Proms performance Monday 7th July 2014

This was D today, rrrrrrrocking a verse of a song in her school Proms. They have a week of class performances of singing and instrument playing and it’s always amazing to watch.

My girl stood up in front of a packed school hall and sung. Something, as I’ve said before, she could never have done in a mainstream environment. We’d practise and practise at home and her TA would too, but on the day, anxieties would take over and she just couldn’t participate.

In D’s school, the staff gently practise with them, over and over. Gentle, positive encouragement with tons of praise, but of course, if it doesn’t happen on the day, it’s fine.

The audience is made up of other pupils and parents, so everyone is aware just how much it takes to do a solo. There’s always loads of clapping and cheering after each performance too.

Everyone in her class participated, they have a group instrumental, then every pupil does a solo. There’s a boy in her class who used to scream and sob if his mum came in to see events, because it was out of his routine, his speech was also very stilted too so that was how he communicated. Screaming and makaton. Today he also sang, with his mum watching.

Just amazing the difference that the right setting for the individual child can make.

Obviously I wasn’t able to video the performance but click here for The Muppets version of what they sang.

D is still singing her verses now, as she has been for weeks, it’s just lovely to hear.

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