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Does anyone have songs to teach a blind screaming preschooler stair management with his cane? (self.Blind)
submitted by mom_jom
Please excuse me as this is my first ever post. I work with a completely blind preschooler at a city school who screams very loudly when being introduced to new activities. He screams a lot less when we sing songs. I have been able to find songs to sing with him to work on cane use with walking. I am looking for a catchy tune for teaching stairs to keep his screaming to a minimum. Google has not been helpful so far. Are there any useful songs or tips out there?
FencingJester 13 points 1y ago
To the tune of 3 blind mice:
"here are the stairs, here are the stairs
Step up one, step up one
Have you ever had such fun
As when you get to step up one!"
Change up to down for descending.
"here are the stairs, here are the stairs
Step up one, step up one
Have you ever had such fun
As when you get to step up one!"
Change up to down for descending.
FencingJester 9 points 1y ago
If he's caning you can do to the tune of Wheels on the Bus:
"When we walk we keep our cane on the ground,
Cane on the ground,
Cane on the ground,
When we walk we put our cane out front, cane out front,
cane out front,
All the way to (destination)"
"When we walk we keep our cane on the ground,
Cane on the ground,
Cane on the ground,
When we walk we put our cane out front, cane out front,
cane out front,
All the way to (destination)"
mom_jom [OP] 6 points 1y ago
I’ll try this. Thank you!
Jabez77 8 points 1y ago
Elementary Music Teacher here. These ideas above are great ideas.
FencingJester 1 points 1y ago
Let me know how it goes. I teach caning skills and make up these things all day long for my little ones.
Emmenias 12 points 1y ago
Does the song have to be stair-related? Or are you mainly looking for catchy child-friendly tunes? The latter would be much easier obviously; I doubt there are all that many songs of any kind that mention white canes, much less stair-walking ones for children.
How about having something soothing but non-musical in the background? MyNoise.net offers a lot of different soundscapes, for example. Perhaps you could place a speaker atop the stairs and tell the child to go find the birds. Could make it a game where he navigates to that sound, has to pick up a paper bird, and bring it to the next floor where there's a wind sound and a paper tree, so the baby bird is back in its nest. However, I am probably majorly overthinking things.
How about having something soothing but non-musical in the background? MyNoise.net offers a lot of different soundscapes, for example. Perhaps you could place a speaker atop the stairs and tell the child to go find the birds. Could make it a game where he navigates to that sound, has to pick up a paper bird, and bring it to the next floor where there's a wind sound and a paper tree, so the baby bird is back in its nest. However, I am probably majorly overthinking things.
mom_jom [OP] 8 points 1y ago
These are great ideas I need to try. I was looking for a catchy tune that may also help reinforce correct mechanics on feeling the stairs with his cane, what to move first, etc.
Bsmith0799 1 points 1y ago
So I'm extraordinary at poetry. I haven't been taught cane travel.
Write me out the steps and I'll write him a song for it.
Write me out the steps and I'll write him a song for it.
TechnicalPragmatist 7 points 1y ago
No idea about new songs but some people may not like change very much. I don’t think I screamed but even as a young kid I sort of didn’t want to do them or goofed off until I saw a realy propelling reason then I was all in. Can stil be overwhelmed.
Is talking to them and preparing them and kind of giving a really good reason why this activity may be fun, useful or beneficial something you can do for him.
Is talking to them and preparing them and kind of giving a really good reason why this activity may be fun, useful or beneficial something you can do for him.
mom_jom [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Absolutely. I definitely let him know when we are about to practice. The fun and enticing part is what is eluding me. I haven’t found a good motivator yet. Thank you!
TechnicalPragmatist 3 points 1y ago
No problem could you find an example where this skill and activity would be useful in some capacity. Like talk to him about running about like other kids going down the stairs to get something. Reason with him a little maybe? But I also don’t know what kind of kid and why he’d mentally struggle with this. Maybe being mentally overwhelmed or not feeling comfortable doing something new, sort of prefering routines in a way.
thatawkwardcosplayer 3 points 1y ago
This may be something you have to commission for honestly. Try fiver if you’re on a budget or maybe ask your local middle/highschool if a student wants to create it for a music and/or music composing class.
lilmssunshine95 3 points 1y ago
Have you checked out YouTube? Might be a sensory thing or he could get overwhelmed/over stimulated.
Emmenias 0 points 1y ago
Wait ... is your advice really "Have you checked out [the largest video-hosting website, with billions of songs to browse through?" Idk, I think they just might've done that.
Unless you're suggesting to check out YT to determine the reason for the child's screaming, in which case a trusted medical source would likely be a better place to start.
Unless you're suggesting to check out YT to determine the reason for the child's screaming, in which case a trusted medical source would likely be a better place to start.
mom_jom [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Yes. I’ve been looking through you tube and Google with different search terms. This child screams at anything not self directed and is very echolalic. Too young yet to determine if he may also be autistic. But he has demonstrated the ability to manage steps without screaming and with a rail or hand hold instead of a cane. His screaming seems a combination of behavior, fear and aversion to new experiences but it is hard to tease out and is so disruptive that we don’t practice as much as we should because other classes are bothered. Music seems to be the only thing to keep him calm.
AutomaticChair9 1 points 1y ago
This is a nice one https://youtu.be/TEDoweeD5o4
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