Teaching severly autistic/fragilex children.

[lostinidlewonder]

Finally I have a student that challenges me to my utmost limits. The boy is nine years old and has only recently learned to say a few words. In our first lesson I treated him like other autistic children I taught, setting him up to succeed only, constantly approving of his attempts, never letting him feel like he has done anything wrong and trying to calculate constantly that I do not distract him (use pencil to point at notes for example, I caught myself doing it as I do with most students and he touched the pencil and got totally distracted lol) At the end of the first lesson he was looking at me, smiling, waved goodbye which I was very touched to see. I personally find building a relationship where they feel safe is th first most important step.

I managed to get him to notice two and three black notes, how pedals work and how loud and soft the piano can go, where high and low notes are. I even showed him how a piano mechanism works, the insides of it. He was extremely fascinated. I managed to get him to repeat three different notes in sequences for me and he could repeat it after some effort.

I have to stand back and look at this student in a different light that others. Where some students want to play composed pieces which sound nice it seems to me that this severly autistic child just wants to see what a piano can do. I showed him also how to play thirds, and he was doing it all over the piano. He liked to see a space in between notes.

Where else can I go with this student? I have some ideas to allow him to create his own music because it will be literally impossible for him to learn a composed piece. He likes to make sounds, but any attempt to teach an actual composed piece even without sheets is too much for him. But he loves the lesson so much which I think is so important. That he can feel like he is succeeding and can do no wrong, it makes it fun, safe and enjoyable for him.

Anyone with experience teaching severe autistics/fragilex students could you shed some light on your experience? I really love teaching this child, it challenges me to the extreme and it is extremely rewarding to see him smile and enjoy playing the piano, even if it doesn't resemble what most early beginners do. The therapy of music seems to me to be the important issue learning to try and follow instructions, concerntrate, interact with a teacher etc etc these things are more important than the actual development of a piano playing ability. Please I hope people can share ideas or helpful links.

[lostinidlewonder]

Anyone with severly autistic family members who want to share their story with me can email me or private me if they don't want to type publically, I would appreciate your insights into your teaching and learning experiences. Thanks to one who emailed me and reminding me that this issue can be extremely private for some.

[m1469]

I don't truly have direct experience teaching somebody progressively at the piano with this, but I am generally very willing to try things, especially in situations that really call to me as a teacher.  I have observed some private work (not piano) with severely autistic children, and of course there has seemed to be quite a bit of "rewarding" that goes on.  The reward can be anything that feels like a reward to that student.  And then repetition and persistence on the teacher's part.  Years ago I was considering a job as a private teacher for severely autistic children, in fact, so my observing involved a lot of mentally putting myself in the position of both the student as well as the teacher.  If I were in your situation though, I would basically give myself permission to think WAY out of the box.  

For example, if note reading ever does come into play, presenting it in the form of art and pictures instead of regular sheetmusic.  Working with blocks to represent concepts at the piano.  Working just to get them to respond (in *any way*) to music in general, listening, dancing, drawing ... *anything.*  Using little animals at the piano who they control in finding notes, etc., vs. them being asked/controlled to find things.  Let him play the actual piano strings.  As a child, I used to regularly take the piano apart (and put it back together) ... it was an upright, which I managed (out of sheer love and curiosity for the sound) to take as much casing off as possible (as in, the entire front), and then I'd play.  Let him be fascinated by how it works.

When a pattern is discerned, magnify that pattern in whatever way you possibly can.  Bring it into various mediums so he can see it from various angles and not just as trying to sit at the piano bench, but so that he's getting the concept and idea of the pattern itself, not just about sitting at the piano.  There are life size teaching materials like giant staffs, giant floor pianos, etc..  Stories.  Everything in short spurts until *anything* is gained, rewarded, then moving on, perhaps revisiting a subject that same lesson.  hmmm ... my mind is going nuts with this now, so I'll stop!

  

[lostinidlewonder]

Thanks m1469 you always have a great view on teaching issues much appreciated and please share more if you get time you have already given me a few ideas. I love the idea of using image art to accompany the teaching. Using blocks I think will be a wonderful tool as one of his favorite toys are just those. I wonder how to use them so not to distract him, I will have to meditate and test it out.

I agree very strongly in trying to ascertain a pattern in his learning then attempting to amplify it. This is something I found common in my other autistic students, we had to find a routine in their learning and stick to it religiously. But those students could speak and give me feedback, I find I am trying to interpret his body language etc, I am very grateful his mother sits with us in lessons, she interprets for me constantly, a very caring and understanding young woman. She also tells him to concentrate and listen but in a nice way, you can see he love her very much and listens to her.

I see intelligence in him but it is trapped, I certainly do not believe that he is lost and unable to ever demonstrate it. But thinking waaaay outside of the box will be a requirement to nurture his attempts to improve and take chances.

Outside of the box learning the piano as a tool for other learning actions like listing to a teacher, sitting still and controlling his body to make sound on the piano, most importantly being curious and enjoying the sound that comes from the piano, feeling safe with someone who is trying to teach him skills, not being afraid to give things a go without worrying about what others think etc. These fundamental learning skills I find are more important than learning to play the piano, the piano is just a tool to practice these.... But as a musican I still wonder how can I meet this boy somewhere in the middle, where we do what he needs as a learning fundamental which has nothing to do with piano and where we teach him about producing music itself.

I was told many severly autistic students can learn how to play music but the skill can very easiy be totally lost and you have to start again. As a teacher I feel scared and bewildered how to teach a student like this who can literally forget everything. Maybe I have to not expect what I want but instead enjoy the process of constantly repairing and setting foundations. It's very confusing for me because I have never really experienced anyone like this!

Thanks again for your thoughts.

[m1469]

You may find this interesting and insightful, with regard to what's going on inside and outside of at least one severely autistic person's life.  I first watched it a month or two back, and was reminded of it:

[lostinidlewonder]

Yep I've seen this documentary, it is a real eye opener. I think I posted a video of this amazing young woman on my did you know thread hehe.

[m1469]

Oh  .  Of course that may be exactly where I first saw it (I thought it must have been on FB)  .

[tdawe]

Sorry to digress from the topic but I just wanted to express how I find it most inspiring your dedication to your pupils. You clearly put a vast amount of effort into it. Keep up the good work!

[lostinidlewonder]

I appreciate it tdawe. Teaching is a great passion of mine, not just a day job.

I'd still love to hear from anyone with experience with teaching these type of students discussed in this thread!

[oxy60]

I know a good bit about this.

If the student can repeat an action after you show it and then repeat it upon command then you might have a chance. My neighbor has a child who is now 20 who cannot do something again when asked. She can only do something when asked and supervised.

You are to be commended for trying. There is a huge range of abilities in these people.