RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS WITH

SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE MUSIC CLASSROOM

Learning Disabilities
1. Have students learn notes by color, this can help students with dyslexia as it is often
easier to remember a color than a letter. – Textbook
2. In my service learning this semester, my teacher used sign language/hand signs for
different words. This will benefit so there are different modalities of learning. – Source:
Personal Experience
3. Because learning disabilities is a broad term, get information about each student. Talk
with parents, the student, and counselors to get this information. – Source: NAFME
Strategies for Students with Special Needs
4. Keep the classroom organized and free of distractions. Don’t provide too much
stimulation. – Source: NAFME Strategies for Students with Special Needs
5. Present materials in as many different modalities as possible. You’ll never know what a
student with a learning disability will need or what will work for them. – Source:
NAFME Strategies for Students with Special Needs
6. Develop a hands-on, participatory program that emphasizes varied activities like
movement, instruments, rhythm, speech, sound exploration, melody, and dance for best
effect. – Source: NAFME Strategies for Students with Special Needs
7. Use colors to separate key concepts, such as solfege syllables as different colors. –
Source: NAFME Strategies for Students with Special Needs
8. Vary the drill by playing or singing with different articulation and dynamics for students
who can’t maintain focus for long. – Source: NAFME Strategies for Students with
Special Needs
9. Learning hands-on (kinesthetically) generally is effective for most special learners – one
simple instruction at a time. If presenting the learner a new idea, give pieces of
information all at once to assess comprehension, otherwise he might not see the reason
for the activity. – Source: Music Education for Students with Special Needs – Bright Hub
Education
10. Playing easy instruments like bells, whistles, drums, triangles, castanets, rhythm sticks
and other rhythm instruments can reinforce student achievement. – Source: Music
Education for Students with Special Needs – Bright Hub Education

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

1. Provide students with summary of lesson prior to class to provide structure for student.
Source: “How to Help Students with ADD Concentrate on Music Lessons” – Revelle
Team
2. Create a routine in the classroom to create structure for the student. An example would be
always completing bell work at beginning of class, having instrument put together after
class has started for a few minutes, etc. Have a timer set so students know exactly how
much time they have to complete the task.
Source: “How to Help Students with ADD Concentrate on Music Lessons” – Revelle
Team
3. Have partner tasks with other students to break down large sections in music. This
encourages the social aspect while also ensuring the student isn’t overwhelmed.
 Source: “How to Help Students with ADD Concentrate on Music Lessons” – Revelle
Team
4. Have students move around to a different seat than their assigned seat to hear a new
voice/instrument. This will help a student that may fidget/squirm.
Source: https://cml.music.utexas.edu/online-resources/disabilities-information/adhd/
5. Create hand signals for when student needs to be quiet/focused or needs help. This
doesn’t have to be classroom wide but between just student and teacher. This will help
when the student will interrupt during a lesson or if the student needs more assistance.
Source: “How to Help Students with ADD Concentrate on Music Lessons” – Revelle
Team
6. Place the student with ADHD near a student that will be a good role model and away
from extraneous distractions. More towards center of room and front.
Source: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/special/types/adhd/index.htm
7. If any independent time is given to students to observe their parts, limit it to small
chunks. This will help the student not get off task.
Source: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/special/types/adhd/index.htm
8. When creating bell work/any written presentation, change it up with fonts and colors to
make it more attention grabbing.
Source: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/special/types/adhd/index.htm
9. Create a daily schedule somewhere in the classroom for student reference. Explain the
schedule to the student. This could be as simple as an alarm on a device that will go off
when it is time to pack up.
Source: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/special/types/adhd/index.htm
10. If possible, provide student with two instruments so they can keep one at home. This will
help with transitions and not forgetting it at home then having to sit in class with nothing
to do.
Source: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/special/types/adhd/index.htm

