these are all as is in the Karate packet)
green: Babylon's Fallin' (a Virginia folk song) introduces eighth notes
purple: Norwegian Melody -introduces high C
blue: Go Tell Aunt Rhody (American) - introduces high D
red: German Waltz- introduces tie and dotted half and 3/4 meter
brown: One Man Went to Mow (English)- introduces dotted quarter and whole note
black: Ode to Joy (back to Recorder Karate), except I changed the low D in measure 12 to an A
Contributed by Karen in Austin, TX
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02/02 West Music carries adaptive recorders. I just purchased three @ $17.95
each. They arrived at school the day before our storm hit, so I haven't
gotten them out of the box. They come in seven sections which allows you to
rotate the fingering holes to better align with an individual's fingers.
The catalog, which I don't have here at this moment, explains the number of
fingers required for various scales. Don't quote me on this, but it seems
that the catalog stated than an individual with six fingers would be able
ton play an entire chromatic scale.
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02/02 I bought this for one of my students, but found that it was no help. (I'm not
sure what his disability is.) His OT tried working with him, but his grip is
such that he either can't hold it at all, or his hand is squeezing way too
tightly. He just can't control it. I didn't order the recorder from
recordershop.com, though. I think I got it from RBI (or perhaps it was West)
and the price was only $14.95. I found it in several catalogs and that was
the lowest price I found on it. It was the only adaptive one I was able to
find. Each hole has it's own piece which you set according to the child's
hands and then glue in place. (Glue is included.) It also comes with 2 or 3
rubber plugs to close off holes. There is a chart of alternate fingerings
included, too.
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02/02 I have one for a CP student. Each hole has its own joint so the instrument
can be taken completely apart and twisted to accomodate unusual finger
positions. Some of the holes can be permanently covered when it is used
frequently; i.e., l.h. hole "1" is used with most notes, so it is always
covered. I forget right now how we did this. He's used the instrument for
three years. His left hand is the weaker of the two, although he has
trouble with both hands. It really helps that he is enthusiastic and very
sharp mentally.
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Well, I haven't done the Recorder Karate program, but I do have a
special needs child in class. I was given this idea by another
music teacher and it has worked FABULOUSLY! The parents, child,
and other teachers are thrilled with it.
how about having the hummer experiment with holding the instrument about
a quarter inch from his/her mouth and playing by blowing
"long-distance." A hum just won't cut it. hopefully he/she would get
the idea that you blow not hum into the thing.
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There are recorders where you can change the positioning of individual fingers and then glue them together if the child has resonable mobility...they can play any note with I think is any 6 fingers or at least most of them....Another option is have them keep the steady beat on a drum for the class....The students I've worked with with CP are extremely enthusiastic when it comes to music...they would love the chance!!!
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MULTI-GRADE LEVELS TOGETHER
0/16 I teach Montessori, which has multi grade levels. One of my classes is grades 1-3. I do not do 3 different lessons, I differentiate with my expectations and assessments for these students. For example, I want the students to identify melodic direction. My k and 1 could show me with his body, my 2 and 3 can describe steps , leaps or repeated notes, and my 3-5 could identify what I played on a staff of some kind. --- Jill D. Lee
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I would use the same song, but differentiate according to their
ability-play instruments, sing, move or just enjoy the rhythm of the
music. Your ASD kids might like to learn a song and then improvise-create
new words, make up movements or accompaniments. In my opinion, I think
folk songs are the way to go. There are so many that would be fun and
appropriate for all those grades --- Bonnie Lomax
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01/16 They are
often much different that regular ed. I have goals for my sped kids such
as eye contact, responding to verbal cues, using spoken responses,
participating with others, etc. You can differentiate and meet many
different needs with the same activity. For example, sing the song Down By
The Bay, some students will give you the rhyming word, some will hold a
mallet and play the drum, some will make up a new verse, some will point
out the word that comes next. some will clap the beat, some will just stay
on the rug with you and not run off, Their classroom teacher will love you
if you do this! Don't be afraid, these classes are my very favorite!
Robin Lavinder; music teacher, Franklin County Public Schools
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01/16 Get to know your aides - they can be your best friends in class where class control is needed. Ive had up to 37 in classes that included sped students. They just need to know you need their assistance. Some aides still wont be more than a bump on a log, but keep going, ask them in class to assist Johnny. Be bold and kind:)
Of course give opportunity to all the students to play instruments, sing, etc. Allow your regular students to assist these sped kids. They will enjoy the chance. I've had autistic even in guitar class. When their turn for performance assessment came around, all I required them to do was to echo me in strumming a simple beat. The class cheered as their aides helped when needed. Include sped students in your programs also - keep it simple - get those aides working with them. Last year on our program, the little sped students were a snake and they all went around with their hands on each other's shoulders, making a snake through the whole auditorium. Their parents came. They cried and enjoyed. Their babies were in a program! Enjoy the opportunity, and you will reap the rewards. I promise. ---- Janis Stewart
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MUTISM-SELECTIVE
10/05 I have a sweet young lady who is a selective mute as well. She had just started to get out of it and then in July was in a car wreck and is mute again. She is a first grader this year. In kindergarten she did EVERYTHING I asked except sing and is following that pattern this year. She moves, she participates, she plays instruments, she raises her hand appropriately when my question is the "raise your hand if you think...." type. She pays attention and seems to know mostly everything that goes on. She listens actively during singing.
