The importance of inclusion for students with learning differences

This was a case study involving two elementary-aged students (Luke and Malik), and documenting their experience with a fully inclusive model for music education. When it comes to inclusion, the big question many stakeholders wrestle with is Are we here to develop musical skills and abilities, or are we here to foster appropriate social skills?. I would say the answer is simply “Yes.”

It is easy for us to take a deficit-based approach to students with severe learning differences or behavioral differences, but this study paints a picture of a possibility where our students can can do both. However, those in this case study suggest that their model of elementary music starts with a focus on community before musical skills.

All students with learning differences, especially those diagnosed with ASD, will have something enthusiastically phenomenal going for them! Our job is to find it. We need to find ways to remove “otherness” from our students with learning differences.

Differentiating instruction and learning environments with Universal Deign for Learning (UDL) is a great place to start. There is a lot of literature out there on UDL if you aren’t familiar with this approach. This is the key to meeting all students where they are, and allowing them to thrive.

The researcher found that these students with ASD benefitted greatly from their music education program, and experienced great amounts of pride, joy, and pleasure in their experience.

Not only were the students in the case study finding success with musical skills, but also with peer relationships. There were observed cases of mutual reciprocity where general education peers were available to help Luke and Malik navigate directions and behavioral expectations when a one-on-one paraeducator was unavailable. It was observed that some general ed students were “encouraged to be more of a role model” (p. 145).

The elementary school from this case study seemed to fit the profile of a school with more resources, and possibly more students who may be considered to come from affluence. Draper described the importance of the “extracurricular becoming curricular.” Music education may commonly exist as an extracurricular activity in elementary or secondary levels. This presents a barrier for students with special needs (and their parents) who are often encumbered with regular visits to see specialists related to their diagnoses such as psychologists or occupational therapy.

This school in the case study had the resources to offer pull-out individual lessons for stringed instruments in addition to multiple ensembles and music classes. The vast amount of available resources (and music personnel) during the instructional day removes those barriers.

This scenario is great, and we ALL wish we had access to these types of resources, but what if we don’t? Personally, I would find building a program fitting this model to be a challenge. The lack of available resources may present a barrier to those who teach underserved communities with tighter budgets.

This article immediately caught my attention, it hits home in a big way! I have two elementary-aged children who have been diagnosed with ASD. As a parent, I am always protective of them, and their experiences at school. Also, as a band director, I have had a handful of students with ASD in my classes.

I remember calling over to the feeder middle school asking about certain students, and what I could expect when they come to me as 9th-graders. And one comment I got was something to the effect of “awful, very difficult to work with.” It turns out, he was diagnosed with ASD, and while we had our ups and downs, he was with me for all four years, and is one of my most memorable students. I’m not proud to say that I took the lazy way out with some students with ASD, and tried to find alternate placements for them. Looking back, I’m ashamed, but I just didn’t know what to do with these particular kids, and how to fit them into “my” program.

Having an asset-based lens is so important. Find what they love, and always keep your proprieties straight, it’s about musical skills (sure), but it’s mostly about community.