|
"Music is my favourite way of thinking." -a child with Williams Syndrome
Did you know that individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) have an innate love and passion for music? Individuals with WS have been studied to show a greater liking for music as well as a very positive emotional response to music. Their love for music has been associated with the common condition of hyperacusis among individuals with WS, causing over sensitive hearing and allowing these individuals to hear a greater range of sounds, Music therapy (MT) is a unique classroom strategy for educators because the entire class can participate in the educational music strategies or the strategies can be adapted to specifically meet the child with Williams Syndrome's learning needs. A Specialized Education Assistant (SEA) or hired professional will typically be responsible for supplementary one-on-one music therapy. Multiple studies show that children with WS can benefit from music therapy in the classroom for:
|
How Do I Know If Music Therapy is Right for My Student?
Music therapy is beneficial for all kinds of learners, both developmentally disabled and their non-disabled peers. Individuals with WS are typically verbal learners, with strengths in expressive communication and auditory listening, thus making music therapy a viable option. If your student expresses interest in, can be motivated to complete tasks by using music, and is able to retain information more easily through music, music therapy is a great classroom strategy to use. Music therapy can be used in any form such as: listening, singing, playing an instrument, or creating rhythms. Music can be used to introduce new topics in an engaging manner, express strategies for task accomplishment, encourage creativity and improvisation, strengthen visual-motor abilities, provide on-task reinforcement, and encourage learners to persevere.
What If I Can't Sing and Don't Have Any Musical Training?
Incorporating music therapy in the classroom does not require formal training or even instruments. Music can be incorporated into classroom lessons in the form of listening and singing along to task oriented songs or you can create rhythms with your hands, feet, pencils, rulers, and just about anything you can find in the classroom for improving visual-motor and visual-spatial abilities. Music can also be played in the background during independent work time to increase motivation and focus or as a reward system for an individual with WS, allowing them to independently listen to their music on an iPod after successfully completing the assigned task.
There are many different ways that music therapy can be incorporated into the classroom as a strategic educational tool for children with Williams Syndrome. Below are discussions and outlines of two specific methods of music therapy that you can use in the classroom.
|
1. Using Music to Learn Multi-Step Mathematical Problems
Mathematics can be particularly difficult for individuals with WS because of their deficiencies in visual processing skills and problem solving abilities. Although individuals with WS most often have a proficient understanding of basic mathematic concepts, problems that require multiple steps and a "big picture perspectives" are typically difficult because they have a hard time organizing concepts to work together sequentially.
Students with WS love to listen to music and sing along, using their affinity for music is a highly beneficial strategy for addressing their mathematical difficulties. By using songs that outline sequential steps for solving math problems, children will strengthen their verbal memory, repeat the song when encountering a similar problem, and improve recall abilities of mathematic problem solving sequences.
|
IN ACTION:
|
Watch the videos below for multi-step math problem song ideas to use in your classroom.
|
|
|
2. Using Music to Develop Visual-Motor Skills
Individuals with WS typically have poor visual-motor abilities resulting in poor handwriting and difficulty with fine motor activities such as using scissors or catching a ball. Learning how to play an instrument is a great way for children with WS to improve their fine motor abilities because of the hand-eye coordination required. Not all children and classrooms have access to pianos or guitars though, so this music therapy strategy seeks to include all students.
Incorporating a rhythm activity into the classroom is a fun and effective way to develop body awareness and visual-motor abilities especially when students are at a young developmental age. Rhythm activities provide a great brain break for classroom transitions and can become a habitual part of the day, increasing with difficulty as the school year progresses. You can use your hands, feet, drums, sticks, pencils, desks, and pretty much anything you can find in the classroom to create rhythm and patterns together. |
IN ACTION:
|
|
Watch the videos below to learn more about the connection that individuals with Williams Syndrome
have to music and see their rhythm in action.
have to music and see their rhythm in action.
|
|
REFERENCES
PHOTO CREDITS [IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE]
CONTRIBUTORS Music Therapy written by Rebecca Sclater. Cite as:
|