Last month I received a phone call that Cooper was “refusing” to participate in Friday music class. “Curl up in a ball in the corner of the room and cry” type of refusing. So we pulled out our Sherlock Holmes hat and magnifying glass to figure out why. I am pleased to report that today he participated in music class for the second time in a row with no problems.
Working to the heart of the matter ended up being really simple on this one and I think there are some lessons to be learned that I hope others can benefit from. I started out my investigation by making some assumptions about Cooper’s extreme language delays as having a role in his not wanting to participate. I mean, let’s face it… following along with fast paced lyrics is tough when you have to think for several minutes sometimes to ask for the simplest of requests. Then, in my 2nd conversation about this matter with his teacher, she said, “I don’t get it, he always participates when we do music in the classroom.” Then the penny dropped for me!
I asked, “So where is music class happening when he DOESN’T want to participate??”
In walking through step by step what the situation and surroundings look like for Friday music class we were able to take Cooper through it and determine that he doesn’t like going up the narrow staircase to the music room. When the kids file through up the small stairwell it is noisy, echo-ey, crowded, and for whatever reason bothers Cooper tremendously. The music room is also crowded because they do all of the primary grades together in music class on Fridays. So by making a few adjustments… 1. earphones in the stairwell, 2. bringing him up first before the rest of the class 3. positioning him not to feel crowded in the room. 4. we had his Daddy walk it through with him so Coop could feel secure. These things have enabled him to participate twice in a row!
The lesson for me is to remember that there is more to the environment around him than that which may be obvious to me. Thank you God for showing us so quickly how to help him!