teaching music to LD students

It’s a very specific request and I’m sorry I don’t know sites for you. I always recommend Mel Levine’s Educational Care book to anyone who wants to know more about learning differences. When you say teach music, do you mean teach them to play an instrument?

Reading the music may be a challenge for some but as you work in an ungraded, one on one setting, you may happily not see quite the same struggles that the same children would have in school.

I could suggest this. What part of the country are you in? Try looking in Peterson’s Guide To the Independent Schools. Find a school that works with students who have learning differences near you. Talk to their music teacher(s) for any tips they could give you.

You should know that success in their extra curricular activities are often the main source of self-esteem to children who face challenges in school. Your students are fortunate to have such a caring teacher.

Alice, there is a GREAT book I’ve just found titled Instrumental Music For Dyslexics, An Instructional Handbook, By Sheila Oglethorpe. It was published in England in 1997, and seems to already be out-of-print … but just barely, as many on-line book sites still list it. It’s only on trying to order that they tell you it’s no longer available.

I tracked down a copy through my local library, though I had to use the interlibrary loan system, and am still doing book searches trying to come up with a copy of my own.

Dyslexics comprise the largest segment of the LD population, according to the National Institutes of Health. But even if your kids are not dyslexic, this book has wonderful, broadly applicable information in it. Apparently this topic (music and ld) is more widley discussed in the UK, as everything I’ve been able to find seems to come from there.

I’m the mom of a 10 year old dyslexic flutist. She has been playing since 5 1/2, learning with the Suzuki method. We didn’t realize she was dyslexic until last year … though we should have, as there is a strong familial history of dyslexia. AND music!! She has inherited both. In fact there are many who would argue that the same anomolous “brain wiring” that manifests itself in difficulties with left brained learning, i.e., reading, spelling, rote memorization, etc., is also responsible in many instances, for “right brained” gifts in areas like art, music, spatial reasoning, etc. Certainly seems to be true in my daughter’s case.

Because of the Suzuki method’s use of the parent as a “practice coach”, I am perhaps more intimately aware of how dyslexia has affected my daughter’s experience as a musician than a non- musician parent who does not participate in practice. My 7 year old son has been playing cello for about a year now, and it is interesting to see the differences between the two, as he is a “traditional learner”.

I have done a HUGE amount of reading about ld over the last year, especially dyslexia. Our flute teacher didn’t really know much about it a year ago, either. But that’s changing. She has even come to realize that she has atleast one other dyslexic student.

It’s a fascinating area, very intellectually engaging.Feel free to contact me by e-mail, too. Good luck, Cyndy

Thank you Sara for your response. Yes, I do mean teaching them to play an instrument primarily, which includes reading music, ear training, theory. I am experimenting with different techniques with some success, but would like to learn from others who’ve already been working with LD students and music. I’ll call the local university’s music dept and see what they recommend—thanks for suggesting that I hook up with educational institutions.

Thanks, Cindy! Yes, dyslexia is one of the topics I’m interested in. I’ll e-mail you to continue the conversation. Sounds like a wonderful book; I’ll look for it too. Again, thanks.