{"id":33853,"date":"2022-12-06T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T20:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/?post_type=journalarticle&p=33853"},"modified":"2024-09-12T09:58:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T15:58:29","slug":"angelina-my-experience-working-with-a-student-with-a-severe-learning-disability","status":"publish","type":"journalarticle","link":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/es\/journalarticle\/angelina-my-experience-working-with-a-student-with-a-severe-learning-disability\/","title":{"rendered":"Angelina: Mi experiencia trabajando con un alumno con graves dificultades de aprendizaje"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I first came in contact with the Suzuki Method, one of main components that attracted me was the concept that Every Child Can. You don\u2019t have to be designated \u201ctalented\u201d in order to merit taking music lessons. Something that was traditionally so exclusive is now inclusive. But along with this inclusiveness comes the challenge of finding the most successful way to enable every student to absorb the information they need to progress. I find this challenge the most stimulating part of teaching. It can be so rewarding when you are successful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having taught music for twenty-six years now, I know that every student presents their own challenges. Some have a natural facility on the instrument but don\u2019t have the patience to focus on reading notation. For some, it takes years to grasp the concept of intonation. Others have behavior issues that we need to address even before we start learning about music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Angelina\u2019s mother, Genny, approached me twenty years ago about giving her daughter violin lessons, I was apprehensive. Angelina was born with Down Syndrome, so I knew that even at age ten she would come with her own unique challenges. On the other hand, something told me that if I was successful, this could be the most interesting and important work of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had known Angelina since she was a baby. She had attended preschool with my daughter. She was always very sweet and cheerful, always smiling and happy to agree to any task set before her. She simply took her time doing it. What took other children a few seconds to do might take Angelina ten or fifteen minutes, tasks such as washing her hands or putting on her coat. What took other children ten or fifteen minutes might take Angelina hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I accepted Angelina as a violin student knowing that my whole system of expectations and timelines would have to be readjusted. Her mother told me not to worry about time or deadlines. She had been a musician in her youth, and she knew the magic it could bring to her daughter\u2019s life. She chose the violin because she had read about the Mozart Effect, knowing how classical music stimulates the brain and about how playing a bowed instrument requires continual crossing of the brain\u2019s midline. She also thought that the vibrations from the strings would be soothing. Genny told me that we had \u201cas long as it takes.\u201d Even then, I had some insight deep in my heart that this student would teach me more that I would her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Angelina was born, the doctors gave Genny and her husband advice on how to raise a child with Down Syndrome. They said that her fine motor skills would be quite limited. She probably won\u2019t have much opposing strength in her thumb. Speech would come very slowly. In general, \u201cDon\u2019t expect much and you may be pleasantly surprised.\u201d They chose to raise her the best they could, with love and patience, and she has grown into the cheerful, sensitive and caring adult that she is.<\/p>\n\n\n

[img=https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/HfNlnULUcf3Lx_p6ul9f3UbPWMLZYWmIAZTzd8hmE3Jj0wHMGEuiW6An8yztsUCRmRPs5VO6ngiriBY8M68LyoVvYptHW_jkYP7fNwNYD3evUhf4QTzD6lfnCvMKJg4KQKUiwDP65x727dLXIjJg4JeAm63rUdc9DPGSjXixf541z7ZDNFM1pioWnZ9Wan80]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelina loves to read the music while we play.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As soon as we began the lessons, I saw with clarity the wisdom behind the advice to teachers that if your students aren\u2019t meeting your expectations, lower the bar to achieve success. And from that first lesson twenty years ago, I believe that Angelina and I have been successful. We took our time and laughed a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with all of my students, we began with posture and bow hold. She cheerfully accepted any changes I made, and her mother worked with her daily at home. When it came time to put her fingers on the fingerboard, the issue of digital strength became apparent. We made circles with each finger and pressed them together to build up strength. We just kept trying. Angelina believed that she could do anything! Whenever I asked about a task, \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d she would answer, \u201cGreat! I got it!\u201d even if she didn\u2019t. Her positive attitude was infectious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes it can be challenging because Angelina doesn\u2019t understand why we spend so much time on a piece. She always says, \u201cThis is easy for me!\u201d So I remind her, \u201cI\u2019m glad that it\u2019s easy. That\u2019s wonderful! But do you want it to be correct?\u201d And she trusts me, so she tries again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are now working on Humoresque in Book Three. There\u2019s a tricky spot where you have to shift to third position, then use half steps across the strings, feeling each finger to help with placement and intonation, all while slurring the bow. It\u2019s a challenging spot for any student, but Angelina wouldn\u2019t understand if I told her it\u2019s just \u201ctoo hard\u201d for her and that we shouldn\u2019t play this piece. And so we work on it. Sometimes when she feels frustration coming on, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then just tries again. She never judges herself. The first step to mastering this spot was to match the open A string pitch with the second finger on the D string in third position. This has taken about a month of lessons, while we also work on other things.<\/p>\n\n\n

[img=https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/oEHl2ZxHexVQXqwXY8gsgKPvxQiAJ1DnYlRQRJQuin3UvaPnGWlb6OrCJifIrSkfmG0gJUkZS1bwL0G7Gw1Ra590wrKB1zVcGkjBOsopQawc4Cl6KTQtiPZPKEVcHRB2skVpRrksl9C-O6nXBqJUVH9oFNUiWj8NRO8Rnpf2oV1gjAJZPVkGQphYlbbqo6jP]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelina is proud to perform. Here she just completed her Suzuki Book 2 recital.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, one day, she was able to do it consistently. Something clicked. So we added the other fingers. She has colored tapes and stickers on her fingerboard to help her with the placement. We worked the spot twenty times or so, then put it aside for next time. It may take us months before this spot is correct and easy for her, but she\u2019ll never give up. Her persistence is inspiring! Sometimes I wish my other students could focus on one task for this long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelina and I begin each lesson by sight reading duets. Sometimes I need to play through her part with her to get the rhythms and notes correct, and it\u2019s rarely perfect, but we always make music. She loves to hear the ringing tones and the harmonies when our pitches blend just right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re working through Suzuki Book Three at a comfortable pace. It may take up to three years, but who\u2019s counting? We also have a set of easier pieces to play just for fun. She performed six Christmas songs at her church last December and people cried to see what she can do. She always takes her final bow with a proud Mona Lisa smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s fascinating to me that all of my students have challenges to face but express them in different ways. Some of them are impatient to move on to the next piece when I know they are not ready yet. Some of them are so self-critical that they cry tears of shame. All of them get frustrated at one time or the other. Playing the violin is hard! But having worked with Angelina all these years has taught me how to work through these hard times with every student with patience and persistence because I have experienced firsthand that truly, Every Child Can!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cuando entr\u00e9 en contacto por primera vez con el M\u00e9todo Suzuki, uno de los componentes principales que me atrajo fue el concepto de que Todos los Ni\u00f1os Pueden. No tienes que ser designado \"talentoso\" para merecer tomar clases de m\u00fasica. Algo que tradicionalmente era tan exclusivo ahora es inclusivo. Pero junto con esta inclusividad viene el reto...<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":34780,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"pmpro_default_level":"0","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":""},"article-tag":[777,765],"journalsection":[],"class_list":["post-33853","journalarticle","type-journalarticle","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article-tag-student","article-tag-teaching-and-learning","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"article-tag":[{"value":777,"label":"Student"},{"value":765,"label":"Teaching & Learning"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Untitled-768x1024-1.jpg",768,1024,false],"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journalarticle\/33853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journalarticle"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/journalarticle"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article-tag?post=33853"},{"taxonomy":"journalsection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journalsection?post=33853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}