Teaching someone with a disability can be scary at first.  There are a lot of variables.  You do not know the extent of the disability, whether the student has an adequate attention span, or the ability to understand what you are trying to teach.  Well, I’m here to tell you that I actually enjoy working with students that have a disability.  It can be very rewarding and enjoyable. I was not teaching at the time when I received a phone call from one of my orchestra colleagues.  She told me, “I’m sending a boy to you.  He has a disability.  You have a disability, and you know more than I would.”  I never thought that I would go back into teaching again, but this guy inspired me.  Yes, you heard me correctly, he inspired ME!  His mother called and I told her that I was not properly set up as a studio yet, but that I would listen to him play and offer suggestions.  This cute, red headed kid that was taller than I was entered into my home with the manners of an adult.  He introduced himself as Zack (not his real name for obvious reasons) and sat down.  He was ready to learn.  I did not know at the time that he was a total beginner AND that his concert was in a week.  Well, I like challenges.  Zack started blowing in the clarinet and for a beginner sounded pretty good!  Zack has Central Auditory Processing Disorder, Ocular Motor Dysfunction and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, so his sight was limited as well as other processes.  I believed that he was not reading, so teaching Zack the proper names of the notes was not in HIS best interest.  Besides, I had to get him ready to play with his band in a week. I know I had my work cut out for me, but I was ready!  I immediately thought of different colors that could possibly help him understand the position and names of the notes.  The next thing I had to figure out was the duration of each note.  That was a little harder, but I worked with him with a type of Morse code language – dots and dashes.  I had the family leave and come back so that I could recode his music.  During this time, I found my passion to teach again.  Not only was I interested, but teaching distracted me from my chronic pain that I had developed because of a catastrophic work injury. Zack did come back, and he worked diligently.  He was excited, I was excited, everyone was excited!  Now the challenge was, will the band director allow him to play with the band?  I received a phone call the following day from Zack and the answer was YES.  I was so excited and proud of him! I was not able to attend that concert, but afterwards Zack sent me a video message (below) with a HUGE smile on his face saying that he DID IT.  He thanked me, but I should be the one thanking him.  I learned many things from Zack that week, one being that he may have the label of having a disability, but he has the ABILITY to learn and to EMPOWER people around him.  He not only helped me to find my passion to teach again but he gave me the courage to try when I did not think that I could teach, let alone play again. I have been part of Zack’s family since that day!  Musically, he is currently in the 9^th grade and plays guitar in his school band.  Turns out that Zack is a natural and can pick up any instrument and play tunes that he has heard!  He and his talented sister have performed together for many Assisted Living Homes in their community.

  Through my unforeseen situation, I realize my gift to help “differently abled” kids by making music accessible to each individual. I am creative and realized I can use my creativity to transpose music into whatever presentation best suits their abilities and work around their differences.  It is a win/win!