Shana Pistilli's Melody Of Neurodivergent Learning Concepts

Shana Pistilli's Melody Of Neurodivergent Learning Concepts 

A kid says “guitar” for the first time. Another student nearly drops the instrument because he is so excited he can finally play along with a favorite song. Those are not small wins, they are doors opening, and they are why Good Neighbor Podcast host Bob Blaisse sat down with Shana Pastilli, Founder & CEO of Robato School of Music in Media, the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

Not long into the episode we discover that “Robato” is a musical concept that points to playing at your own pace, then we hear what that looks like and can mean in real life for students with autism, Down syndrome and other special needs. Shaina explains how she adapts instruction to the individual learner, essentially building a private lesson plan that functions like an Individualized Education Program or Plan (IEP), with patience, creativity and reasonable expectations. Bob and Shana also talk about the push for inclusion in education, why the arts can be a uniquely safe place to practice it, and how group music-making can help everyone speak the same language through rhythm and shared songs.

In this episode, you'll hear the practical side too: a color-coded notation system paired with a color-coded piano, plus scaffolding that gradually removes supports as skills grow. And you will hear the human side, including parents sitting in lessons after years of hearing “no,” and a story about a sibling learning “Lean on Me” on guitar just to finally connect at home.

If you care about inclusive music education, music lessons for persons with Down syndrome or neurodivergent learning concepts or styles that affect reading and language processing, spatial awareness or sensory processing disorders affecting fine motor skills and coordination, listen and learn how challenges are orchestrated within a melody of learning at the Robato School of Music.  

Robato School of Music
RubatoSchoolOfMusic.com
facebook.com/rubatoschoolofmusicpa
215-840-5706
RubatoSchoolOfMusic@gmail.com

--- About The Show--- Good Neighbor Podcast is a spotlight on local businesses in and around Delaware County, PA (“Delco” ) and Beyond...  The executive producer and host, Bob Blaisse, is a community sponsorship advocate, business branding specialist, and publisher of several hometown magazines, including: Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors, Marple Friends & Neighbors and Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors, mailed monthly to more than 12,000 homes in Western Delaware County, PA, and also available for reading online.
 

Transcript

Welcome To Delco And The Show

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, Delco. This is Michael Barkan. Welcoming you to the Good Neighbor Podcast, where fans of local businesses and their neighbors come together. It's my pleasure once again to introduce my friend and neighbor, our host, Bob Blacey.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Well, thank you, Michael Barkan, for that introduction once again. And everybody, welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. And you've heard the Good Neighbor Podcast before. We're coming to you from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, just above the state of Delaware and west of the state of New Jersey. We're below the city of Philadelphia in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, lovingly referred to as Delco. It's a kind of a tag name that's really starting to get some national traction because uh there's a really a vibe here. We we all know what that kind of vibe is. And if you're if you're from Delco, you get it. Um it's a it's a happening place. We're close to the Metro Philadelphia area. We've sports teams are here, and people, famous people live here. We actually are filming movies and TV shows. You've probably seen um a couple of those shows that are filmed on HBO and um are playing and filmed in Delaware County. Delco. Well, one of the things that we bring is the good neighbor businesses in Delco, those businesses that everybody loves or should know about because their mission and their purpose is serving us and serving beyond Delco.

Meet Roboto School Of Music

SPEAKER_00 1:20

And today it's a fun opportunity for me to bring to you a school. We've had some schools in the past, a school uh master, we might call it, uh teacher, but the school is different because it's a school of music. Let me bring to the stage and welcome the uh owner, the founder of Roboto School of Music. Welcome um Shaina Pastilli to the program. Hi, Bob. Thank you so much for having me. Well, it's nice to have you join us and thank you for bringing your art and craft to the uh podcast because it is different, isn't it, Shayna? When I say the the um uh Robotto School of Music, I'm gonna tease the listeners a bit with uh the fact that it is kind of a different thing going on here with this school of music. Let's

The Meaning Behind Roboto

SPEAKER_00 2:03

start with the name because that's a little bit different. Uh it's not your last name, we hear, but what is roboto? Where does that name come from?

SPEAKER_02 2:10

So roboto is actually a musical term that professional musicians will find in their actual music. Um, and when we see that term, it means play that phrase at your own pace. So play roboto.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 2:24

So roboto just means to play at your own pace.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Wow. Well, now that I had not heard that, but I kind of know what the difference is in the robota school of music, and it makes sense now. So tell let's tell the listeners um the Roboto School of Music is it's it's a kind of a specialized school for not specialized music, but specialized learning,

Teaching Neurodiverse Music Students

SPEAKER_00 2:45

right? Correct. Yep. Tell us more about that and and cover really what does that mean, specialized learning? Who are your students and um what special needs do they have, and then what kind of special music are they playing?

