Wendy Zieve’s music lessons at Shorecrest High School are different than your usual music class.
She sings, rather than speaks, most commands. When it’s time for students to clap with the beat, most need adult help. And singing a tune is a challenge.
Zieve, a certified music therapist, visits Marilyn Peterson’s class, Shorecrest’s most severely autistic students, once a week. She doesn’t teach music, per se — she teaches communication skills through music, even the most basic skills, like listening and sitting with others.
Progress has been slow, but the class has made strides.
Research shows that music is an effective way to reach autistic students, and those with developmental disorders, because the brain processes music differently, Zieve said.
“I’ve seen so many kids that if you sing something, they understand what to do, but if you say it sometimes there’s no comprehension,” she said.
For example, on her Tuesday, Jan. 13 visit, Zieve asked a student to sit down as he stood in the middle of a circle of students. He stood, uncomprehending, and she asked again, with no response.
Then she sang, lightly: “Sit down, Johnny in your chair” and he sat down.
When Zieve started in Peterson’s class last year, getting to step one was a challenge.
“It took weeks to get everyone to sit in a circle and not pinch each other, not flop on the floor, not scratch,” Zieve said.
Usually the students work separately with one-on-one aides. It takes a long time to get them past the anxiety of being in a group, Zieve said.
But on Tuesday, students sat in a circle peacefully for half an hour and passed a colored rope around, clapped and more while Zieve sang commands.
Now that the students can sit together, Zieve’s future goals include skills like taking turns, learning names, passing things, following verbal commands, trading, responding and more.
On Tuesday, some students tried to sing along, but clapping was struggle for most, as was naming who had the blue part of the rope, and responding to simple commands like, “Choose an instrument.”
But they did seem to have one task mastered. Zieve put music on the stereo and asked students to bang small percussion instruments, to stop as soon as the music stopped, then start again when it started.
Over and over again, when the music stopped, students fell silent, then went at it again as soon as the music started.
That’s another skill Zieve has been trying to teach: listening.
“This class helps them be more together as a community,” teacher Peterson said. “It does help them follow directions, listen to commands and improve their social skills.”
Peterson worked with Zieve to extend her visits through this school year.
The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Art Council’s Artist-in-Residence program funds eight visits. A family foundation grant made a full year of lessons possible this year.
Zieve will visit the following Shoreline schools’ special education classrooms eight times: Parkwood and Highland Terrace Elementary schools, Einstein Middle School and Shorewood High School.
“The things I see take a long time to achieve, but it’s rewarding,” Zieve said.
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