teaching special needs
Accommodating Anxiety and Perfectionism
I have a question about accommodations. I have a 10 year old student with severe anxiety and perfectionism. She is unable to understand that she needs to practice songs even if she doesn’t like them. She is working on this skill, among others, with a…
- Last updated 11 months ago
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When to Teach Happy Birthday
Question: I have just signed on a Special Needs student. She is 9 years old. Her favorite song is Happy Birthday. Mum said they play that every day! I know we normally teach this at the end of Foundation Level 1 but I would like…
- Last updated 2 years ago
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Trouble Starting Piece
Looking for some advice…I have student who stutters everytime he starts to play. He’ll replay his starting note numerous times before finally getting into the song. Once he gets going, he plays well. But if there’s a break in his playing, or the start of…
- Last updated 2 years ago
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High Functioning Aspergers Student
I may have written once already about this but here I am again. I have a student diagnosed as “high functioning Asperger’s” and I have to say that after 3 fairly ordinary lessons with him, what I see is a really bright boy who has…
- Last updated 3 years ago
- Aspergers, autism, autism spectrum, autistic, autistic student, autistic students, claiming territory, expectation, expectations, high functioning, reclaiming territory, special circumstances, special needs, teaching special needs
Student with Two Functioning Fingers
The 12 year old son of an adult student of mine would love to take piano lessons. He can already play the violin and has a great ear, able to figure out how to play songs he hears on the piano. However, due to a…
- Last updated 4 years ago
- adapting fingering, alternate fingering for chords, big fingers, coaches, deformed fingers, deformed hand, deformities, duets, finger adaptations, finger independence, finger isolation, finger strength, fingering, fingers, injured fingers, injuries, Laurie Richards, limitations, missing fingers, mobility limitations, Neil Moore, parents of special needs, physical limitations, special needs, stiff fingers, strengthening fingers, teaching special needs, thick fingers, weak fingers, wide fingers
MAC Soundtracks
I would love to start a conversation about how we might use the MAC soundtracks with our students. Some of the tracks might need some more background or learning to understand their use, but I think others could be used by most of our students…
- Last updated 4 years ago
- adding expression, backing tracks, beat, black notes, Cerebral Palsy, Dreams, Dreams Come True, Eliza, expression, expressive playing, getting an even rhythm, Gordon Harvey, helping students feel rhythm, improv, improv for beginners, improving rhythm skills, improvisation, improvising, internal beat, internalizing beat, MAC, MAC Program, masters of the rhythm, MORs, Music & Creativity, musical expression, natural rhythm, play along, playing along with audio, playing with audio tracks, playing with expression, reading rhythm, rhythm, rhythm fun ideas, rhythm games, rhythmically challenged, RR, self expression, soundtracks, special needs, teaching rhythm, teaching special needs, variation, variations
Webinar Series: 02/15/2019 – Gateway – Skills & Mindset of a Successful Gateway Teacher
Teaching students with profound special needs is a different experience than teaching typical students. Karen discusses this in relation to goals and expectations, your own confidence, and dealing with parents’ expectations. Topics include: Introduction (00:05) Teacher Temperament (04:18) Readiness to Progress (10:11) Visually Impaired Students…
- Last updated 5 years ago
- autism, autistic, blind student, blindness, books on autism, communicating with parents, expectations, flexibility, frustration, inner child, learning differences, mindset, on the spectrum, personality, slow progress, special needs, student behavior, teacher mindset, teaching special needs, temperament