Autism Spectrum Disorder

1. Tapping rhythms, clapping rhythms, using visual aids to teach note values, even moving
around the room to "dance" quarter, half and eight note values to provide multisensory
techniques to learn. – Source: Tips for Teaching Instrumental Music to People with
Autism
2. Associating note names with sounds can be a better first step than associating note names
with symbols on the page. Once the learner knows the notes and their names, they can
progress to reading notation more fluently. – Source: Tips for Teaching Instrumental
Music to People With Autism
3. Visual aids such as flashcards can help a great deal in teaching notation. – Source: Tips
for Teaching Instrumental Music to People With Autism
4. Choosing pieces based on existing interest is a great way to go. This provides an interest
for students. – Source: Tips for Teaching Instrumental Music to People With Autism
5. Some people with autism have "synesthesia," 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 (ROY G BIV), so that C=Red, D=Orange, etc. Use these colors to
 help guide teaching. – Source: Tips for Teaching Instrumental Music to People With
Autism
6. Practice preparing for recitals/performances. This doesn’t include just music, but coming
up on stage, playing a piece, then leaving the stage properly. – Source: Tips for Teaching
Instrumental Music to People with Autism
7. Create a visual agenda that students can view every day. They may not need it always but
having that to fall back on will prevent any problems. – Source: Tips to Consider When
Including a Student with ASD in Art, Music, or Physical Education
8. Avoid abstract comments such as ‘save your breathe’ or ‘shake a leg’ because students
with autism are literal thinkers and those types of comments are very confusing for them.
Tell them what it is they have to do as simply as possible. – Source: Tips to Consider
When Including a Student with ASD in Art, Music, or Physical Education
9. Integrate social interaction/peer teaching whenever possible. It’s hard for students with
autism to have social interactions, so this gives them a chance to learn more about them.
– Source: Tips to Consider When Including a Student with ASD in Art, Music, or
Physical Education
10. Have a universal stop or no touching signal on instruments. This will prevent constant
touching and distractions. – Source: Tips to Consider When Including a Student with
ASD in Art, Music, or Physical Education
Gifted & Talented
1. Offer a variety of activities, such as acceleration (design assignments that allow students
to go to differing levels), enrichment (extra lessons), technological instruction (computer
programs for composition, research, or theory). - Source: NAFME Strategies for Students
with Special Needs
2. Find a mentor, maybe a college student if possible for the student. - Source: NAFME
Strategies for Students with Special Needs
3. Offer ability based ensembles so students needs can be met. - Source: NAFME Strategies
for Students with Special Needs
4. Find an advanced musician that can teach the student. This could be from a local music
shop or a university. – Source: How to Recognize, Support and Teach Musically Gifted
Kids: The Hub
5. Encourage students to compose. This is a further level of Blooms and they’ll be able to
advance at the rate they want. – Source: How to Recognize, Support and Teach Musically
Gifted Kids: The Hub
6. Encourage gifted students to listen to a wide range of music. This will further their
interest in whatever they like. – Source: How to Recognize, Support and Teach Musically
Gifted Kids: The Hub
7. Encourage them to perform for a group of people. This will boost their confidence and
will further their interest. – Source: How to Recognize, Support and Teach Musically
Gifted Kids: The Hub
8. Provide a guideline for class to student, then they can see fully what the content is and
will be able to decide where they want to go based on interest. – Source: Lecture
9. Good teaching for gifted learners requires an understanding of "supported risk." Highly
able learners often make very good grades with relative ease for a long time in school.
They see themselves (and often rightly so) as expected to make "As," get right answers,
and lead the way. In other words, they succeed without "normal" encounters with failure.
 Then, when a teacher presents a high-challenge task, the student feels threatened. Not
only has he or she likely not learned to study hard, take risks and strive, but the student's
image is threatened as well. A good teacher of gifted students understands that dynamic,
and thus invites, cajoles and insists on risk-but in a way that supports success. – Source:
NAGC What it Means to Teach Gifted Learners Well
10. Provide open-ended problems to students. It’s more rewarding to do something for a
cause than for a grade. – Source: Textbook
Visual Impairment
1. I worked in a middle school with a student who had albinism. She couldn’t read sheet
music, so we would make the sheet music into much larger pages. – Source: Personal
Experience
2. If a school has a one to one program with tablets/computers, email music/worksheets to
students. Then students can zoom if necessary. – Source: Personal Experience
3. There is a type of braille that is actually a music code. Then students with visual
impairments can read sheet music. – Source: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments:
Music
4. When learning music concepts, teach with movement. It’s harder for students with visual
impairments to learn from watching, so have them do it and go through the motions. –
Source: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments – Music & Movement
5. Instead of black on white paper, change the color differences so it’s not as harsh to see.
This works such as yellow on black. – Source: Lecture
6. Begin the school year with a name song, this will use the auditory portion of a student
with visual impairment. It can also help students learn each other’s names. – Source:
Teaching Students with Visual Impairments – Music & Movement
7. In my service learning this semester, my teacher used sign language/hand signs for
different words. This will benefit so they don’t have to learn from a projector. – Source:
Personal Experience
8. When learning to play instruments, put colored tape where hands are supposed to go. –
Source: Tips for teaching central vision loss music to visually impaired students by
Macular Society
9. When teaching notated music, use magnetic board and magnets to provide something for
the student to feel. – Source: NAFME: Teaching Music to a Blind Student
10. Remove all possible obstacles that could be not seen by a student with visual impairment.
If not able to be removed, explain where it is. – Source: lecture