Q+A Ep 37 Strategies for Helping Students with Learning Difficulties
Show Notes
Episode 37 Strategies for Helping Students with Learning Difficulties
00:00 Welcome to Part 3 of teaching piano to children who have learning difficulties.
00:44 Janet Olsen from Utah, USA joins the panel as both a piano teacher who teaches kids with special needs and a mom of two special needs children.
01:19 How Janet started teaching special needs students
01:49 When parents say that you’re their last hope to do music…
03:01 How to get students’ attention
03:52 What learning difficulties are you working with? Autism, ADHD, Anxiety Issues and other learning difficulties
04:50 What are the key things to remember when teaching
06:52 What’s the big prize? Choosing rewards
08:30 Janet shares using Whole Body Learning with her students
10:01 Students are achieving better results than Janet expected.
10:35 How backing tracks help students to learn more effectively and help learn songs easy piano
13:31 Teaching Mozart to students who have issues with reading. Adding colour and movement.
17:11 Rose Powell asks “would love to know some hints on how to help these students work through the necessary repetitions in order to see improvement without exploding out of frustration”
22:26 Michelle Blunt asks, “Many students come to us without a diagnosis. In regards to teaching piano to young beginners with needs or disorders, how do you address this with a parent if you are not qualified for special needs?”
26:45 Janet shares her own experience with her children with special needs.
29:35 Flexibility is a key theme. Caryn Eastman shares how you can try being flexible in your lessons with students who have learning difficulties.
32:35 Caryn shares the valuable work that piano teachers can do with students who suffer from learning difficulties.
35:51 Thinking creatively about resources for students.
