My First Experience Exploring Music with Students with Developmental Disabilities

My name is David, and I would like to share my experience of introducing music to my developmental disability students for the first time. I was able to introduce music to our class last week, not through teaching them how to play, but through simply listening, feeling, and talking about the emotions that music evokes.

I started playing different pieces of music with different moods—some calm, some energetic, and some somewhat spooky. With the music flowing through the room, I questioned my students about how the music made them feel. Their responses were incredible. Some of them told me that certain songs made them feel cheerful and brought to mind good memories, while others found certain melodies sad or somewhat scary. It was amazing how music touched each one of them in such a personal way.

Next, I had them tell me their favorite music themselves. Some eagerly shared music that they felt strong to, and others shared music that soothed them. We discussed the reasons we enjoy the music that we do and why it makes us feel that way. It was not necessarily about the music itself, but about the emotions that it carried and the memories that it reminded us of.

What touched me the most was how expressive and receptive the students were. Even the students who usually struggled to articulate anything were able to find words to describe how the music affected them. It brought back to mind the fact that music is not noise—it's a language that everyone can understand and communicate with each other.

Although this was only one lesson, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had yet. It reminded me of the way that music has the power to unite people and provide a voice for feelings that they don't always have words for. I am excited for more experiences like this and for learning even more from my students through music.

Below are some images from the lesson.