When we find ourselves talking shop with other music educators, there is one topic that consistently arises in each conversation—we all wish we had more time. We also understand that this word—time—is a factor that educators consider when deciding to include a student with different abilities in their performing ensemble. "I just don't know if I have time to do this." "I don't have any time to make special parts." "There is just not enough time in the day for me to add something else to my plate." These are all phrases we have both heard when talking about inclusion with fellow music educators. And it is true. We don't have extra time. We are typically teaching packed schedules and work unpaid overtime to ensure that our students have the best musical experience possible during their school years. But we must make time when it comes to including all students who want to participate in our programs and possibly even those students who had no idea that they could, regardless of their ability. And often, like most things we do in music, it becomes easier the more we practice.

Sometimes, it is not about the time. It is about the knowledge and gaining a better understanding of the variety of needs in our classroom (Jellison, 2015). Each child in our music program requires a different approach to teaching. Students who are being mainstreamed, or typically spend the majority of the school day in a Life Skills classroom, may require additional attention that may be outside of our realm of knowledge. Some of us have had the privilege to take courses in our training programs to prepare us for these unique learners, others have attended clinics at conferences, and then there are a few who may have little to no foundational knowledge but are willing to give it their best effort.

So what do we do? How do we gain this necessary knowledge? In this article we will provide a few suggestions on where to start and some new strategies to try in your classroom. First, we suggest that you become a proactive teacher when involving students with different abilities in your ensembles. Often times, we may notice that there is a student we did not expect on our roster or we may be asked by a colleague or parent to include a new student in our program. We may know nothing about the student, and we may not have appropriate time to investigate. We react to this change, making decisions on the fly during the class period. Instead—we should plan ahead, to the best of our ability. Be more proactive. There are a variety of sources from which we can gather important information that will allow us to best serve the student in our classroom.

Knowing our time is limited we often ask ourselves, what do I really need to know? Where do I start? The first place to look for information about the student is the IEP. We are all much more familiar with the Individualized Education Program than we were a decade ago (Adamek & Darrow, 2010). The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students to work together to improve educational results for each unique learner. These documents can be daunting. If you are a high school teacher, a student's file could be quite substantial. So what exactly, from this giant file, do we, as ensemble directors need to know to be successful? We recommend looking primarily at four areas of the IEP:

1. Present levels of educational performance,
2. Instructional objectives and annual goals,
3. Related services, and
4. Assistive devices.

Each of these separate areas of the IEP offers important information about the student and their ability to find success in your ensemble (Whipple & VanWeelden, 2012).

When we glance at this paperwork, the first area of information that we would recommend locating is the Present Levels of Educational Performance. What does this tell us? This portion of the IEP will inform teacher of where the student is cognitively functioning (United States Department of Education, 2006). Often it may state the grade level they are currently functioning at. This portion can also include the student's strengths, scores on state test scores, and special factors regarding the specific disability that may impact performance. For an ensemble director, we need to be aware that we could have a student who is a junior according to age, but may have the cognitive aptitude of a fifth grade student and plan instruction accordingly.

The next area of the IEP that we should focus our attention on is the Instructional Objectives and Annual Goals. These goals can be simply summed up as the educational targets that every teacher needs to work on during instructional time with the student. The goals must be measurable (VanWeelden & Whipple, 2007). Examples of what may be listed as an annual goal could be reading from left to right, crossing the midline, or even a behavior, like waiting your turn. Goals and objectives may appear in the IEP as "the student will raise their hand and answer a questions 85% of the time in class." Although music specific goals are hardly ever listed, many of these objectives occur naturally in the music classroom. We as music educators just need to make sure that we specifically address them and use the special education lingo.

Related Services are included in the IEP and list all additional services rendered necessary through the IEP and special education program (United States Department of Education, 2006). These are important people who will know the student outside of the classroom setting. They can also serve as informed resources that can help develop adaptations or modifications that may be desired to increase individual student success. Finally, it is important for music educators to be cognizant of the area of Assistive Devices. Assistive Devices are the supports and services that help guide the student towards attaining the annual goals of the IEP. These devices can include high-tech augmentative communication devices and even iPads. If the device is included in the IEP, the device will be purchased with federal funds and follow the student through school. The iPad is one device that could supplement the learning that happens in the music classroom (McCord & Watts, 2010).

