I am going to be teaching a child with autism this year. I was just wondering if anyone has ever had any experience with this before. I've met with both her and her mom and talked through what we would be doing. Her mom has told me that she has a tremendous ear, can hear a song and sing it back to you, almost instantly, so i plan on doing a lot of aural training with her. Has anyone had experience with this, or know of where I could obtain some materials on this subject? Any information would be helpful. Thanks.

-- Jen (jen_carley@yahoo.com), September 22, 2004

Answers

You will want to find out a little more and then do some research. Autism can take different forms, such as Asperger's. Ask a few more questions and also confer with the parent to find out particulars about behavior (for instance, some autistic children react negatively to touch).

-- Arlene Steffen (asteffen@fresno.edu), September 24, 2004.

Autistic spectrum people are very often excellent visual learners. Therefore, teaching sightreading through an intervallic method can achieve excellent results, particularly for the child who lacks spontanaity/imagination. I teach an Asperger's boy in this way with superb results.

-- Rebecca (rebecca.p.taylor@virgin.net), October 31, 2004.