Music is an area of special interest for many people with autism, yet few music instructors have any training in working with people on the autism spectrum. A piano teacher writes:
I am a piano teacher. I teach beginners. I chose beginners because I believe in teaching a strong foundation. Recently, I had a call from a family who was desparately seeking someone to teach their autistic son. He had been going to a music studio but the teachers didn't understand his needs. I agreed to try knowing that I faced a challenge I never dealt with before. Our first meeting went well. He has perfect pitch and knows all the chords and tries to play his own songs. He transposes with the button on the piano. His music makes no sense to us but I'm sure it does to him. My dillema is where do I begin to instruct him? Has anyone dealt with this before? I've been reading a lot about autism but can't find anything that will help me help him. My goal is only to instruct not teach him how to express himself musically. He also trys to write music. So in a nutshell I guess I'm trying to say that he knows music but doesn't know how to organize it. So my job is to instruct. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Thank you
My son Tom has been taking clarinet lessons for more than seven years now, and all his instructors have been in the same boat: none had ever worked with a person on the autism spectrum. I did, however, see what worked well for them as they experimented with different teaching techniques. For example:
- A mix of multisensory teaching techniques seems to work well. Tapping rhythms, clapping rhythms, using visual aids to teach note values, even moving around the room to "dance" quarter, half and eight note values can help.
- Since kids with perfect pitch can often simply play by ear, having a learner repeat musical phrases after the teacher can be a good way to go. Associating note names with sounds can also be a better first step than associating note names with symbols on the page.
- Visual aids can help a great deal in teaching notation.
- Choosing pieces based on existing interest is a great way to go. Our son loves anything he already has heard in the film Fantasia, or even in the children's cartoon series "Little Einsteins."
- Some people with autism have "synaethesia," an ability to associate musical notes with colors, shapes, etc. It might be worthwhile asking your student what colors or shapes he sees in his imagination when he hears certain notes. Our son sees notes as the colors in the rainbow spectrum, so that C=Red, D=Orange, etc.
Your additional hints and tips invited!
I have been teaching a method called Simply Music for about 10 years now and have had great success with students on the spectrum. The program is multi-sensory, experiential and touches on all the modalities of learning. The beauty of this program is it’s flexibility and our ability as teachers to customize the program to the learning ability of each student. You can learn more about it by visiting http://www.simplymusic.com
Our program, The Boston Conservatory Program for Students on the Autism Spectrum, provides private instrument lessons for individuals on the autism spectrum. Our instructors (all Master’s students in Music Education at The Boston Conservatory) receive ongoing training and support from experts in the field. We have been very successful in our work with this population for the 3 years of our program. For more information, see http://www.bostonconservatory.edu/autism and find us on Facebook (search for The Boston Conservatory Program for Students on the Autism Spectrum).