Marilyn, one of my subscribers, recently asked me about drumming with kids who have special needs. She and her business partner have been hired to run a drum circle at a summer camp! Marilyn is a drum circle facilitator in Jacksonville, FL, she runs Heart 2 Heart Circles, and she blogs at Marilyn’s On The Move.

Here are some starter tips for drum circles for kids who have special needs:

1. Find out how many kids, and find out what the grown up to kids ratio is. It’s important to keep the ratio high on the grown up end. Then you can ask the grown ups to keep the steady beat and assist the kids. Also, the fewer kids you have, the more individualized you can get. Take it all into consideration when designing your drum circle experience.

2. Find out the theme and function of the drum circle. Is this for a summer camp, a birthday party, an end-of-year celebration? Choose songs and chants appropriate to the theme.

3. Find out the needs of the kids, and make sure you have plenty of adaptive instruments to meet those needs. Check out the adaptive instrument section of my inventory list. Two of my favorites are the mallet cuffs that you can velcro onto a hand and the adaptive instrument mount for wheelchairs and desks.

3. Find out what chants, songs, and activities the kids already know. Start with those to build rapport and bring everyone together in rhythm. I would encourage using tons of chants and songs with the drumming. And as always, encourage the grown ups to sing along.

4. Build relationships with the kids in small groups or individually before the larger event. I have found that the most effective drum circles blossom from already-established relationships with the kids. Work in smaller groups for days or weeks in a row prior to a larger drum circle. This way, the kids know the songs and chants that you’ll use, and they anticipate the final day when everyone comes together.

5. Demonstrate exactly what you are planning for the teachers/counselors/grown ups. They are your TEAM, so utilize them! Go through the drum circle with them first in preparation if possible.

6. Use call and response and rumbles as mini assessments of the group in the beginning. Observe the group’s response, and base the direction of the drum circle on your observation. Be present. Meet the kids where they ARE, and slowly take them elsewhere, always evaluating their response to your facilitation.

7. Try firework rumbles. Have everyone rumble softly, and tell them that when you extend your hand towards them, they should let out a firework on their drum! This rumble can last forever with different spotlights – You can facilitate a larger firework rhythm over the soft rumble in different areas of the drum circle.

8. Spotlight the kids, build confidence. Once everybody has a rumble down, you can ask if there is a child who would like to come to the center to give the “cutoff.”

9. End with rumble intentions. Invite participants to call out one word, invite the group to repeat the word, then rumble in honor of that word/intention. For instance, say “we’re going to rumble for unity!” Then, invite the crowd to shout “Unity!” at the count of three, then rumble for unity.

Extras: There are some great themed-songs for kids at Listen and Learn. The artist Rachel Rambach is a music therapy colleague of mine in Illinois. She does a stellar job combining social, community, learning aspects to music. Pull out a guitar and check out her songs! Several of her songs can be used to accommodate larger groups and coincide with themes.

Another great resource is the Erfurt Music Resource. You can peruse through EMR by clicking on the pages and labels that suit your needs. Find out how other people do it! Find songs that are good for larger groups, find adaptive instruments that are good for kids who have special needs, and you’ll be all set!

Got more tips? Throw down a comment!

Image above courtesy of Diana Burrows.