Simpedia

Cathy H., California

I know that several SM teachers have students with Autism or Asperger’s Disorder. I think we would all agree that these students are eager for the opportunity you’re giving them as well as being easy to teach. They learn quickly and often have a very strong aural sense of music.

Asperger’s is a milder form of autism primarily involving social behavior. I’ve included a definition of Asperger’s which should explain the differences between the two disorders. For me it has been an easier disorder to teach than Autism.

When I started my blind student, Neil told me that there was really no difference in teaching the blind than any other student. I didn’t understand it at first, but I do now and it’s absolutely true.

The biggest difference I have found in teaching students with Asperger’s or Autism (compared to the average student), is how you communicate with them. Their minds work differently from the average person. They recall events in pictures similar to movies, or voices from faces. Sometimes this is difficult for the average person to understand.

The other issue to be aware of is that some Asperger’s and Autistic students do not like to be touched. This can make teaching somewhat difficult when showing the patterns. If it’s a problem, I have the student place their hand on a flat surface and point directly above the student’s fingers while they touch them. This works fine. After the student has gotten to know me, this issue goes away.

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that Autistic and some Asperger’s students interpret everything you say literally. Therefore, words and sentences with double meanings will confuse them. For example, one of the most common things we say to our students regarding the placement of hands is Left, Right, Together. Most Autistic students will not understand these instructions. I have to frequently modify my verbal instructions by saying Left Hand, Right Hand, Both Hands. The problem then goes away.

Understanding how these students communicate and remember instructions is the most important thing you can do to make your student’s experience successful. My suggestion is to ask the parent questions:

Is the student is high functioning or not? How well do they do in school?
Do they have difficulty in reading?
How do they interpret instructions?

You’ll be able to determine early what works and what doesn’t. Patience is really the key here to success for the both of you. If you are interested in more information, I would recommend checking the website – www.autismtoday.com. There are some interesting articles there.

The article follows:

Asperger’s Syndrome, also known as Asperger’s Disorder or Autistic Psychopathy, is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), characterized by severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. These characteristics result in clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

In contrast to Autistic disorder (Autism), there are no clinically significant delays in language or cognition or self-help skills, or in adaptive behavior, other than social interaction.

Prevalence is limited but it appears to be more common in males. Onset is later than what is seen in Autism, or at least recognized later. A large number of children are diagnosed between the ages of 5 and 9. Motor delays, clumsiness, social interaction problems, and idiosyncratic behaviors are reported. Adults with Asperger’s have trouble with empathy and modulation of social interaction – the disorder follows a continuous course and is usually lifelong.

Asperger’s is not easily recognizable – in fact, many children are misdiagnosed with other neurological disorders such as Tourette’s Syndrome or Autism. More frequently, children are misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit (and Hyperactivity) Disorders (ADD & ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Such mistakes in diagnosis lead to a delay in treatment of the disorder, though many pharmaceuticals and natural remedies are used to treat multiple neurological and pervasive developmental disorders. Remedies used today range from St. John’s Wort tea, to drugs such as Haldol and Ritalin. Treatments vary to a great degree with the individual patient – no single medication or remedy works for everyone – and Asberger’s cannot be completely cured. Because it is so new and so difficult to diagnose, our society is ill-equipped to deal with the special educational needs of children afflicted with Asperger’s.

Bernedette A., California

I have taught a student with Asperger’s Syndrome for over two years. He has recently quit not because of the method but because of financial reasons. As far as my experience has been concerned, he was a fabulous student and I would be willing to have more students like in a heartbeat.

At first I thought it would be difficult to teach him. I barely started as a novice teacher with no significant traditional background. I had no idea what I was getting into but took the chance of taking him on anyways. At his first lesson, he could barely do the five steps of sound without his fingers playing at the same time or flying off the piano. We took lessons very slow but over the course of two years he was able to complete most of Foundation Level 3 and could play all his songs immaculately. He was faithful to practice (his mom said he would practice four to five times a day), he loved to play, was teachable and had a great attitude about piano. I only taught him very minute segments so he was able to master it. Recitals were a big self-esteem builder and his parents were so grateful that he was able to take lessons, whereas with traditional it would not have been possible. They have noticed great improvement in his dexterity – for this alone they were so thankful to have found Simply Music. At lessons, he would play his whole playlist for me before we would start on something new. Sometimes, his playlist is all we did. They were heartbroken at having to stop.

Currently, I have three students with auditory learning issues, one with ADHD, and one with PDD. All are in shared lessons with the exception of the PDD student. All are having success and parents/grandparents have only great things to say about Simply Music – all express their thankfulness above and beyond what is called for. The parent with the ADHD son calls Simply Music practice ‘medicinal’ – it helps calm him and makes him manageable.