The IEP, however, only serves as the foundation for the quality education, one piece of the puzzle for success in the music classroom. As previously mentioned, the IEP rarely contains music specific goals; therefore, it is necessary to explore other resources and, perhaps more importantly, collaborate with others. We are sure that we are not in the minority when we say that we were hesitant to ask for assistance during our earlier years of teaching. Many new teachers are resistant to seek help from experienced teachers because they fear being perceived as incompetent (Fredrickson & Hackworth, 2005). Furthermore, music teachers are the least likely to collaborate, especially at the secondary level (Bresler, 2002). After a few years of trying to do everything alone, we quickly learned that collaboration was not only vital for inclusion, but also for success in our profession.

When we start thinking of individuals to collaborate with, the first person that often comes to mind is the Exceptional Student Education (ESE or Special Education) Coordinator; however, it is equally important to correspond with previous music teachers, parents, paraprofessionals, and our other ensemble members. While the previous music teacher is usually the last person we think about speaking with, this individual could quite honestly be our most valuable resource. Here are some questions you might consider when corresponding with the previous music teacher:

1. To what extent did this student participate in your music class or ensemble?
2. What are the student's musical strengths?
3. What types of adaptations or modifications did you use with this student?
4. How much are the parents involved in the student's musical education and participation?

After communicating with the previous music teacher, we recommend speaking with the ESE Coordinator. This individual's duties tend to vary from state to state. Sometimes the ESE Coordinator is simply a case manager or an administrator of the IEP. In other words, they make sure documents are delivered to the appropriate persons and that updates and revisions are implemented to the IEP when necessary. In other cases, the ESE Coordinator is the Special Education teacher within a particular school. Effective persons in this role will ease the worries of reluctant classroom teachers ("I don't feel prepared. I'm afraid that including this student is going to slow down the progress of my other students."), include all students in as many school activities as possible, and advise teachers in making adaptations and modifications to instruction (Jellison, 2015).

Once you have gathered information from the previous music teacher and ESE Coordinator, you are likely ready to meet with the student's parents. It is necessary to communicate expectations from the very onset. Here are some questions you might address in your first meeting with the parents:

1. How much will the student participate in the ensemble?
   1. 100 percent?
   2. 50 percent?
   3. Will the student participate in contests and festivals?
2. How will the student be graded?
   1. Attendance?
   2. Participation?
   3. Practicing?
3. How will unforeseen situations be handled?

While we would ultimately like for all students with different abilities to have 100 percent participation in our ensembles, this may not be feasible. As said by our mentor and former teacher, Dr. Clifford Madsen, "Don't ask someone to stack five blocks when they can't stack three." In other words, get the student participating at a level in which they feel comfortable and they will likely be successful. The extent of the student's participation will also dictate your grading and assessment. Regardless of how little a student may be involved in your ensemble, we believe that practicing should be a fundamental requirement. Additionally, it is vital to establish a game plan for how you will handle emergency situations. For example, if a student would become emotionally overwhelmed during a performance, how would you deal with this? Would you, another student, a paraprofessional, or the parents intervene? Establishing a clear protocol for dealing with these unforeseen circumstances will put both you and the parents at ease about the student's participation.

