My Only Autistic and Wonderful Piano Student

by Cyndi
(Baltimore, MD)

I am currently teaching piano to a wonderful 9 year old young boy who has autism. He has a curiosity for music which is inspiring and contagious. He is visually challenged and I am desperate to find a way for him to see notes but because the notes in piano music books are for persons of normal vision it's just impossible for him to see. Is there any kind of visual screen that anyone can recommend? In order to see the notes they have to be extremely large. At the present time he can memorize just about anything I teach him. He is such a joy !

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starstarstarstarstar 		Magnifier
by: Autistic amatuer teacher

If you have a computer try using an in computer magnifier for the computer. Look in: programs> accessories> ease of access.
You can photograph your physical stuff and do the same thing.
For online stuff use prt sc button which copies your current screen into copy, and then paste the result into paint. Then you can zoom and print it into separate larger font pages.
This means you can change any of your music's font regardless of format.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Is he verbal?
by: Michelle

Is he verbal? Does he talk or use another form of communication with you? You might want to see if he has perfect pitch? 90% of the kids I've taught have perfect pitch. I have one student who doesn't have perfect (I can't tell just yet.) but is able to reproduce a lot of what I play. Not perfectly, but good "reproductions". Good luck.
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starstarstarstar 		Re-Write His Music?
by: Sara

What about re-writing his music (of course it would be a lot of work!) with music notation software that lets you blow the staff way up? Finale, for example, lets you make everything huge if you want.

Otherwise, you'll have to teach him by rote and by ear... which is a good idea for lots of his lesson time, anyway.

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Please note that all comments are moderated, and will not appear until I have approved them. Also, IF YOU ARE ASKING FOR MUSIC THAT IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, YOUR REQUEST WILL BE IGNORED. That's pretty much any music written in the last 75 years...