Special Education and Music

This dissertation was a qualitative examination of the band participation of three adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This investigation of individual experiences and perceptions could help readers understand what adolescents with ADHD value about their band participation and what academic, interpersonal, and
behavioral challenges adolescents with ADHD face during band
participation. Research questions included: (a) What is the nature of band participation for three adolescents who have been diagnosed with ADHD? (b) How do adolescents with ADHD, their music teachers, and their parents describe the band participation of adolescents with ADHD? (c) In what ways do adolescents with ADHD interact with their music teachers and peers in bands? Data collection methods included interviewing, observing, and a researcher joumaling; analysis involved data coding, selecting representative quotes, sorting thematically, and summarizing. Important themes included isolation from peers, a sense
of belonging, the perception of peers as family, music learning and achievement motivations, behavior management strategies such as self-monitoring and hyperfocus, and ADHD-symptoms of impulsivity, inattentiveness, and hyperactivity. All participants were high-achieving musicians. Notable findings included close relationships with band
directors, the use ofhyperfocus to manage individuals' ADHD impulses or to be musically expressive, diminutive descriptions of individual skills by adolescents with ADHD, unknowingly supportive behaviors of band directors toward students with ADHD, and positive social interactions with peers when advanced musical skills coupled with leadership roles exist for adolescents with ADHD.

The AQR-Instrument (Assessment of the Quality of Relationship)-an instrument to observe and assess the quality of relationship based on developmental-psychological knowledge-was developed for use in music therapy with children with profound developmental disorders (Schumacher/Calvet 2001, 2005, 2007). The AQR-Instrument consists of 4 scales that focus on differing phenomena of expression: instrumental expression, vocal pre-speech expression, physical-emotional expression, the therapists and his/her interventions. Within each scale, 7 modi are used to assess the quality of the inter-personal relationship indicate and give important indications for methodical approaches. The research presented here, the first to apply the AQR-Instrument in a music educational setting with adults with disabilities, assesses the ability of 3 group members to form relationships according to the handling of instruments. It aims to ascertain the ability of the participant to take part in group sessions as well as to examine the methods used by the teacher and whether these were appropriate for the participant and also gives important indications for further music educational approaches. Examples will be shown on DVD. The paper includes information and DVD examples about the setting and the didactical considerations for the musical-educational work with this group of adults with severe disabilities and finishes with thoughts and implications for future work.

The AQR-Instrument (Assessment of the Quality of Relationship)-an instrument to observe and assess the quality of relationship based on developmental-psychological knowledge-was developed for use in music therapy with children with profound developmental disorders (Schumacher/Calvet 2001, 2005, 2007). The AQR-Instrument consists of 4 scales that focus on differing phenomena of expression: instrumental expression, vocal pre-speech expression, physical-emotional expression, the therapists and his/her interventions. Within each scale, 7 modi are used to assess the quality of the inter-personal relationship indicate and give important indications for methodical approaches. The research presented here, the first to apply the AQR-Instrument in a music educational setting with adults with disabilities, assesses the ability of 3 group members to form relationships according to the handling of instruments. It aims to ascertain the ability of the participant to take part in group sessions as well as to examine the methods used by the teacher and whether these were appropriate for the participant and also gives important indications for further music educational approaches. Examples will be shown on DVD. 2 The paper includes information and DVD examples about the setting and the didactical considerations for the musical-educational work with this group of adults with severe disabilities and finishes with thoughts and implications for future work.

The Orff approach to music learning and teaching can provide models of differentiated instruction and can support inclusive teaching in a multitude of ways. In this chapter, I will present thoughts on Orff-Schulwerk, inclusive pedagogy and play-songs, and illustrate some of the possibilities based on a particular song and examples from work with three children. I will include descriptions of how the Orff-Approach enables one topic—here, The Owl Song—to be developed through many activities and on different levels thereby realizing the aspects of inner differentiation and cooperation on a joint theme that are essential in inclusive teaching.

The purpose of this research is to examine and investigate the perception ability of musical instruments of educable mentally retarded children with the support of visual elements. The research is conducted for every children individually in a special education and rehabilitation centre. The problematic of this research is the level of perception ability of musical instruments with visual support on mild mentally retarded children. In this research, perception ability of defining pictograms by music is introduced as an alternative method. It is researched that how educable mentally retarded children perceive pictograms by music tools. In this case, it is aimed to introduce musical instruments to educable mentally retarded children by pictograms with music. The research is applied with a qualitative approach. Data were obtained with the recorder, then they were turned into texts and analyzed with content analysis method.