What a Music Therapist Needs to Know about Learning Disabilities
Common Types of LD
Instructional Environments
Technology Use
Behavioral Challenges
LD and Reading
The most common type of Learning Disability is Dyslexia.
Dyslexia reults in a person having trouble understanding written language.
Dyscalculia is where a person has trouble solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts.
Dysgraphia is where a person struggles to form letters or write within a defined space.
Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders: a person with normal hearing an vision nevertheless has difficulty understanding nd using verbal or written language.
Non-verbal Learning Disabilities: Specific disorders which originate in teh right hemisphere of the brain and cause problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.
FYI: AD/HD is actually not a learning disabilty. It is, however, common in about 1/3 of the people with LD.
Students with LD are often educated in the general education classroom. Music therapists will not provide treatment in the general education classroom, but if the severity of the LD requires additional support, the music therapist might find a student with LD in a group working on certain skills through the music medium.
The music therapist can provide support by putting the desired skill into a musical context, such as a catchy song or a story song.
A surprisingly low number of students with LD have been using assistive technology. However, technology continues to change and improve, so resources are available to music therapists for intervention design ideas.
Behavior problems are a major challenge for students with LD. Students with LD constitute a significant portion of students with disabilities who experience disciplinary action. While IDEA does provide protection for students with disabilities when a behavior is directly caused by the disability, strategies must be employed to encourage appropriate behavior and active learning.
Music therapists may work with students with significan behavior problems and it will be important for the therapist to understand what behavior plan is in place and all components that are necessary in abiding by the behavior plan. How can you, the music therapist, merge the behavior plan with your session design?
Teaching to Read
Mary Fitzsimmons (1999) outlines the processes of reading and some truths about teaching students to read.
Interesting Truths:
1. Learning to read is not a natural human process. Learning to read requires human instruction.
2. Reading is part of everyday life and appears to be an easy process for many. This ease masks the complexity of the reading process that many students struggle to inherit.
3. Teaching beginning reading is very important and should be purposeful, strategic, and grounded in effective methods established by research.
Research-Based Instruction:
a) Model the sound or the strategy for making the sound
b) Have students use strategy to produce the sound
c) repeat steps a and b using several sounds fo reach type and level of difficulty
d) Prompt students to use the strategy during guided practice
e) use a-d to introduce more difficult examples
Listen to the song I created for this instruction model. The song caters to the flexibility of level of difficulty and can be enhanced by instruments and the leader/follower releationship.