22- Decoding Dyslexia with Dr. Olivia Colomaio, part 2

In this second episode on dyslexia with Dr. Olivia Colomaio, we explore how dyslexia shows up in piano study and share tools that replace quick fixes with sound-first learning and real transfer. Practical strategies, honest self-assessment, and effort-based awards help students grow skills and confidence without gimmicks. If you’ve wondered how to support dyslexic pianists with compassion and precision, this conversation gives you a map you can use today!

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Check out The Dyslexic Advantage recommended by Dr. Olivia

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Transcript

One-Year Milestone And Focus

Speaker 0:07

Welcome back to another episode of the Creative Piano Pedagogy podcast. This is episode 22, and we are officially celebrating one year of the podcast. That's so cool. Thank you for hanging out with us. Um, if you've been listening a long time or if this is your first episode, we're so grateful that you're taking time to listen, and we hope you leave with a few teaching tips that you can take to your own studio. I'm your host, Dr. Elizabeth Davis Everhart. Elizabeth is fine. And in each podcast episode, we strive to focus on practical teaching tips, understanding neurodiversity, and using creative thoughts and approaches to teach our very out-of-the-box students. We aim to teach them with intentionality, compassion, and understanding, really taking time to see them for the wonderfully creative people they are and understand how they think and learn so we can best teach them. We talk about crafting joy-filled student-focused piano and music lessons where our students' humanity and their unique learning needs are not an afterthought. They're intentionally an integral aspect of our teaching approach. So glad you're taking time to join us. And if you missed it, last episode was part one of my discussion and talk with the amazing pedagogue Dr. Olivia Colomaio on understanding dyslexia and piano study. She offered some really fantastic tips, and today is part two of our conversation. She's going to share some wonderful perspectives on dyslexia that will help us not only understand dyslexia better, but help us come to our students with compassion and understanding and just a great viewpoint on what can be kind of a complex neurodivergence and learning disability. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope you enjoy our conversation today. Something else I wanted to ask you about that's sort of on this same topic. How might piano teachers expect to see dyslexia impact a student's music and piano learning, like their playing experience?

Framing Dyslexia Part Two

Speaker 1 2:27

Yeah, so there are many books. There are many, many books about that. And by that I mean there's like two. There really aren't very many books. Wide literature. It won't take you very long to review the literature. But uh it can show up so many different ways. So um my dissertation is open source, uh in case anybody open access, I mean if anybody wants to look at it, because it is all written down there just in case I forget to mention something.

Speaker 3:01

I'll link that in the description as well.

How Dyslexia Shows Up At The Piano

Speaker 1 3:03

Okay, okay. Um also the uh instrumental music for dyslexics, Sheila Oglethorpe um book is is the only one of its kind. It's from 2005, but it's the only one of its kind. Um and much of the much of the gap filling in my in my dissertation um was in response to that. Okay. Um but um or kind of updating, I guess. Uh she's great book. Great great book. Basically, with students with dyslexia, a lot of the most consistent things I see are issues with memorization, um, confusing the right and left hemispheres of the body, not just the hands, but also the feet um and the the arm the arms of the body constantly. Um flipping the staves, um flipping similar-looking notes if we're talking about music reading specifically. Um rhythm is just a abysmal. It is it was a huge thing, is a huge hurdle to get over. Um and it's it's constant. Um so rhythm memorization, note reading in terms of of flipping um and reading rhythm. Um those are those are pretty much the big ones. Um flipping the hemispheres of the body goes along with um playing in the wrong octaves, um, not knowing where it goes on the keyboard. Yes. Um and that's that's something I've I've seen pretty um consistently. Um it's hard with the contrary motion thing, sometimes hands doing the opposite of what they're supposed to do, um, because sometimes that's developmental. Um it depends on their age. Right. And sometimes it's it can be a cause of dyslexia um or a a symptom of dyslexia of just flipping them. Um and then I would say probably the one of the other biggest ones is um uh low self-esteem. Just absolute lack of confidence.

