Project Development

The project is a collaboration between Matt Kaplowitz, a multimedia producer specializing in accessible educational media, Wendy Sapp, an Orientation and Mobility specialist, and Carolyn Graham, a world-renowned musician, artist, and teacher with extensive experience in writing educational music.

The team reviewed literature on using music to teach young children, incorporating music into O&M instruction, and the O&M skills and concepts critical for young children. They reviewed all music and rhythm programs publicly available to enhance O&M for young children. Based on these reviews, the team determined that music is a viable technique to teach O&M to young children with visual impairments. After identifying a short list of O&M skills and concepts to include in this project, the team looked for meaningful ways to create songs that would complement the concepts and skills. Music and lyrics for 18 songs/rhythms were written by the musician and producer in collaboration with the O&M instructor. Nine of the songs were recorded by professional child singers.

Given that each child with visual impairments is unique, has her own learning style, and lives and plays in her own environment, it is impossible for one project to create songs to address every O&M skill and concept in a song that every child will like. Recognizing the need for more songs than this project can possibly create, we developed guidelines to help professionals and parents create their own songs to help teach O&M skills and concepts. We hope that professionals and parents who create songs to teach O&M to their children will share their songs and lyrics on this website for others to use.