When our first daughter was born, we thought the “what your baby will do this month” books were extraordinarily cautious with skills they predicted she would display each month. Her older sister, Hannah,1Close easily breezed past each expectation and was months ahead of the expected benchmarks by the time she was 4 months old. Because of this experience, we were unprepared for the struggle we witnessed as our younger daughter worked herself to exhaustion to achieve each milestone.

David’s excitement was soon lessened as he settled into the long (excruciatingly long to him) two days of rehearsals. He then realized that this event was going to be the same as many others he had experienced. His intellectual abilities and talents often earned him honors and experiences that his brain and body were not able to handle. How embarrassing to have both the band director and District Band conductor talk to his mom about his behavior (“hyperactive” and “impulsive” were the words they used) at the end of the day. Suddenly, David hated band and was ready to quit. He knew he wouldn’t be allowed to quit because he had already quit soccer, baseball, violin, and the chess team. Maybe he could fake sick tomorrow morning to get out of his second day of District Band.

A few guidelines for working with students who are gifted include less emphasis on drills and repetition in the classroom. Furthermore, students who are gifted respond to increased opportunities to demonstrate mastery and to differentiation strategies that include adaptations to content, process, product, environment, and assessment

They are insatiably curious about everything, and using this curiosity and ability to become hyper-focused in an area of interest can allow a music educator the opportunity to create a meaningful and enduring set of experiences for a student who is gifted.

The ability of students who are globally gifted to comprehend complicated and multi-step processes in music is very high. They learn quickly and completely.

They are the students who learn difficult concepts instantly and completely. They are the students who can comprehend an entire scope and sequence of a topic, seemingly in an instant

I allowed her to stop her after-school activities because she was already exhausted from all the requirements of preadolescence, and I could see the daily wear caused by anxiety, frustration, and tension. We did not want to add more to the stresses of her daily life

I found myself retreating from volunteer activities and committees at school as I began to see judgment in the eyes of other parents and teachers.

A disappointing accompaniment to the environment of intellectually elite academic situations is that the parents are sometimes more competitive than the children.

During parent/teacher conferences, we would hear of the impulsive, disruptive, and immature behaviors exhibited by our daughter. We would also be told, repeatedly, that her handwriting was unacceptable and her organization skills were lacking.

If a student is having great difficulty following the class rules, write or draw a picture of the rule on a note card and have the student put the card in their pocket to assist in remembering that rule.

Many students with disabilities have communication delays. This leads them to act out to express dissatisfaction with their surroundings. That does not mean they should not face consequences; however, as mentioned earlier, teachers have been known to label a child as a “bad kid” when in fact there is a simple communication barrier or misunderstanding within the classroom.

Students who are developmentally able and less affected by their disabilities often appreciate the opportunity to participate in the creation of their own behavior plans, expectations, and consequences.

In addition, ensuring that students with differences and disabilities are actively engaged with other students may lessen the severity or frequency of outbursts and other inappropriate behaviors.

Music educators tend to be isolated within public schools. They are often the only teacher or one of the few music teachers within a school building. Many travel between buildings. This can be a disadvantage in understanding the social structure within a school.

“[e]‌ach public agency must ensure that a continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education and related services

Often our in-service and preservice students form bonds with students with differences and disabilities that are powerful and add to a rich learning environment for both student and teacher

Serving as a one-on-one assistant allows music educators a small window into what a classroom and learning environment is like for a student with differences and disabilities. It will become clear how a student communicates, processes information, and uses successful adaptations, as well as how their unique personality traits affect them in the learning environment.

music educators should observe with the intent to understand the student’s needs regarding the teaching and learning relationships that must develop between teacher and student

Parents of music students with differences and disabilities are becoming more active in advocating for equal access to curricula. Therefore, music educators often find themselves teaching at least part of their day within one or more different types of special education classes