PART 2 - Adaptive Music Class 101: Communication

Part 2 in this series on Adaptive Music deals with Communication. Understanding how your students both receive, process, and express information is an integral part of finding success in the adaptive music classroom. The ideas in this article will help you gain a better understanding of the communication needs of your potential students.

Communication

Often the students in our adaptive music classrooms will have a disability involving communication. This kind of disability can affect the way a student receives and interprets information, how they are able to express information, or some combination of both. This disability can be standalone or found as part of another disability like Autism. I single this disability out because I find it can be the most confounding for new teachers in an adaptive music setting. One of the most important things to remember is a lack of verbal communication does not equate to a lack of knowledge or understanding. There are many different ways to communicate and many of these students do not do so verbally. Music is a class that often prioritizes verbal interactions (i/e singing) and it can be difficult for some teachers to elicit responses beyond that. As an adaptive music teacher, this means don’t prioritize verbal responses from your students. Questions like “What is this rhythm? Or what note is that?” might not get any response. However, when reframed into actions, “Play me the rhythm with 2 sounds per beat,” or, “Play a C on the xylophone,” the same students may be able to respond accurately. These students are often able to show you their understanding in different ways from simply telling you the answer. It is important to provide opportunities and questioning strategies that allow them to do so. 

Students may also come to your classroom with Alternative and Augmentative Communication devices. These devices are often in the form of tablets or booklets with pictures that represent words, ideas, and actions. Using these devices can be complex and often the students spend a long time learning how to use them. Work with the special education staff to understand the student’s level of use for the device and find opportunities for them to use them in your class that are appropriate for them. You may even send important music vocabulary along to the special education teacher or speech therapist to see if they can include them in the device.

Similarly, consult with your special education team to find out what kind of language and phrases they are using with the students in their own classroom. This is helpful particularly regarding behavior. Using the vocabulary that is used in the special education classroom in your adaptive music classroom will often lead to success in keeping students focused and engaged as well as managing disruptive behaviors.

Next up in the Adaptive Music 101 series is Content! What in the world should we teach in an adaptive music setting?