At The Rock Box, we have the privilege of working with a variety of students, some of which experience personal hurdles of their own, such as Autism (verbal and nonverbal), Aspergers, Down Syndrome, ADD, ADHD, anxiety, depression, PTSD, blindness and hearing loss, just to name a few. While these “disabilities” may pose different challenges for each student, one thing they have in common is they didn’t let it hold them back or stop them from reaching their goals in music. We’re extremely honored and humbled to help them along the way.
We also help students with injuries heal faster while using drumming (and other instruments) as a form of physical therapy.
Whether it be a physical, mental or genetic disability, permanent or temporary, music is a wonderful healer for the mind, body and soul!
*While we do offer “music therapy” lessons at The Rock Box and have a lot of experience with Special Needs students of all ages, most of our teachers are not licensed therapists.
“These people get it! Another place that Autistic people can come and learn to shine!” – James Ritchie (Autism Family Center of Florida)
“We enrolled our son, Flynn, for drum lessons a few months ago to give him an outlet and experience. He has Autism and is nonverbal. We decided on drums so he can learn the basics and rhythm. When we enrolled him, we told Angel (drum teacher and co-owner of The Rock Box) we didn’t care if he plays at all. We want him to have an experience and we don’t expect him to do anything perfectly. We also told him even if he doesn’t want to play we would even like it if he could just watch Angel play the drums. Being nonverbal has its major challenges, but Angel stepped up. He read books and researched more into Autism. He asked us questions and changed his teaching style (and drum set for a while) to better serve Flynn. I could not be more happy and at home at The Rock Box. Flynn plays on the drums some days and plays on the floor others, but Angel does everything he can to keep Flynn engaged.” – Sarah White-Bednarek
“The Rock Box has some amazing teachers! We never expected Nathan to play the piano. We just wanted something fun and engaging for him. 6 months later, he’s reading music and dancing while he plays!” – Amy Ayres
“We love The Rock Box! Their fun, laid-back environment is a perfect fit for Rayme. Ray Rogers (guitar teacher) allows Rayme to progress at her own pace while still holding her interest. Not an easy task.” – Bre Gleason
“Both of my young adult children have been taking lessons at The Rock Box since last year. They both have autism and so I wasn’t really sure what they were capable of learning; my main goal for them was just to have a creative outlet to enjoy themselves while possibly learning some things along the way. I was not disappointed! They scored some great teachers who were EXTREMELY PATIENT and figured out a way to help them learn at their own pace without being overwhelmed. It’s been a joy to watch them both practice at home WITHOUT BEING FORCED. We had to leave because we are relocating an hour away. I have a feeling I’m going to be hard-pressed to find another school like this. Highly recommended.” – Catherine Griffin
