This five-hour course is for in-service general music teachers who are looking for philosophy, language, tools, and activities to support their work with students with disabilities including autism. Music Therapist Jen Kass (MA, MT-BC) and Adaptive Music Program Director Jessica Corwin of the Community Music School of Springfield (MA) will give participants tools to bring to their classrooms for accommodation, meaningful inclusion, joyful music-making, and
social connection. Topics will include anti-ableist language, neurodivergence-affirming practices, current research on autism, learning differences and corresponding teaching strategies, and the imperative of listening to neurodivergent voices. Participants will engage in a variety of sample classroom activities that can be replicated in their own classrooms.