Within a diverse student population, music teachers will likely work with students who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Incorporate these tools into your teaching to facilitate the needs of ASD students while supporting all students.
by Brian Wagner-Yeung
Students who fall into the category of ASD may be present in a general education classroom, inclusion classroom, self-contained classroom, or a self-contained classroom that is combined with general education for specialty subject areas.
ASD is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide spectrum of abilities. “Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is still perceived as a pervasive developmental disorder, characterized by social communication deficit and narrow interest in objects and repetitive behavior,” (Lei & Ventola, 2017). As ASD is presented as a wide spectrum – you may sometimes hear the phrase, “when you have met a person with autism, you have only met one person with autism.” It is essential to realize that every child is different, and every child has individual strengths, needs, and challenges.
There are three deficits that children with ASD may display. Some students may only have deficits in one area, while others may struggle in all three.
While these can sound like significant challenges in the general music classroom, music teachers can easily incorporate supports that allow students with ASD to thrive and be successful. Music teachers should frequently communicate with classroom teachers, special education teachers, paraprofessionals or teaching assistants, related service providers, and families. If classroom teachers are implementing academic and social supports, music teachers can incorporate them into their classrooms as well. Consistency is vital for students with ASD, and it allows them to generalize skills in more locations.
It is vital that music teachers know the personal strengths of their students with ASD. “Educators ought to know what students in special education are passionate about – what their interests, goals, hopes, and aspirations are,” (Armstrong, 2012). This may sound daunting at first, as music teachers may only observe the deficits of the student. It is important to take a step back and look at the “whole child.” Even a child with ASD has interests, motivations, and strengths. Music teachers can use these strengths to engage students even more, as well as find ways to help students with ASD interact with their peers.
For example, a kindergarten student with ASD may be highly motivated by singing. The music teacher can sing directions to an activity to the student, which may bring the student into the teachers’ world. Moreover, if a student is singing to themself, the teacher can join in to enter the students’ world.
In another example, a middle school student may have a unique strength at memorizing dates. The teacher might ask the student to create, and consistently use throughout the school year, a chart documenting the date in which each musical piece was composed. The student now is using their strength to be involved in the activity which can carry over across multiple units.
As mentioned earlier, many students with ASD may struggle with expressive and receptive language. “Communication is a basic human power that allows people to articulate their personal, educational, vocational, and social goals and to achieve their full potential. As a person develops communication competence, he or she meets this human need, realizes this human right, and attains this human power,” (Hall, 2018).
In order to attain this power, many students with ASD may use what is called Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). An example of this is what is called a PEC, or Picture Exchange System. A PEC is a set of pictures given to the student that they can use to communicate with the teacher or peers by showing a picture.
Some students may use technology such as a “Go Talk” or an iPad. A Go Talk will have multiple pictures present, and when a student touches a picture, the pre-recorded word is spoken. iPad’s have applications that function in the same way, in some instances, students may be able to communicate in sentences. For more advanced students who still need a little support, scripts can be provided to assist them.
Music teachers can easily incorporate AAC techniques into music-making. For example, music teachers can prepare laminated visuals for music vocabulary, text from songs, or basic communication needs. If a Go Talk or iPad is present in the classroom, music teachers can ask speech teachers to incorporate vocabulary or key text onto these devices so they can use their voice.
Music teachers can also add gestures to connect with keywords or vocabulary in order to help students who may be kinesthetic learners.
Music teachers may need to be aware of the sensory needs of students with ASD. “For children with developmental challenges, particularly children with difficulties on the autism spectrum, the other senses may be just as relevant, if not more so. As a result, they may seem to overreact to some sensory stimuli and may have trouble filtering out other, less important stimuli – a tendency that can lead, in some cases, to higher levels of arousal and/or feelings of anxiety,” (Volkmar & Wiesner, 2009).