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Sure. Um, so Roboto was founded to be a music school for every learner. More specifically, it has a specialization in um learners that learn differently, specifically autism, um, Down syndrome, and other special needs. So I um got my master's in music education with a concentration in autism. Um, and I've had a passion for um being able to teach the the diverse learner um because you know we all learn differently. So when I founded Robato, um, it was uh I wanted to make sure that we welcome everybody, neurotypical, um, neurodiverse, but we have this little niche where we adapt actual notation, we adapt actual instruments, we essentially build an private lesson music learners IEP for every student that comes in the door.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Well, that is interesting because you know it's to the point now where um even families, you know, that have not really had uh a need for special learning, they know from their student in in schools that there are students that have an IEP, that they have some special learning needs. And it's wonderful that I think in these times there's even more embracing of all of that, there's more mainstreaming of all of that. Right. Yet um special needs can be this wider spectrum. You mentioned uh neuro neurodivergent, neuro, what was the other one? Uh that was typical. And then, you know, to put um that those differences in a classroom with um you're trying to make music together, you know, multiple lessons. This is not all just one-on-one lessons, right? It's a classroom. Yeah, tell us how that works when their special needs really do kind of cover a wider range. And then we're talking about multiple instruments, it must be something to hear, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Um,

Why Music Makes Inclusion Easier

SPEAKER_02 4:48

it's actually amazing. So, you know, there's a big push in inclusion in education right now, and I do agree with that, but I also I'm also a firm believer in that there are limits to that, and that the music classroom or the music setting and the arts setting is a really safe place to be able to push that inclusion. You know, if you're thinking about music specifically, music is a language. Um, I have non-speaking students that will play entire piano pieces with no issues. Um, you know, Stevie Wonder said it himself: music is a language within itself. So when we put our groups together for a rock band or a social scouting or, you know, just a young music class, um, everybody in that moment is speaking the same language. Everybody is playing rhythms together. We may have students on egg shakers while some other students play um, you know, twinkle, twinkle, little star that they had just learned. There's there's always a way to incorporate everyone when it comes to the music language. Because it all it it you can bring it together in whatever way you want. You know, every kid has a voice in that moment.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Right. You know, I think that uh a lot of the listeners right now were thinking that um it's with with uh people with special needs, uh, that maybe it's uh jumbled sounds or that it's not as pretty um or as kind of busy, you know, you've got some special needs in that classroom that could probably take the reins from you and teach some of these students because they have special talent as well as special needs. And so to be able to have some gifted students in the classroom, we let's not forget that. And then, but to be able to accommodate uh the learning styles is really what I think you're doing. And and you mentioned one thing with um did you actually say modifying instruments in some ways so they can be played differently? Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

Um, so

Color Notation And Adapted Instruments

SPEAKER_02 6:45

my when I was up uh doing my master's, I sat with this idea one night about colors. Um, so we have a whole color notation system, which then correlates to a color-coded piano. Um, so students are learning uh notation. You're reading typical notation, but it's has colors on it, and they're able to match the pitches on their page to the pitches on the piano, and then we have a whole scaffold scaffolding system where we start to take the colors away and they they're still seeing the same notation, but they have the colors on the piano. It's you know, the the education behind it and the the science behind it is all very uh deep uh because colors is just colors is really good for memory.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Yes, and some some people with special needs have incredible memories, but but you know, you just kind of widened the whole visual for us because um we're still thinking how hard it is when we try to learn a musical instrument, and we're still imagining that you know, uh wonder if somebody had taught us a little differently, we might have taken it to it differently and and yeah, throw in colors and throw in other things and and then throw in some of the special gifts that some special needs people have where you know they're seeing the numbers that we're not, and and you know, it's really making sense for them. Music is a language. This is all great. We're talking to the school founder, right? Shannon, you know, uh we're talking the founder of Roboto School of Music. It's in Media, Pennsylvania, in the county seat there, Ridley Creek Road. They have a facility uh on Ridley Creek Road. And you know, the the success of this school really is coming from the success of the students. There, there we want to talk a little bit about this because uh when you're done explaining this part, this is where the listeners are looking for you online, which is RobotoSchool of Music.com or getting in touch with you by uh calling you. The number, by the way, if you'd like to talk to Shanna um uh Pastilli herself, uh her number is 215-840-5706. And she'd love to talk with you. Shanna,

