Special Needs Players

[omegadot]

Been gone a while on account of a kid being born, illness and general working, so hello again everyone!

I recently gave my brother in law a mini electric guitar I had around. He had an acoustic that should have taken nylon strings that his parents put metal strings on and the neck snapped. I felt pretty bad about the situation because he really loved to play it so I have him my little travel beater(which was in perfect condition, I'm not a dick). He really knows nothing about music at all but has a good sense of rhythm and enjoys making sounds he likes with the instrument. I'd like to find lessons for him (in the Buffalo, NY area) but he has Downs and I'm not sure how common it is for tutors to deal with something like that. He's fairly high functioning, his mentality seems somewhere around a 12-3 y/o and he's a 19y/o with a good personality. I'm sure there are groups that specialize in that sort of thing but I figured I'd check in here to see if anyone had experience with finding a teacher in a situation like this.

 

[Tig]

Welcome back, omegadot! We kept your seat warm for you.
Good karma/mojo for helping the BIL, too.

 

[hubberjub]

The other guitarist in my band teaches guitar to people with special needs. He lives in Syracuse which is (unfortunately) a little far from Buffalo. I'd inquire at the colleges. There's bound to be a guitar player who's in an education program that would be interested. They might even be able to get some credit for helping out. It doesn't sound like your brother-in-law would be that difficult a challenge. I hope you're able to find someone. Here's a clip of my friend Tim working with one of his students. The student has some pretty severe physical limitations.

 

[R_of_G]

Welcome back omegadot.
I hope you can find a teacher for your BIL. I'd think teaching music to those with special needs has to be as rewarding for the teacher as it is the student. I worked in a special needs high school for a year. Whatever issues each of the individual kids had, one thing most of them had in common was a love of music. It's the true universal language.

 

[omegadot]

Appreciate the guidance. I'm just a little too protective I suppose!

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[jadecantrellbonner]

That is beautiful. I have taught three people with special needs. Great experience for them.

 

[player]

WOW! The Fret is Still up and running,awesome. it’s been awhile here too,for too many reasons to count.
That said: Greetings again. And oh yeah Happy New Year