Steel Drum
At this stage of the game, we were trying to discourage Mikey from touching Will’s saxophone. Will needed it to function properly to practice and perform and Mikey didn’t really know how to handle it. Although we did tell him, ‘the saxophone is for Will,’ I also put lots of other instruments nearby for Mikey to use. Educators call this strategy redirection. Instead of just saying ‘no’, we redirect the child’s attention to a positive activity.
My pro-mom tip on musical instruments is as follows: play it yourself in the store and see how annoying you think it will be after 7,368 renditions of three blind mice. Pick the least annoying instruments you can find. This steel drum was fine.
Under no circumstances, ever, never buy your child a kazoo. Don’t say you weren’t warned. Kazoos are the work of the devil. LOL
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About the Author
Erica Mauro is a mom to two teenage boys, Will who is neurotypical and Michael with Autism and cognitive delays. She holds a BA in Psychology from Colgate University and a Masters of Psychology in Education from Columbia Teacher’s College. Before staying home with her children, she worked as an elementary school teacher. For five years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children with special needs. In partnership with her husband Dave, she aspires to parent by using daily life as an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, seizing on real experiences as opportunities to build skills and strategies for Michael in a joyful, loving home environment. On the tougher early days, she just tried to get everyone safely to bedtime and start fresh in the morning. *wink* 
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