How an elite music school is improving access for students with disabilities

Jeffrey Brown:

Ashton Kiprotich, diagnosed with autism when he was almost 2 years old, did not speak until he was 7 years old. He still struggles to turn his thoughts into words.

But here, says his mother, Kelly Phillips, teachers like Miles Wilcox really understand, offering love and patience, as well as training in how to hold a bow. And the music brings out something different in his son.

Kelly Phillips, mother of Ashton Kiprotich: Yet he suffers from auditory processing disorder.

And it really is – there’s a lot of delay in getting answers from him. So we still see it. With music, I don’t see that happening at all. It’s right there. He is very spontaneous. It plays in different keys. He’ll sit down and play something he’s heard and never seen the music for.