NEW MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

The Music Academy for Special Learners has added music therapy and small group rhythm socialization classes to the array of programs they offer for children with special needs. They also offer piano/keyboard, guitar, saxophone, voice, and art lessons.

The annual recital and art show allow special learners the
opportunity to display their talents for friends and family.

The teachers at The Music Academy for Special Learners believe that a disability should not interfere with learning; it just means that an individualized, creative approach needs to be used in lessons. “All of our teachers have to have the knowledge and education to work with adults and children with special needs, as well as have a strong background in music and art,” says owner Maria LaMon, who has her master’s degree in special education. “The teachers understand and know how to work with people with special needs.”

Along with piano/keyboard, guitar, saxophone, and voice lessons and art lessons that are focused on the specific interests and talents of the child, The Music Academy for Special Learners has added music therapy and small group rhythm socialization classes to the array of programs it offers to children with special needs. The small group therapy combines “socialization with self-expression so that each child has the chance to express themselves…and interact with each other within music,” says music therapist Christina Corallo, MTBC.

LaMon says The Music Academy for Special Learners is unique because it has a “strong family-oriented feeling.” LaMon, who has taught piano lessons for years, offers traditional piano lessons to children without special needs who have a sibling with special needs taking lessons taking lessons at the academy, so their parents don’t have to go to two different locations.