Tricks and Tips

[Real Live WI Teacher]

I'm hoping to share some tips and tricks of the trade with on another, and have many I'd love to share if anyone has a particular focus.

One thing I'm hoping for is in the area of music. I am a high school special ed teacher, and one of my students is a fabulous drummer. The student is taking a music class for the first time, and really wants to learn to read music but their learning disability is frustrating their efforts.

Does anyone have any ideas for creative ways help him learn the notes and measures? Any online resources or technology based ideas would be great. He is operating at an elementary level in this area, but has the common "cool" factor to consider also. Thanks for any help or suggestions.

[Caroll]

I have used this website since 2003 and have found it to be very useful in the elementary stages.

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/Music.htm

Hope you come right.

[Real Live WI Teacher]

That is an excellent website, I'm thrilled! I've already adapted two lessons from it, one I made into an independent webquest. Thanks for sharing :D

I'm trying to support a student with EEN needs in music, but am the blind leading the blind so I actually spent some time playing on the "note trainer" site!

I have only disorder info / supports, behavior change methods, and self-determination goodies to offer in return - if I can be of any help in these areas please let me know.

[Caroll]

I have a 10 year old sone with Central Auditory Perception Disorder (CAPD) and use music as some sort of therapy. Please excuse my ignorance, but what is EEN?

I am also a 3rd year B Psych student (doing some Honours subjects so that I can finish earlier), but have never come across EEN. Maybe we call it something else here. (I live in South Africa)

Let me know how the music is going....

[Real Live WI Teacher]

I think it's probably regional too - I moved from CA to WI and felt like an ELL. (that was my bad attempt at humor, meaning California, Wisconsin, and English Language Learner = the replacement term for the passe ESL term).

EEN = exceptional education needs, which can be anything beyond general ed, also known as beyond the hump of the bell curve, lol.

I can barely fake some understanding of auditory processing disorders, but am very interested in it since I read an article on the link between that and AD/HD. Not a lot of literature out there yet that I've found, but a few very interesting findings have been published.

It would make sense intuitively that music may be theraputic, given the different processing and brain activity. Very interesting, any other info or goodies you can share about it?

[Caroll]

CAPD basically has to do with processing of information. He had a left brain trauma, (possibly ear infections). He has perfect pitch, (Right brain) though, so I am training the right side of his brain to interpret. I use music to do this, but are in the beginning stages of therapy.

I am also trying using music (Classical - Baroque) for background noise with all the other therapies I use. My experience with this is limited as he was only diagnosed in Nov 2005.

We have had years of OT and Speech with very little success. They even said there is nothing more they can do. I can already see a small new improvement. I had formal music training and went up to Gr 7 practicals with Trinity College of England, so I am able to help him a little. He is starting formal music lessons, (not therapy - there is a difference) next week. (We live in an isolated place in South Africa and a music teacher just moved here)

I think drumming could be exellent therapy, ie gross motor + auditory. Will look into it.