The gift of music is for everyone of every ability and level. We are always reading about young students, hobbyist accordionists, and professional accordionists. It is also important to acknowledge those musicians with special needs. In this article, you will learn about a wonderful accordionist, John McDonald who amazes all with his accordion playing.
John McDonald, who has the developmental disorder Asperger’s syndrome, which affects his ability to socialize and communicate effectively, recently performed on the accordion at the Kendall House Retirement Home in Boerne.
Excerpts from an article for the San Antonio Express News by Richard Marini, March 2016: John McDonald is a good example of what autism experts advise all parents of autistic kids to do: Identify and cultivate their child’s special interests and talents as early as possible to improve the odds they’ll be able to make their own way in the world.
Born two months premature, John McDonald was in and out of the hospital several times as an infant. To help him thrive, his mothers, Marilyn Haider and Kathleen Kean, who adopted him as a baby, often would play classical music while he was in his crib.
When he was about 1, they noticed John tapping his finger to the beat of the music. Later, after learning to walk, John found the family piano and began picking out notes. Later still, it was discovered he had perfect pitch.
It was the beginning of his blossoming interest in music. John, who is from the San Antonio area, also has the developmental disorder Asperger’s syndrome, which often affects a person’s ability to socialize and communicate effectively.
Haider says she sees little of John’s Asperger’s day to day, in part because she and Kean have done all they can to nurture and develop John’s special talent.Today, John, 24, has gigs playing the piano and accordion at five nursing homes, Mama’s Café in Boerne and parties and other occasional engagements.
Haider and Kean have been successful at doing just what autism experts advise all parents of autistic kids to do: Identify and cultivate their child’s special interests and talents as early as possible to improve the odds they’ll be able to make their own way in the world.
“An intense absorption and interest in one subject is a defining characteristic of a diagnosis of Asperger’s or what’s known as higher-functioning autism,” said Jennifer Allen, who is the president of San Antonio-based Asperger’s 101, a resource center for those on the autism spectrum, their parents and advocates. “Parents need to harness that interest into something constructive.”
Discovering the special interests and talents of these children isn’t that different from doing so for a child without autism. Parents just have to be more observant.
“You need to expose the child to as many experiences out in the community as possible,” said Lisa Goring, New York-based executive vice president of programs and services for the nationwide organization Autism Speaks. “It can be hard when the child is already involved in special education programs or therapy in and out of school. It feels like it’s one more thing to do.
Photo by Rom Reel from the San Antonio Express News.
For more information: rmarini@express-news.net