Speaker 5:12

And that is actually a thing that I don't think we really talk about enough in music teaching. Um there's a lot of research about how to have good routines for students who learn differently and all this kind of thing, but the low self-esteem is not just a glib statement. It's a it's very factual. What do you do to help your students when they're struggling to read music and they're really, really have low comp self-confidence? What do you do that helps them?

Building Confidence And Motivation

Speaker 1 5:43

Yeah, uh fantastic, fantastic question. Um a really big thing in my studio is um effort-based achievement. Um so uh the last couple of years, it'll be interesting to see what happens with it this year, but the last couple of years um students were able to earn um medals, ribbons, trophies, etc., based on the amount of things that they completed or um uh learned and um it wasn't it was completely individualized. Um and then at the end of the year they all received their these awards and it was you learned all your five finger patterns and you learn them hands together, that's a gold medal. You learned them hands separate, that's a silver medal. Um you did both, you get both. Um like certain things were like you get a purple ribbon for this, you get a blue ribbon for this. Um some of it was me experimenting to see how we will respond to this, right? Um I said it'll be interesting to see what happens with it this year. Yeah. Um but lots of my students are not in the high achieving winning competitions um in the standard. Right, not performance driven. Right. Um so you wrote a piece, you get this you wrote a piece, you wrote it down, we put it into a notation software, you performed it for people, you get this like really fancy purple ribbon for doing that. Oh, that's um and so we do a lot of Crown Awards is they're big, big Ooh, what's that? Crown awards. It's just this website that sells trophies and stuff. Okay. Oh, that's cool. They're they're they're great. Um and um I also like to recognize students who um like the Columbia Music Teachers Association does an achievement day every year. And I love that event because my students with disabilities can do it, and all they have to do is enter three different categories and they get a gold medal. And some of them will never get a gold medal or have never gotten a gold medal before.

Speaker 7:55

Right.

Speaker 1 7:55

Um, and so it's a really big deal for them to go to this event and do that thing. So um it is a bit of a confidence booster, but like shiny metal things aside, um addressing addressing low self-esteem is not just about like giving a bunch of awards. Um it's it's also um teaching them how to self-assess within the lesson from a non-biased, um, non-moral judgment. Um I'd r try really hard not to use the word good. Um it's a it's a thing people say a lot as we're processing.

Speaker 8:32

It's good or that's bad.

Speaker 1 8:34

Yeah. Yes, um, good and bad. I try to eliminate those um not as like a weird trendy thing, but just as a that is not a helpful assessment. Right. Um and so I spend a lot of time in my lessons with my dyslexic students helping them, um also my students with ADHD, because we they also tend to struggle with low self-esteem. Um we spend a lot of time looking at things critically without being um self-deprecating. Right. Um and so like, okay, it has to be taught and it has to be modeled. So what do you what do you think you did well here is a good question if we have had the training to get that far. But I can't I can never start with that.

Speaker 9:17

No.

Speaker 1 9:18

Um it always has to be yeah, it's way, way too big. And they'll be like, Well, I played some wrong notes every time. The first thing out of their mouth is something they did absolutely uh every time. Um but retraining the mind to to look at the situation and be like, is that the articulation you meant to use there? Is that what you want to do there? Did you play with the right um balance between your hands? Did you change the pedal appropriately? Um, did you play with a good tempo? Is that tempo appropriate? Is that what you want? Is that what it should be? Um, whatever.

Speaker 9:54

We're really helping them like work through their expectations throughout the learning process, too.

Speaker 1 9:58

Yes. And that is that is the the goal because if we're just doing things because my teacher told me to, we're not in creating independent learners.

Speaker 10:07

Absolutely. And there's a lot of I find this with a lot of neurodivergent learners. If they cannot play a piece perfectly the first time, or if that is their expectation, it will be destroyed every time. And those are the kids that shut down instantly. So yes, we're we're on the same the same wavelength here. It's like intentionally setting your students up for success rather than just giving them easy wins, like teaching them those skills, right?