After reviewing the IEP and collaborating with the previous music teacher, ESE Coordinator, and the parents, it is time to start the process of including the student in your ensemble. Although many of us would like to think that our other ensemble members would naturally know how to respond to a student who has different abilities in our music class, this is not something that should be assumed. The ESE Coordinator who served as a mentor used an instructional device known as "Ability Awareness Training." This training focused on what the students "could do" rather than what they had difficulties doing. Here is a brief summary of the steps of this process using a student on the Autism spectrum as an example:

1. Before a student is included in your music class, seek permission from the student's parents to schedule an Ability Awareness Training session with your other ensemble members. (We recommend that the student with special needs not be in the room at the time of the training).
2. Start the training with the ESE Coordinator (or perhaps you if you are comfortable) talking with your ensemble members about some of the physical and personality traits associated with the student. For example, "Jill is a student who has Autism. She might avoid making eye contact with you and some of her facial expressions and tone of voice may not match what she is saying. You might also notice that Jill rocks back and forth and flaps her hands from time to time."
3. Talk to the ensemble members about ignoring particular behaviors from the student. "Jill might yell out in class because she wants to be noticed and craves attention. If this happens, please do not laugh or make eye contact with her." (Of course, during the first few instances of something like this happening, the students will probably not be able to ignore it; however, after a significant period of time, they will hopefully become desensitized to the behaviors and will be nonreactive. Furthermore, if students on the spectrum realize they will not get attention in these situations, the behavior will likely stop.)
4. Encourage the ensemble members to be good role models both inside and outside of the classroom. If ensemble members have positive interactions with students on the spectrum in other environments (classes, the hallway, the cafeteria, etc.), this facilitates inclusion and gives students with special needs a sense of belonging.
5. Carefully select a few ensemble members to serve as "buddies" for the students on the spectrum. You should speak to the buddies privately about how they can socially interact with these students and assist them during rehearsal with musical concerns. Be sure to only select your most "soulful" students to be buddies (Adamek & Darrow, 2010). The strongest player in a particular section may not necessarily be the best person to pair with a student on the spectrum.
6. Take some time to speak to the ensemble about using appropriate language and terminology. Discourage statements like "This is retarded" or "That was really lame." Furthermore, teach person-first language. For example, "Jill is a person who has Autism. Do not refer to her as the autistic girl."

Following the Ability Awareness Training with your ensemble members, it is important to also correspond with any paraprofessionals who may be working with any students with special needs in your class. Considering paraprofessionals often accompany students on trips to the restroom, the cafeteria, and other classes, these individuals tend to know the students on a personal level better than most other teachers in the building (Darrow, 2010). Paraprofessionals are experts in assisting students with staying on task and helping them to feel safe and included. Conversely, most paraprofessionals tend to know very little about music, which is where we, as music educators, need to fill in the gaps. We can serve our paraprofessionals by providing information about musical terminology and notation, supplying manuals on instrument basics and care or Curwen hand signs, and explaining "how" to practice. As ensemble directors, we believe that we are all guilty from time to time about making statements such as, "Practice makes perfect." Perhaps an alternative might be to say, "Perfect practice makes perfect." We have a tendency to talk to the students about practicing; however, we typically do not explain the proper way to practice. Providing students, parents, and paraprofessionals with recordings is a great way to remedy this problem. If we supply them with a general sense of what the music is supposed to sound like, it will enhance our instruction and facilitate proper practice habits. Additionally, please take time to train your paraprofessionals and clearly indicate your expectations to them. It might also be helpful to devise a system of nonverbal "signaling" when things are not going well with a particular student in class and a discussion is not possible.

When the time comes for our students with special needs to enter the classroom, many music educators ask, "Should the student observe my rehearsal before getting involved?" The answer to this question really depends on the student. Some students on the spectrum may need to pace their involvement because they are sensitive to the noise in a music classroom and they may develop an aversion if successive approximation is not used. Also, allowing students (and even their parents) to observe your rehearsal provides a "snapshot" of what can be expected if the student decides to participate. Conversely, most of us know that students learn best with experience and there is a great dichotomy between "talking" and "doing." The sooner we can get students involved in our ensembles, the better.

In closing, we would like to stress that the intent of this article is not to serve as a "one-size-fits-all" or "cookbook" approach to including students with special needs in performing ensembles. All teachers do not teach the same way, just as all students do not learn the same way. We encourage you to create an environment that is open and welcoming for all students to make music. Beyond your own attitude, be knowledgeable and aware of the resources available to you within your school and beyond.

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