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Making the most of their music03/02/2003By RONNI GORDONStaff writer -- Sunday Republican (Springfield, MA) At a school in South Hadley for musically gifted young adults with learning disabilities, a poster on a classroom wall explains the value of money. It shows the front and back of all the U.S. coins and a dollar bill and explains what each is worth. It's the kind of information that is often difficult for the students to absorb, and they must constantly be reminded of the basics. Yet in this same classroom, they practically burst with ideas during a music appreciation class taught by the school's instructional coordinator, Tom Gajewski. When he played recordings of baroque music and asked them to list its characteristics, he could hardly write on the board fast enough to keep up with their suggestions: like a slow dance, romantic, dignified, flowing. And when he asked them to give a more detailed description of their reaction to a dramatic organ piece by J.S. Bach, it went like this: Maggie Hosseini, 21: "It sounded to me like a dark picture at first and then it came alive and happy." Ashley Kohlun, 23: "It reminds me of a princess in a castle and this prince trying to find her and he's going through the castle and killing the bad guys and trying to save her life." Alyssa Hanwell, 20: "It reminds me of a wedding, a castle, England, rain spattering on the ground." Most of the school's 20 students have Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting about 1 in 20,000 people. Most people with the syndrome have cardiac disorders, learning disabilities and difficulty performing simple tasks. Many are also musically gifted, extremely sociable, and good with language. They can also be unusually sensitive to noise, a condition called hyperacusis. They are frightened and upset by noises that some people can't even hear, yet they can also identify musical notes more ably than many professional musicians. They are enrolled in a two-year residential program at the Berkshire Hills Music Academy, located in the former Skinner mansion on 40 acres off Woodbridge Street in South Hadley. The nonprofit academy, which opened in 2001, purchased the estate from Mount Holyoke College, renovating it and building an addition accommodating dormitories and practice rooms. The school's goals are to provide training in music, academics, social, vocational and independent living skills. Its philosophy is that students with disabilities can learn through their strengths. Ranging in age from 18 to 30, they include students like Chris Lawson, a 28-year-old from Cheshire, Conn. He plays drums, organ, keyboard and saxophone and has worked as a recreational aide in a convalescent center. He was one of the first at the door to greet a visitor with a handshake and an introduction on a recent morning. "All of us are grateful to wake up at this school," he said. Lawson said he dreams of making a living through music. It's his second year at the school and he said he learned a lot last year. "They've encouraged us to practice and we show them we can," he said. Lawson said it's not easy having Williams syndrome. "My hands get tense when I have to write stuff, and it's hard to put away dishes at home. I have trouble figuring out where the dishes go." Many of the students have trouble understanding what the school calls personal boundaries, and Lawson said he's gotten help in that area, too. "We're learning when it's the right time to do stuff and when it's not the right time to do stuff," he said. Instructor and performance coordinator Matthew S. Meers explained, "One of their traits is they are overly friendly." A program called "Circles" makes it clear when to hug, when to wave, and when to stand back. The concept of appropriate distance is made clear in a colorful chart downstairs in a light-filled performance studio with sweeping views of meadow and mountains. Circles in different colors radiate from a central purple dot which stands for the self. Next comes the blue circle of their most intimate friends, who can be given close hugs. The further away a different-color circle is from the purple center, the more distance is required, all the way out to a red circle marking the area for strangers, who need to be given space. Classes include menu preparation, language lab, human sexuality and social skills. Students also take a fitness class and learn how to be responsible for laundry, vacuuming and keeping their rooms clean. Some students are studying to be music aides in programs for preschoolers and the elderly, helping out every week at either the StonyBrook Children's Center in South Hadley or the Buckley Center for Nursing and Retirement in Holyoke. The others, focusing on performing, rehearse for programs that they present throughout the community. One day recently students in the music aide program prepared for a visit to the children's center, where some would lead a class in singing such songs as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "This Land is Your Land." Instructor Karen Carreira, a certified music therapist and licensed mental health counselor, explored ways that they could