We hope you enjoyed the great Special Needs sessions at this year's KMEA In-Service Workshop. We would love to hear some feedback about the sessions that were offered and get some ideas for sessions for next year!

ISW is always a great time to reconnect with old friends that we may not get to see very often. As I was visiting with one of those old friends, he mentioned that his school has started offering a high school level special needs music class. He talked about some of the things he had done this year but was uncertain how to continue the class in the future. In his undergraduate work he never really had a class that addressed teaching in a setting like this and I think many of us would echo that sentiment. Classes like this are becoming more of a reality.

As we talked, I made a few suggestions of things he could try. You can use any music to focus on the building blocks of music. Having students keep a beat, listening for dynamics, listening for different timbres and seeing if they can identify the sounds of different instruments, or even using listening maps to help them better understand what is happening in the music are all great ways to get students involved.

My last suggestion was to email and ask for help. We are more than happy to come to your school and observe and make suggestions. We are here as a resource for you, so ask away!!!