Addressing Special Needs Through Music

1. Addressing Special NeedsThrough Music WMEA Conference Oct 23-26, 2013 Kalani Das, MT-BC Sponsored by Peripole, Inc. Downloads available at kalanimusic.com

2. Distinctions • Music therapy: • treats the child’s non-musical needs through musical experiences. • Music education: • develops the musical and music-related capacities of the child.

3. Key Terms • Least restrictive environment • Mainstreaming • Inclusion • Disability versus handicap • Person first language • Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

4. Give instructions clearly and concretely. • Be consistent with behavioral expectations, physical order, and teaching routines. • Consult with special education teacher and/or music therapist regarding specific needs and adaptations. • Use music that involves the child.

5. Involve parents if possible. • Aim for maximum musical involvement with minimal verbal instruction. • Use materials that provide for individual as well as group responses. • Present materials sequentially and with positive reinforcement to encourage positive, successful responses.

6. Plan for transitions and make expectations for them clear. • Plan for success experiences; keep failure to a minimum. • Provide physical assistance to child. • Adapt instruments for children's needs. • Present materials in more than one modality.

7. Make music tasks clear as to exact behavior, beginning and end, and give child enough time to execute tasks. • Reinforce successive approximations and successfully completed tasks. • Provide immediate feedback. • Provide option for slower responses or movements if necessary.

8. Autism • Developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction. • Generally evident before age three. • Adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

9. Give instructions concretely and clearly. • Have consistent expectations, give consistent responses. • Use behavioral principles if child is in a behavior modification program. • Consult with special education teacher and/or music therapist regarding specific needs and adaptations.

10. Deaf and Hard of Hearing • Child has a hearing loss, with or without amplification, that has an adverse effect on educational performance to a degree that the processing of linguistic information through hearing is impaired.

11. Seat child as close as possible to teacher. • Articulate clearly; also use gestures, conducting cues, international sign language. • Use hands-on approach when possible, in addition to verbal explanations and demonstrations by teacher. • Be sure that child is using hearing aid.

12. Emotional Disturbance • An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors. • An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships. • Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances. • General unhappiness or depression. • Development of physical symptoms or fears associated with problems.

13. Encourage maximum musical involvement, use minimal verbal instruction. • Present materials sequentially and with positive reinforcement. • Stop disruptive behavior immediately. • Establish limits and maintain consistent rules. • Allow for transitional periods between portions of class.

14. Intellectual Disability • Significant limitations in: • intellectual functioning and • adaptive behavior. • Originates before the age of 18.

15. Emphasize skills that child can acquire. • Use songs with repetition. • Clarify important aspects of the lesson. • Direct attention to important parts of printed pages. • Use concrete, hands-on activities. • Some activities may need to be simplified.

16. Specific Learning Disability • Disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language. • Diminished ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. • Does not include problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental disability, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

17. Do not interpret child’s behavior as lack of intelligence, musical ability, or interest in music. • Present materials in more than one modality. • Keep environment free from extraneous stimulation.

18. Speech / Language Impairment • Communication disorder that adversely affects a child’s educational performance • Includes stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, a voice impairment, delayed acquisition of language, or an absence of language

19. Present materials via more than one modality. • Articulate clearly and with expression. • Use sequential songs and songs with interesting, repeated sounds. • Use the tape recorder to allow children to hear their musical products. • Use wind instruments to provide practice for directing air from mouth.

20. Visual Impairments • Use sheet music with larger type, Braille music writing equipment, projection and magnifying equipment. • Record music lessons for student. • Give instructions verbally. • Keep placement of furniture and instruments in room consistent.

21. Musical Methods • Improvising • Re-creating • Composing • Listening

22. Re-Creating • Songs with Instrumental Responses • Songs with Vocal Responses • Songs with Movement Responses • Musical Song-Games

23. Listening • Sensory Stimulation • Musical Movement • Contingent Music • Music Listening • Music-Assisted Relaxation

24. Thank you Dr. Barbara Wheeler, PhD, MT-BC for sharing her notes. Dr. Andrew Perry and Peripole, Inc. for their continued and generous support. Music Educators who enhance the lives of our children. Find more at playsinglaugh.com and kalanimusic.com