Katelyn Proffitt

Dr. Hammel

Dr. Maynard

Block 4

Students with Exceptionalities Profiles II

Student A

Student A is a freshman student with a 504 plan and a diagnosis of ADHD. A 504 plan is

a set of accommodations or changes in the classroom to aid in the child’s ability to follow the

regular curriculum. Student A is exceptionally talented and an expressive musician and person,

although he does have a harder time staying focused during rehearsals. Student A often makes

inappropriate jokes loudly during class, plays other student’s solos during rehearsal, and is often

moving around. In addition, Student A is extremely motivated and aims to perform well.

Although noticeably unfocused, he still manages to be engaged. Not only is he motivated

himself, but he also motivates his classmates and cares that they do well, especially during scale

pass-offs and when they are performing solos. He auditioned for an extra ensemble for next year,

jazz band, and although went above and beyond to complete his audition, he failed to prepare the

etude on his own yet still asked for our help on the day before auditions were due. As an

educator, I notice that he wants to do well, looks forward to band class, has found a home in the

band community, and is striving to do more, but has a hard time figuring out how to get from A

to B.

As an educator, I can help Student A with his focus by making sure he always has

something to do that is challenging. I notice that once he gets something the first time, he

immediately steps back and begins to be unfocused and distracting to other students. Rather I
will continue to give Student A new challenges if he begins to become unfocused to give him

something else to focus on mastering. He gets new ideas quickly because he is extremely

intelligent, so making material more in-depth will both aid him in classroom behavior and

advancement. This may not always be the correct answer to his needs though and allowing

Student A to take breaks may also aid in his ability to stay focused. As his teacher, I can stay

vigilant of his behavior to see if he is becoming burnt out or bored. This way, I can accommodate

his needs either by challenging him more or allowing him to take a step back for a minute. I love

working with Student A because of his energy and positivity and hope to help him in channeling

his energy during rehearsals in the future.

Student B

Student B is a junior percussionist with a 504 plan and a diagnosis of dyslexia. Student B

is extremely kind and always looking to lend a helping hand. He is talented but often lacks

confidence in his own abilities because he struggles with performing due to his exceptionality.

As a percussionist with dyslexia, he struggles with differentiating right from left when learning

snare drum rudiments as well as reading music for mallet instruments. He gets easily frustrated

when he is unable to perform something as quickly as his peers, but he does not show it too

much. He often gives up learning mallet instrument parts when we go over percussion ensemble

music and rather asks to learn auxiliary percussion parts which are more accessible to him but

also does not challenge his abilities whatsoever.

As his teacher, I have some ideas of how to aid in his confusion with left or right when it

comes to rudiments or using alternating sticking on mallet instruments. I want to try using colors

relating to left or right rather than using “L” or “R” below the note. This way he can connect a
color to the feeling of using either his right or left hand and see if that is more beneficial to his

performance. As for music, potentially seeing if we can do larger print as well as providing him

with multiple-colored high lighters could help his ability of reading different notes on the staff.

Learning aurally could also help Student B because it gets rid of the issue of reading music all

together. This way he can just focus on the instrument. Once learning aurally, we can introduce

how the written music connects to what he is playing.