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10/05 I had a student like this for 3 years. His last year as a 5th grader he finally began whispering a couple of things to me. Never sang, did everything else, communicated through a trusted classmate. Strange, and hard to understand, but that's the way he was. Please honor that and don't intimidate him. Expect him to do everything else class is doing, just don't expect singing and speaking. When he trust you he may open up but expect it to take several years possibly. BTW this boy played recorder beautifully, practiced a lot. -- Ardith J. Roddy
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10/05 I've had two different experiences with this. In both cases it was not a manipulative behavior but rather an emotional one. You just have to be patient. In both cases (boys) they did come around, but only doing things in a group. I would actually see them singing with the class, but if they noticed I was watching they would stop. Eventually they both got comfortable enough to talk and one of them even had a speaking part in my mother's day program, however he was on medication of OCD when he started talking comfortably. -- Deaetta
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10/05 From all I have heard, forcing the issue is counterproductive…… I would definitely try to reach him so he can make responses non-verbally, at least for now. …… Louise Eddington, Muncie, Indiana
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10/05 I have a selective mute that I have been teaching since kindergarten - she is now in 5th grade. I have never heard the sound of her voice. But she is finally starting to show a few signs that she has learned - like clapping rhythms and playing the recorder. She just won't make vocal sounds. I don't expect to ever hear her voice. And I tried, over the last 5 years, everything I could think of. Her classmates would always try to take up for her - "she's shy", etc. - but I would always say, "No, she can do it if she wants to", but to no avail. This will be a losing battle for you. The powers that keep his mouth shut are far greater than you will ever be - you've got to trust me on this. It's not worth the fight because it won't help. I'm not saying not to try - just don't go overboard and don't expect ANY results. Leave the therapy to the docs - hopefully he is seeing one. Encourage him, but don't expect him to suddenly start singing - he won't.
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10/05 I, too, insist on 100% participation BUT.. Helen taught ME something... A student need not sing in order to learn! i taught Helen in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. She eventuly trusted me enough to sing in the group and occassionall utter a barely audible spoken response... but that girl was BRIGHT and knew everything! and could proove it as long as she could respond in writing or gesture.
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08/04 I had a student who suffered with selective mutism up until 3rd grade. She always participated in all of our musical performances, although not singing. I tried to make sure I had some type of motions or sign language to keep you engaged. Sometimes, during a performance, I had her out in front leading the sign language while I played the piano. In 3rd grade, she finally starting talking and singing. She is one of my strongest singers in that class. I almost cried the first time I realized that she was actually singing. We will probably never know exactly what brought her out of her shell, but I'd like to think that music was a big part of it. -- Contributed by Sally in ID
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08/04 I had a first grade student like this last year. He had not said a word in kindergarten. At the beginning of the year he did not talk but would sing (alone!) By the end of first grade he talked constantly, to everyone! Judy in WI
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PROBLEM SINGER
12/07 One resource that I've found very helpful with my preschool special needs classes is "It's Time for Music" by Mary Louise Reilly & Lynn Freeman Olson. It's full of wonderful, short very singable songs that are just right for that age group and comes with a CD with children's voices and light instrumental accompaniments in an appropriate range (great for a sub). I also do lots of echos with a toy microphone... at first just "hello" and later simple echo songs such as "Little Sir Echo" or "Little Mr. Robin.” Don't worry when they don't sing with you, they're just not ready yet. Keep singing the same simple songs young kids love repetition and they need the language exposure. Eventually some will begin joining in. Some students will sing before they talk. -- Deanna
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01/07 I had a boy with Downs Syndrome who loved to sing, but would drone pretty loudly and it was pretty distracting(he was in choir in 4th and 5th grades).
