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Choral Caffeine: Special Needs Singers

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It’s reasonable to assume that every conductor working in an education institution has had a special needs student in their choral ensemble.  Though perhaps initially intimidating, there is reason to suspect that we all found the experience to have been rewarding, on many levels.
 
In her article, “Inclusion of Special Needs Students in Choirs” (Texas Sings, Fall 2008), Vicki Baker examines the subject with care and objectivity.
 
I am in a school where my administration truly supports my call on this issue. I have special needs kids only in the choirs they can handle, and in which I can meet those needs. Mainly, these students are in my beginning-level classes. Rarely do I have them in a contest level group, and if they are, it is because I have had them for several years and can manage them in that setting.”
 
I like having special needs kids in my choirs because I think, at some level, we all have special needs. I believe having these special individuals helps me keep a sense of perspective in my life. This job is not about me or just about music. It’s about people who are involved in a deeply emotional activity that touches the heart and soul, not just the ears and mind.
 
(To access the full article, simply click the highlighted title. For additional articles on a dazzling array of choral topics, visit ChorTeach.)
 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. That was AWESOME!  Wow!
     
    But it’s not just only good for Michael but you must be SO PROUD of your regular ed kids–compassion, tolerance and patience—wow! What a wonderful school!  I’m crying right now………so moving!
     
    Marie
     
    P.S. This is what our special needs kids show us–anthing is possible for them if we plan and help them along to achieve their dreams.  Hugs to you, Lori!

  2. I would love to share with you one of our special needs students named Michael Powell.  He sang in boys choir for two year and always dreamed of having a band.  Several students made the band possible, but many other students made the idea that he could be a rock star possible as well.  It touched all of us to work on this project and I’d love to share the link if you want to see it.  However, on a sad note, this young man’s father recently passed away from brain cancer.  In the remaining months and weeks and literally days of his life, his father kept saying how important an impact this performance made in his life and the lives of others.  Michael’s Band:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XHM6aCYUHE
    Thanks for helping us to love our special needs kids and find ways to include them in our choirs and our hearts.
     
    Lori Hayward
    West Point Junior High

  4. Thank you for this article, Scott, and reminding us our special needs singers sometimes teach us the most amazing things.
     
    I am ths mom of a young man with autism and having him in my life has made me a better person–more tolerant, more understanding, more willing to be creative in my own work.  Having spent years trying teach him the most basic of skills–and his finally mastering them because I wouldn’t give up–makes me a better teacher and conductor, willing to try anything.  When you love someone, not giving up on them is expected, but what I didn’t expect was how it changed me as a person.
     
    Those of you interested in special populations, and how to work with them in your own ensembles, will find a place  right here on ChoralNet–the ChoralNet Community, “Friends of Joyful Noise.” We will answer your music inclusion questions, in addition to chronicling the progress of choirs for adults with disabilities across the country.  So far, because of the New Jersey choir, Joyful Noise, and their appearanace in Chicago last year at ACDA’s national conference, there are choirs of special needs adults in  New Mexico, Iowa, two in Illinois (Steve S. has been recording his rehearsals every week since  fall of 2011–fascinating!) and one beginning in Wisconsion this coming January.  We are a welcoming bunch, so please come on over!
     
    Thank you again, Scott!
     
    Marie
     
     
     
     

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