Speaker 1 10:35

Yes. Um, and and there are there are benefits to doing things like off-bench and doing with some students doing things off-bench or doing rote pieces and doing improvisation, but like you should always be doing rote pieces and improvisation. You should always be being creative at the piano and and exploring sounds and and um teaching good technique. You should always be doing those things. Um, it's not something that, like, well, you're dyslexic, so we're gonna do a lot of improv. Um like everyone should be doing a lot of improv.

Speaker 11:05

Yes, absolutely. It's not a last-itch effort. And that's a question that comes up a lot in music teacher groups. Like, my students not reading well, so I guess we should just improvise. Like, you should be doing that already, because actually, improvising and playing by rote might just help the music reading down the road.

Speaker 1 11:24

Most of the time, yes, it it does. Um, and and that is the really the the crux of music uh instruction, especially for students with dyslexia, Gordon, uh sound before sight.

Speaker 11:39

Right. So giving them those experience, like helping them develop skills and lead up to different milestones, really.

Speaker 1 11:46

Yes. If you're reading, do you hear a voice? You're reading silently, do you hear a voice in your head? Right. That's audiation. Um, so if you are looking at a piece of music and you're if your students looking at a piece of music and they are consistently playing it wrong, they have no idea what it sounds like.

Teaching Self-Assessment Without Judgment

Speaker 12:01

Yes. Thank you. And two, if if I can summarize what you're saying, we emphasize each student's individuality, which we should be doing that anyway, but then we help them develop skills to self-assess, set good expectations, and know what learning really looks like, rather than expecting perfection the first time and getting their hopes dashed. But then I love how you're emphasizing in your studio and in your work, kind of building in external motivators, like these rewards. Like those are actually kind of attractive to neurodivergent kids. They really are. Oh yeah. And your your point was really, really good. Piano, if you're giving awards, it may be the only thing they get over like an award in, possibly. That's an excellent point.

Speaker 1 12:58

Yeah, um, and it's real, it's real interesting. Last year, um, after the the spring recital, there were some reactions um from family members who had no idea um about things that we've achieved and things that we've done and all this stuff. And so these kids are walking around with like tons of uh like medals and like hands full of ribbons and like all this stuff. And it was like, wow, buddy, I didn't know you even did all that stuff this year. Um, and I think that is um like more is not always better, but at least it's a it's a representation of what you've accomplished. Otherwise, it's like I did piano today.

Speaker 13:40

That's such a great reminder because I think I don't know, students who do competitions get awards, students who do festivals may get a certificate, but remembering that a huge part of learning is helping your students honestly evaluate themselves and realize the good that they're doing. Um, and I think that would be very valuable for students who are neurotypical too. We maybe place too much emphasis on the really big things like the recitals, but like you're doing like you composed a piece, you shared it with someone, you wrote it down. All of those steps are really big for a kid or for anybody. If you've taken taking graduate level theory and had to write that, you know, you'd feel like you deserve a lot of gold medals. I love that. That's a that's a really important reminder to help students evaluate themselves with honesty and without bias. That's really, really beautiful. Uh, I know that you are our time is coming to an end here. Would there be any parting advice that you would give to teachers who are trying to sort through all of the misinformation out there? Like all the things in piano teacher Facebook groups and online about color coding and putting rings on the kids' fingers. Like there's a lot of stuff that just doesn't really make sense. Dr. Olivia, like it's a little bit like a head scratcher. Um, we could probably do a follow-up episode on just the things that don't make any sense about what people are saying to do for dyslexic piano students. But since we don't have time to do all that today, what would you tell teachers who are trying really hard and just feel a bit stuck?

