Karaoke in the Library: Effects on Learning, Literacy, And Social Communication (Tips & Tactics‪)‬

Alan Nguy held the microphone up to his mouth, smiling as he read the lyrics to "Clumsy" from the screen and sang along with Fergie. He had never spoken a word in the library before, other than grunting "Mine!" when in a tug of war, fighting over books with other kids. When I interceded, he was never able to verbally communicate the problem. I had not worked directly with his Special Education class before and could only guess at the nature or level of Alan's developmental disorder. But during his first time doing "karaoke in the library," Alan appeared to be a different boy. Mr. Holvoet, his teacher, told me some of the autistic children he observed relating to each other had never done that in class before the session. Something about singing into a microphone seems to bring about transformation.