I met with him privately and we did some vocal exploring, sliding sounds, etc. and then we talked about how our singing voice should sound (high, light voice) and he was able to sing, while not really on pitch, there was a difference between the drone and his singing. During choir rehearsals I would remind him to use a singing voice and he would lighten the quality of his voice. We never totally eliminated the problem, but it did improve. During one of my concerts, he surprised us all by stepping off the risers and stood in front of the choir and danced and laughed through the song (I think it was "under the sea"). I was mortified at first, but then I noticed that the kids loved it, the audience loved it and I let go of some of my "trying to control every little thing" issues. I know that the expectations can be a bit higher for high school, however. -- Loretta in Colorado
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PROGRAMS
01/07 My niece was severely impaired, couldn't even push or drive her own chair; but she loved music and loved being in the spotlight. One year for their winter show, the music teacher featured them in a Sounds of the Season. When it was my niece's turn, the parapro pushed her forward and Stephanie put her hand on a switch that turned on a set of bells-- you know the kind that looks like a Ferris wheel, each pitch a different color. Stephanie had so much fun that she wouldn't take her hand off the switch. The teacher had to unplug the switch so the show could continue! - Kay Lovingood
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01/07 NUTCRACKER PROGRAM: Could they be dressed in black, with large glittery snowflakes taped to their wheels? Turn on a low spotlight and just let them roll slowly around on the stage until the music is over. Do you have some whom you would trust to go fast without losing control? You could have some "regular" kids doing a version of the Russian Dance and let the wheelchairs zoom back and forth, straight across the stage on the exciting first 8 beats of the music, then spin in a circle while the music sounds like it's spinning. It really depends on the specific kids and how much help you have. - Kay Lovingood
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SONG LISTS
12/09 Here are some songs that I use for my Special Ed. classes:
I’m So Glad to Be Here (this is done every day they come in!), A Beat in My Feet, Apples and Bananas, Beach Bag Bop, Boom!, Down at the Beach, Cha Cha Chihauhau, Chicken Dance, Clappin Time, Conga in the Kitchen, Play the Drum, Down By the Bay, Pay Me My Money Down, Elephants Have Wrinkles, Five Smart Turkeys, Follow the Leader, Freeze, Funga Alafia, Green, Green, Green, Guacamole. Hokey Pokey, Hugs and Bugs and Snugglebugs, I Like School, John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt, Kangaroon Hop, Kung Fu Kick, La Boomba, London Bridge, I Love Dinosaurs, Let’s Shake Hangs, Limbo Rock, March, Monkey Around, Movin’ to the Beat, Maracas, Music Makes Me Sing, Nanny Goat Nellie, Stephen Trough, Alley Oop, Oats Peas Beans and Barley Grow, Play me a Cowbell, Penguin Polka, Red Boomwhacker, Rain, Rain Go Away, Ride the Bus, Sam, the Robot Man, Shake My sillies Out, Seasons Change, She’ll Be comin’ Round the Mountain, Tambourine Kid, Tippy Toes, Up and Down, Viva Valentine, We Are Making Music, Whomp Outloud, Yankee Doodle, You’re A Grand Old Flag, Zebra Zydeco --- Caryn Mears, Kennewick, WA
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STUTTERING
One of the strategies speech teachers use to help stutterers is to teach
them to breathe and prepare before speaking. That is what we do when we
sing. If you have stutterers, have them stop, breathe, and then speak.
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TOURETTE SYNDROME
12/08 BOOK: “Since the 1970 publication of Migraine, neurologist Oliver Sacks's unusual and fascinating case histories of "differently brained" people and phenomena--a surgeon with Tourette's syndrome, a community of people born totally colorblind, musical hallucinations, to name a few--have been marked by extraordinary compassion and humanity, focusing on the patient as much as the condition.” One musician describes discussion in the book on tourette’s patients as having benefitted from drum circles. ‘Tourette’s patients often drum well.’ Quote is from:
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/books/reviews/article_1384532.php/Featured_Book_Review_Musicophilia_by_Oliver_Sacks
RESOURCE: http://www.tsa-usa.org/
FACT SHEET: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tourette/detail_tourette.htm
WHISTLER BOY: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApPasYpbZWc
TS & MUSIC: http://www.psychforums.com/tourette-syndrome/topic68723.html
TS & MUSIC: https://prezi.com/t-foyqkbhli5/tourettes-syndrome-and-music/
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RECORDINGS
8/01 My experience with this grouping in recent years has been limited
to Early Childhood Special Ed, but I found a CD that was a valuable
resource. It's called Get Ready, Get Set, Sing! The material would
probably work up through K and 1st age special ed. Performance
on the CD is mainly a single female voice with guitar, and a book
with lyrics and some simple visuals is included for around $20
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BOOKS
12/13 Anything written by Alice Ann Darrow is great. Here are the books I've used
in my case studies:
Music Therapy, Sensory Integration, and the Autistic Child by Dorita Berger
Music Therapy by Betsey King
Music in Special Education by Mary Adamek and Alice-Ann Darrow.
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8/01 Early in the summer I read the most incredible book by an autistic woman.
It's called Nobody Nowhere : The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic
-- by Donna Williams. She is Australian, and was quite abused as a child
because she was so different and nobody knew what her problem was. But later
she was able to overcome much of her condition. It was a fascinating book! I
recommend it to anyone who works with autistic children or has an interest
in the topic. I was able to get it at the public library.
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WEB SITES & OTHER RESOURCES
12/13 There is a great website, www.dana.org, that has wonderful neuroscience information. It's the homepage of the Dana
Foundation and is "Your gateway to information about the brain and brain research." Lots and lots of links to everything from autism to Alzheimer's to concussions, with excellent information on the arts, music, and the brain.
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12/07 http://specialneedsinmusic.com/index.html
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AMERICAN MUSIC THERAPY: http://www.musictherapy.org/
HAND SIGNS: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
http://www.tack-tiles.com "TACK-TILES® are small rectangular blocks which show Braille symbols as large raised dots
Atterbury, Betty Wilson. Mainstreaming Exceptional Learners in Music.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice Hall, 1990. ISBN: 0135453518.
You should be able to find it at your local academic library
(college/university).
8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1000
Silver Spring, MD 20910
1-301-589-3300
http://www.disabled-musicians.org/
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