Music teachers may experience two different types of sensory needs. Some students may be hypersensitive, in that sensory stimuli can overwhelm them. On the other hand, some students may be hyposensitive, in that they need more sensory input. Teachers can work together with the occupational therapy team when it comes to sensory challenges. Teachers need to be aware that certain things in the classroom (such as lighting, temperature, certain sounds, certain materials, the fabric of students’ clothing) may cause some students with hypersensitivity to feel overwhelmed. In addition, teachers can create an area with sensory items (such as weighted objects, rolly items, slime, koosh balls) to assist hyposensitive students.
While this can seem overwhelming from a teaching perspective (music is one of the most sensory stimulated classrooms students experience), there are ways teachers can prepare for multiple types of sensory needs:
Students with ASD will frequently require visual supports. “The use of visual strategies and supports can go a long way in helping children with ASDs understand what they are being asked to do or communicate their needs and choices. Visual supports are photographs, line drawings, written or pictorial scripts, rule reminder cards, digital images with our without text, or text alone that cue a child to perform a behavior or make a choice,” (Koenig, 2012).
Many students will need to have visuals presented for them to understand a question, a classroom rule, or an expectation, or a way to communicate. Many students will respond to different types of visuals. Some students may respond best to Mayer Johnson symbols, while some may respond better to cartoon images found on Google. Even more, some students may need actual images of the exact object or location.
Some students may not need a picture at all, just the actual text. Once teachers understand the skill level of each student better, teachers can pick what type of visual support would be best for them and allow them to be as independent as possible.
Many students with ASD may struggle with anxiety due to fear of the unknown. For example, is singing followed by recorder work? Not having this information can cause fear for a student with ASD. Music teachers can prepare a visual schedule that is on the board, or an individual one for the student, for them to see the sequence of events.
Another example, music teachers can use visuals to represent something they are asking students to do. If teachers want their students to put Orff xylophones back neatly, they can have a visual prepared of what this looks like with the words “clean up” so students know what is being asked.
A further example incorporates visuals with classroom rules and expectations. If a student is not gentle with an instrument, the teacher can point to a visual rule of “gentle hands” rather than speaking the command. The visual may help the student become more independent in the music classroom.
Student behavior is another area of concern for students with ASD. The thing music teachers need to keep in mind is that behavior serves as a function of communication. Because many children with ASD have challenges expressing their needs, behavior becomes the way they communicate.
If behavior is severe enough that it is interfering with the classroom environment or safety of the child/staff/peers, teachers may need to collect data on the behavior and create a behavior intervention plan. “The best way to prevent problem behaviors from occurring is to create a motivating environment with built-in reinforcers for students with ASD so that they maintain high levels of engagement. If challenging behaviors are targeted for decreasing, then it will be important for educators to know how to teach replacement behaviors and skills,” (Hall, 2018).
When collecting data on behaviors, teachers can use scatter plots or ABC charts. Scatter plots will give more specific time instances when a behavior is occurring, while ABC charts will give more information about what is happening before the behavior occurs, and what happens after.
Music teachers can create behavioral supports for students with ASD that work in inclusion and self-contained settings. One example is incorporating a first-then chart. First, the student is asked to do something (ex: sit on the rug with a dancing scarf), and then they are reinforced/rewarded with a highly motivating item (ex: toy).
A more advanced example of this is a token economy system. Students will have to earn multiple tokens throughout a set period of time, and then receive the reinforcement. When incorporating charts for students, teachers should take into account students’ interests to make learning new behavioral skills motivating. If a student is interested in Thomas the Train, they can earn multiple Thomas tokens to get the reinforcement.
Working with students who have ASD will be challenging yet rewarding at the same time. Once music teachers can take a step back and see all students as individuals and begin to see their strengths and interests, they can develop strategies for including all students in musical learning. Moreover, music teachers will learn how to think out of the box, which in turn will allow them to be more creative themselves.
Contributor
Brian J. Wagner-Yeung is the Special Learners chair for NYSSMA. He received his BA and MSED in Music Education from CUNY Queens College, an advanced certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders from CUNY Brooklyn College, and is currently pursuing a…
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