Microscopic Progress is STILL Progress...

"Do not fear growing slowly, so long as you are not standing still."

I am so excited about one of my students with autism and her progress with piano lessons. Now a regular teacher who is used to "normal" students may look at the months of lessons with this student and would probably say to me one of two things: "Wow, you're a bad teacher." or "This doesn't seem to be going anywhere, why bother?"

Thank goodness I'm not such a teacher and having experience with students with autism, I can recognize small small changes in their behavior or ability that signal amazing progress to me and to the parents.

The achievement I am bragging on her behalf about is that, although she hasn't learned "notes" yet (only letters) nor really learned her first song well in a couple of months, this amazing (and very positive and intelligent) girl has made a big transition on a couple of songs. I can now ask her to look at the paper herself and press the letters she sees without me pointing at each individual letter. And she gets it 95% right most of the time! (Sometimes her finger lands on the wrong key or she skips a letter.) But to me this is a FANTASTIC step in the right direction. It shows me that she can focus long enough visually and coordinate her hands with her eyes correctly to get through a song like Mary Had a Little Lamb. This creates independence and will allow her to practice on her own, not relying on an adult to point the way.

So I just wanted to share this wonderful experience with anyone who may think of teaching piano to children with autism. It's a reminder that you have to take them as individuals who show progress in their own unique way and the best teachers are super-attuned to it when it does happen. The worst is when such a student is trying their hardest (and making microscopic progress) but the teacher gives up and moves on to students that are more teachable.

Another Success with Music Therapy for an Autistic Child

Here is another great example of how music can help autistic children communicate and participate in the environment around them!

Tala and her daughter Sara in Dubai experienced an incredible gift from music lessons.  Sara was diagnosed with autism when she was very young and Tala stumbled upon music therapy as one of the greatest tools to help her daughter deal with the world around her.

Sara had been very sensitive to noises in her environment since she was a baby and once she got older, she wasn’t able to communicate her frustrations verbally.  As a result she would throw tantrums and hurt herself by throwing herself against walls.  After seeing a specialist, Tala finally realized that Sara was autistic and had sensory issues that are common among autistic children.  They started to work with various therapists that focused on the specific issues Sara was facing, but she hated it and progress was slow. 

Then Tala ran into a music teacher who introduced her to a relatively new area of therapy for autistic children—music therapy.  Up until then Tala had tried so many therapies and none had seemed to really help her daughter so she was willing to try anything. So they started having music lessons two times per week.

At first the little girl zoned out and didn’t pay attention during the sessions, but slowly she started to come around and show more interest in the different instruments her teacher would play for her.  After weeks of accustoming Sara to the sounds, the routine and the separation from her mother, Sara started picking up the instruments herself and even started singing!  Soon Sara couldn’t wait for her music lessons every week and would sing the songs she learned all day. 

Tala noticed that the music lessons helped her daughter stay calm and focus on people’s voices.  She didn’t seem so overwhelmed with the noises around her as she was learning to sort them out. Tala also noticed that her daughter was able to communicate better and be more affectionate, as well as participate actively in social environments such as school and even swim meets.

The best part was the since Tala herself could play instruments, she found a new way to communicate with her daughter. What a blessing indeed!

To read more about Tala and Sara, click here: http://www.gulfnews.com/Aquarius/YourLife/10263976.html

If you think that your autistic child may benefit from participating in piano lessons and activities, feel free to check out http://www.ypiano.com ! I am developing a new method to teach piano to autistic children and other children with special needs.  The new method does not use traditional lesson plans, but rather uses a hands-on approach to the piano that resembles floor playtime, something fun and easy to focus on. This is method is best for very young students and can be used with children under 5 years old who are not old enough for traditional piano teaching methods.