Rote, Improv, And Sound Before Sight

Speaker 1 15:18

Um, yes. I I first of all, I would want them to um recognize that when they're looking for solutions like that, it's because they care. Um so that's good. Just make sure you're looking in the right place. So um one of the issues with um well, let me let me say it a different way. Um The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan Um is a book that I don't I don't recommend that people start with that book. Um I would read two other books before you read that one. Um I would start by reading Overcoming Dyslexia, which is a 600-page book, so get it an audiobook and listen to it while you're driving. But um that one, definitely read that one. But the um the other one I would say is the um uh oh my goodness. It's by the Doctors ED. Um, yes, I have that one so Dyslexic Advantage. And they have a first and second edition, and if it's cheaper and you can only afford the first one, get the first one. Um, but also uh available as an audiobook you can get on Libby or um whatever streaming uh platform you listen to. Um and then I would educate yourself first on what dyslexia is and how the brain actually processes things in a dyslexic person. Um but as I was saying, the the d dyslexia empowerment plan, I wouldn't read it first, but there's something in there that I think is is really helpful, and he addresses um colored overlays. Um and uh the research on colored overlays is very anecdotal and it's very uh small sample sizes, and even with the bigger sample sizes, the improvement is so small. Um he uses the analogy of it is like sprinkling sand on stairs and then telling someone who uses a wheelchair to go up the stairs. Um, it might provide a little bit more traction, it might make it a little bit um like there might be a little bit more grip or whatever, but they are still pulling themselves up the stairs by it's not like building a ramp. Correct. It is not a ramp. Um and I would I would caution anyone who gets any kind of um advice from someone or um uh there's a new product that's launched. I mean, it's every couple of years, and at this point I think it's months. And it's a hot button thing.

Speaker 17:44

So and and to go back to what we first started talking about, if we could just simplify these things, it feels more manageable. So to think of, okay, let me see what piano book is written for dyslexic piano students, or let me see what color coding system is written for dyslexic piano students. It's a lot less about those resources you find, is what I'm hearing for you, from you, and more about what we can adjust after learning how dyslexic students think and learn.

Speaker 1 18:15

Uh yes. One of my um one of my pedagogy classes, the professor said um you should be able to pick up a blank piece of paper and teach from it. It's not about the method. Um it's it's not the method, it's it's the pedagogy. Um so it the same is true for every every neurotype. So um it is it is not about having the exact thing that is marketed for dyslexia. It is about um educating yourself and being able to um find something that will make music accessible. Because one of the issues with something like putting rings on all of your fingers and playing color-coded music that's always color-coded, is that's great, but you don't have access to anything that's not in that system. You've just taught them how to play that game or read that color. Right. Um and if you need a color to remember something in a specific piece, or if you need highlighting and and drawing like our music, we get we mark it up all over the place. That's great. Oh, yes. Um, if it's helpful, then do it. That's fantastic. But if it is not long-term sustainable, if it doesn't make music more accessible, then it's it's not going to be worth it.

Speaker 19:25

That makes sense. So really digging into what can I change about my teaching to make music work for my student and giving the student skills that are transferable as they grow as a musician. Because otherwise, like you said, you're training them to follow the rules of this game. Or you know, kids are pretty good at following instructions, really. Like they're they're good at following the order of things. So if you give them colorful rings on their fingers and a book that matches, they will figure it out. But will they be able to transfer that to anything else? That's the big question. Probably not.

Speaker 1 19:56

Probably not.

Avoiding Gimmicks And Color Coding Traps

Speaker 19:58

This has been so incredibly helpful. Um, your perspective on dyslexia is so unique because it's not like you're just, and I say that just a psychologist or just a psychiatrist. I don't mean that as a diss. Um, but your perspective as a pianist, I think really formulates a really amazing um approach to students who learn differently. And you've given us so many good things to think about. I've actually written down some things to look up and remember for my own students. So thank you for thank you for teaching us about dyslexia. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much for taking time to tune in. That's all on our talk about dyslexia. Thank you again, Dr. Olivia, for all of your wonderful tidbits and teaching tips. I've written down several myself that I'm going to use in my studio. And I hope that you're leaving with a couple ideas to try as well. Dr. Calamayo has been so generous to give us her personal email address. So in the description, you can find that as well as the Creative Piano Pedagogy email. If you have questions about teaching, maybe you want to email Dr. Olivia and ask her about one of your dyslexic students, or you have a question about something that you would like us to talk about on the podcast or the blog, you're welcome to contact us and we love hearing from teachers. That's all for today, and thank you so much for tuning in. Don't forget to share this with a teacher friend that you think might enjoy it. And we hope you turn in next time.