introduce preschoolers to music, such as playing a tune, leading a song, showing how to care for an instrument and modeling mature behavior. On the board, she listed work skills that instructors refer to frequently, such as "look presentable," "be prepared," "be respectful," and "respect boundaries." "We are capitalizing on our strengths - our social skills and our music skills - that come naturally to everyone in this room," she said. Chris Lawson agreed. "We're able to teach something valuable to kids and adults. To share is very important." Downstairs, Meers taught five advanced music students preparing for a performance. Lisa Walsh, a 24-year-old from Montreal who has performed with a range of choral groups including the South Hadley Chorale, belted out "It Had to Be You." Tori Ackley, 20, from Southboro, sang "You Are My Sunshine," accompanying herself on the keyboards. They both have Williams syndrome. Syracuse, N.Y., resident Sujeet Desai, one of two students with Down syndrome, played a patriotic medley on the clarinet. Meers said most of the students can't read music, but they can memorize a song after hearing it once. "You have to strip it down to the basics," Meers said. "It's things as simple as looking at an audience while you're singing. The music comes to them. That's not the issue with them. It is raw emotion, raw talent." And he said this often makes performances exciting. "They don't come with this preconceived idea of what music should be," he said. "It's so much fun." Meers, a singer and theater director, also teaches at the Williams Syndrome Music and Arts Camp at Belvoir Terrace in Lenox. The school in South Hadley is an outgrowth of the one-week summer program in Lenox, started in 1994. Parents of Belvoir campers, with help from the California-based Williams Syndrome Foundation, had sought a place for a residential music academy in New England. Berkshire Hills co-founder and board chairman Kay Bernon of Wellesley, whose son attended the summer program, helped conduct the search which led to the purchase of the Skinner Estate in 2000. The curriculum draws from a 10-day pilot program conducted in 1999 and 2000 at the University of Connecticut's National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. The program was an extension of more than 20 years of research using individual strengths to teach children with a variety of disabilities. "Throughout most of the time these young folks were in school, there had been programs based on their disabilities, and hardly anything on their talents or interests. We said, 'Let's take a look at their interests,'" said Sally M. Reis, program director and cousin to Berkshire Hills student Lawson. For example, she said, "Chris can play probably 3,000 songs on a piano, but people are so used to dealing with his disabilities." Instructors at UConn used music to teach the Williams syndrome students math, for example using whole notes and half notes to introduce fractions. She said the students made gains not only in math but also in self-confidence and independence. One of the instructors was Greg A. Williams, a UConn doctoral student studying music education and learning theories. Williams, now dean of studies at Berkshire Hills, said, "We're creating opportunities for individuals who are generally told, 'There's nothing out there for you.'" He said the school hopes to expand to include musically gifted students with a range of disabilities, not just Williams syndrome. The cost, at $32,500 a year for tuition and room and board, is not cheap, but he said many of the students receive subsidies and scholarships from vocational rehabilitation programs, foundations and state departments of mental retardation. Some students, such as 19-year-old Michael Collins of Portsmouth, R.I., receive money from their local school system. "It's been a wonderful experience for him," said Michael's mother, Sheila. She said that he felt isolated at his high school, but at Berkshire Hills, "He's surrounded by peers who accept him, who care about him ... He's learning how to work out conflicts, how to work with other kids with special needs." She said he also learned how to shave himself and how to handle money. "And he's learning the give and take of friendship," she said. Twenty-one-year-old Rachel Lipke, a singer and piano player with Williams syndrome, said that back home at school in Chicago, other kids made fun of her. "People were harsh to me," she said. "Here I feel very safe. They enjoy me and they accept me." She'd like to be a performer or veterinary assistant. In between classes, she studied a magazine about cats. "I like the pictures," she said. "Taking care of animals is also something that I love." Kelley Martin, a 26-year-old from Closter, N.J., also has Williams syndrome. A singer and piano player, she said she hopes to work at a preschool after graduating in June. "I'm learning about body language, emotions. Some days I want to be by myself, but other days, being with everybody makes me happy. We're all family here." Ronni Gordon can be reached at Rgordon@union-news.com
Copyright 2003 MassLive.com. All Rights Reserved.
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