TTTV008: Tactics for teaching piano students with ASD & ADHD - Thembi Shears

[@tomoole]

Sounds like me 35 years ago -- experience, experience, experience and innovative FUN approaches to each pupil AND their parents/guardians - Very often the only effective way to tackle these problems . Keep up the good work.

[@IsabellaMendes]

This is very helpful! I wondering if you’re considering doing an updated/follow up interview to account for the challenges added with online learning platforms: zoom etc, given covid and all online teaching. Thank you so much!

[@topmusicco]

Thanks Isabella. We’ve actually got a big focus on special needs teaching this August with a new course and free webinar which would be a great place to ask these questions. If u keep turned into the podcast or on my email list, you’ll get notified :)

[@IsabellaMendes]

@@topmusicco That's wonderful! I'm on your mailing list and just signed up for the podcast! I'll keep an eye out! Thank you so much! :)

[@jennadee6761]

Thank you for a video about teaching neurodiverse students! :) I'm an adult with ASD and ADHD & I'm a psychology student. Thembi stated ADHD is a behavioral disorder but it's a neurodevelopmental disorder. [Source: CDC.gov] I realise the video is 6 years old & much has changed in the world of political correctness, so please take this in the educational spirit it's intended. 🤭🙈 Labels like high & low functioning perpertuate stigma & ableism: "Functioning labels isolate disabled people from their non-disabled peers by implying defectiveness. They undercut one’s individuality, struggles, abilities - their humanity - and emphasize brokenness, reducing them to terms we’d use for a malfunctioning machine. People who are deemed low-functioning tend to be heavily stigmatized, infantilized, and dismissed due to their inability to communicate verbally. People mourn their “lost potential”, yet ignore the incredible things they can offer. High-functioning people, on the other hand, face devastating long-term consequences for upholding the facade of neurotypicality, including autistic burnout. Yet many find those consequences far more palatable than being seen as unabashedly autistic by their peers. The way we talk about autistic people should reflect that autism is a spectrum, not a binary. Instead of using functioning labels, we need to break down one’s needs and strengths into something more granular. The DSM-V’s levels of support does a decent job of this, but when you combine it with descriptions of an autistic person, it’s even better. As our understanding of autism grows, so too must the terms we use to describe it. We must acknowledge the harm that functioning labels cause, and consciously work to remove them from our vocabulary in favor of terms that affirm an autistic person’s humanity and value." [Source: planning acrossthespectrum.com]

[@topmusicco]

Thanks Jenna.

[@alanas3193]

This video is so informative! I wrote down all of Thembi's tips. She is brilliant. I have an 8 year old student with ADHD and I will use these useful tools in his piano lesson tomorrow. I think using music games is a great idea. I'm hoping I'll be able to gain his focus and calm some of the distracted behaviors. thanks for making this podcast!

[@2bored4life]

which you would of wrote them here instead. My ADHD wont allow me to listen to a 1 hour video.

[@fivebyfivesound]

This was tremendously helpful in updating my understanding of terminology and informing my approach to instrumental instruction. Thank you so much!

[@IsabellaMendes]

Regarding the game, and breaks, how do you get them to come back to the piano, after breaking up for a few minutes?

[@annachong7533]

Ya, I'm thinking the same thing. Do the teachers 1st tell the students that it's a 2 minutes break and set a timer? And the students will be willing to come back once the timer goes off.

[@maleahlock]

I use a visual clock made specifically for time management for students with adhd/asd. It shows a coloured section of the clock slowly disappearing. It is expensive ($60-$80) but so worth it. It doesn't help with all of my neurodivergent students but I just change my tactics such as being able to play with the magnet notes or a favourite fidget.

[@IsabellaMendes]

@@maleahlock great! Thank you so much!! :)

[@dj235]

Thank you for this. in the Philippines we also use "with ASD" instead of autistic.. Good job on the podcast.

[@jmcclen8005]

Many autistic people prefer identity first language - thus, “autistic”

[@216trixie]

I think "with autism" implies a disease or ailment that someone has caught or been born with. I like "autistic" because it's a description more of who a person is rather than something wrong with them. Good day.

[@noches4]

I taught my son with autism to play the piano at 8 years of age with a method of numbers with letters on the piano and he plays it with both hands, but the challenge is how I teach music theory, like the times, the rhythm and read a pentagram musical?

[@topmusicco]

Hey Kartuja. Yes, it's a challenge and really specific to each individual. We've got a complete course about special needs teaching inside topmusicpro.com if you're interested in more help :)

[@granddaddy_funk]

What do you do when the student isn't progressing, and the parents don't seem to care or notice?

[@topmusicco]

It's challenging but it's time to chat with the parents and get their take on things. If they are OK with no progress but the child is engaged and interested in lessons, then I'd continue teaching what you can in lessons and just remove the expectations around practice for a while. See how it goes. I've been able to save students esp around 12-15 age range by doing this when other things become overwhelming. Good luck!

[@granddaddy_funk]

@@topmusicco thanks for the reply. It's kind of a sensitive situation since the student has had other teachers who have given up on them. The previous teacher thought the student was a special needs student but the parent refuses to consider that possibility and signed him up with me . I also think he may have special needs but I don't know how to approach the situation tactfully.

[@aharris627]

good to know that special needs exist but to go as far as labeling the student as different when the diagnosis itself takes various tests.....