In my years of learning as an educator, and particularly as a music teacher, I have struggled with how to teach students with special needs. Even though I have taken several special education courses, I have trouble understanding how to apply these strategies I learned in my music education class. With this in mind, I have noticed that several students in my observations of local music classes have disabilities, but are excelling. I did not notice any strategy implemented by the teacher. So, I wanted to look for various strategies suggested by industry experts. The first article I discovered in my research is a study called “Conditions that Facilitate Music Learning Among Students with Special Needs: A Mixed Methods Investigation” by Kevin W. Gerrity, Ryan M. Hourigan, and Patrick W. Horton (2013). Their aim was to “identify and define the conditions that facilitate music learning among students with special needs.” They took a group of students with different disabilities of varying severity. The most prevalent disability in this study was autism. Students were paired with a mentor teacher. The mentor teacher was a college student who was into teaching, therapy, or performing. The mentor teachers were supervised by three professionals who had a combined 20 years in special education. The study took place over ten weeks and confirmed the strategies I had already learned. Gerrity et al. (2013) learned that the mixed methods teaching style was best, but mentors noted that repetition, student choice, and increased response times were most effective. These three strategies were all promoted in my special education classes. However, mentor teachers explained how they used such strategies, g… middle of paper… path to inclusion. Music Education Research, 8(3), 407-416. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=0df19be4-1ad2-42b7-b63e-a841706c0412@sessionmgr4002&vid=3&hid=4208&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==Gerrity, KM, Hourigan, R.M., and Horton, W (2013 ). Conditions that facilitate music learning among students with special needs: A mixed-methods investigation. Journal of Music Education Research, 16(2), 144-159. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=775e3056-8a76-4043-8cd0-01d0015e7b1e@sessionmgr4002&vid=1&hid=4208&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==Lapka, C. (2013). Five strategies for teaching students with disabilities in band/orchestra. Illinois Music Educator, 74(1), 72-73. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=5eb05020-fb07-4193-8874-b2e667f7710a@sessionmgr4004&vid=1&hid=4208&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==