Breakthrough Moments That Change Kids

SPEAKER_00 8:52

I think that when we can can a little bit further down the path here on this, tell us about the magic that happens in the student themselves, you know, the the aha moment that they too can make music or that they can make music with others and feel integrated where they have maybe not felt that as well in society. And and because it with that magic comes the need to spread word about the Roboto School of Music. Tell us about how that all comes together and the what you see on those faces when they're making music together.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Oh man, it happens all. I mean, it just happened to me last night. The you know, words only say so much. A lot of times, facial expressions and body language, and in the autism community, there's a thing called stimming where they start flapping or getting excited. And, you know, once once a kid realizes that I have just given them the tools to be able to be a part of music, and you know, you hear we hear it from special needs families all the time. My kid loves music, they do love music, but loving music is different than being able to be a part of music, the thing that you love. So once the student realizes, hey, I can actually be a part of this now, their face expression, just pure joy, pure happiness, their body language, you know, they they sit up taller. You can just like see this beaming confidence from them. I had a student say the word guitar for the first time in a lesson with me. I had a student burst out, I love you, for the first time with me. Last night I had a student who almost like dropped his guitar because of his excitement that I had given him the tools to play along with one of his favorite songs. It's just, you know, having a love for something is great. But being provided the tools to be a part of that thing that you love is a whole nother level of jewelry.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

It certainly is. And it and it changes us. Uh, anyone that's ever been involved in special needs uh teaching, if you don't have someone in your family with uh that's neurodiverse or uh as some kind of uh mental handicaps, you know, I'm saying that uh once you do, once you get close to it, once you've had the experience, you're changed. And and you're usually changed because you're witnessing what is um uh a combination of innocence and love that comes from persons uh that have some of those challenges. Um again, mentioning that we're talking to Shanna Pastilli, the founder of the Robato School of Music. Shanna, I think that what you're seeing on a daily basis and those kind of moments of grace and blessing that you're experiencing, they're going home and their families are seeing it. And and tell us a little bit about the advancement that you're hearing from parents and siblings that are saying, boy, they're they're different now that they've gotten involved with the Brabado School of Music.

Parents, Tears, And Family Connection

SPEAKER_02 11:42

Well, so another thing that we do is that I do allow parents to sit in lessons because this gives them the moment to see their child in a new light. Um, you know, unfortunately, parents of special needs students and children and adults are told no a lot. No, we don't know how to help. No, they can't do that, things like that. I am a firm believer in we will figure it out. The answer is yes, we just have to figure it out. It might just might just take us a little more time. Um so the you know, I've had parents crying happy tears, I've had parents crying sad tears that it took them so long to find me. Like it's it's a mix of a wide range of just emotion after emotion after emotion.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

I understand it, and it comes back into the house, and and you know, they're the mom or dad, you know, carrying something through the hallway or whatever, and they're hearing something coming from the room, and it's it's they're actually hearing the lessons progress and they're teaching themselves now as well because they have an interest. What a blessing!

SPEAKER_02 12:42

Well, I had I had a mom last night at her son's piano lesson tell me that her other son, the brother, who I'm sure has had difficulty connecting with his brother, you know, his whole life, um, my student learned Lean on Me and he loves it and he plays it all the time. And the brother went to school and asked his music teacher to teach him lean on me on guitar so that he could go home and play it with his brother and have that moment of connection that he's never had before.

SPEAKER_00 13:08

Makes your heart melt to hear that. And and those stories abound. If you're someone that's living in the Delaware County, Pennsylvania area in the tri-state area of Pennsylvania in the southeast corner.

How To Reach Roboto School

SPEAKER_00 13:19

There are schools that you can find. And this is one of them that you have found. Robato School of Music. It's led by um Shanna Pastilli, who has her master's in in teaching special needs, but also music. And so it's a kind of wonderful combination that turns into mission. It's not just a business here, but it's really a mission to those individuals that are your students, Shanna, and also to those families of those students. Because it's life-changing. You're bringing people together and you're bringing them together with music, which is the language of love that we all can kind of relate to. And yet to see what is really an innocence, learn another form of innocence, music. I think it's just a marvelous, marvelous mission. I'm very proud to have gotten a chance to know you and to talk to you about the Roboto School of Music. Hey, everybody, if you'd like to reach out to Shanna, even to just say thank you, let alone how can you help? Perhaps, or do you have a student in mind? The email is simple. It's the Roboto R-U-B-O-T-O, Roboto School of Music at Gmail, or check them out online, Roboto School of Music.com. And the phone number again is 215-840-5706. You can get in touch with uh teacher, Shanna Pastilli of the Roboto School of Music. Shanna, thank you very much for doing what you're doing for our community, in our community, and for the families of our community. Uh your work is a mission. It is certainly a business, yes, but so are all music schools. And, you know, Shanna, it's a good business. It's a yeah, it's a good neighbor business in our community. And I want to thank you for being a good neighbor business and joining us here today on the Good Neighbor Podcast.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Thank you so much for having me and letting me, you know, provide the joy that I get to live every day.

Nominate A Local Business

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, hosted by Bob Lacey. This is Michael Barkan, inviting everyone to get on the Good Neighbor team. Nominate your favorite local business to be featured on an upcoming episode by going to gnpdelco.com or by calling Bob at 610 557 3745.