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Music & Disabilities

We have fifteen years experience in using music to enhance the lives of children and adults with disabilities at all levels of functioning and experience.

Our Programs

Sing Out! Reach Out!
Our ground-breaking class geared for children and adults with disabilities using music for social development as well as creative expression.
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Music Instruction
One-on-one instruction for individuals with disabilities of all types, all ages, all levels.  Voice, piano, and woodwinds, beginner to professional.
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Singing Songbirds
A community chorus that welcomes those with disabilities, and their caregivers and families.
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Music Plus
Music-making class for students with lower functioning. Singing, percussion, and movement.
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Angel Rodriquez, teenager with visual challenges, learning drums at the IMH

Our Approach

Our approach, The Diamond Method for Music, devised by holistic medicine pioneer John Diamond M.D., has benefited students a wide range of disabilities including:

  • ADHD
  • Learning difficulties
  • Autistic Spectrum Disorder
  • Emotional/Behavorial Challenges
  • Cognitive challenges
  • Physical impairments

To find out more about the Diamond Method for Music, click here.

We take pride in adapting our programs to the particular requirements and musical experience of each of our students. Our faculty consists of experienced teachers who are not only highly qualified musicians, but also have particular training and expertise in working in the field.

Our approach is designed to be fun as well as rewarding, and to nurture the student’s natural love of music. The focus is less on music as a skill, more as a means of releasing his/her inner creativity. We encourage the student to treat music not just as entertainment, but as a means for personal development.

As an example of our students with disabilities, this video of our student Michael Brenner singing “Dinah” at a concert in 2010 with some brilliantly original improvised scat lyrics…


In this interview, Peter Leonard, Director of Fieldwork at Vassar College, talks about how his son Kevin, a young adult with autism, has benefited from his association with the IMH: