Jan 24, 2018, pg 14 - Anvil Publishing, Smart Parenting

This 8-Year-Old Filipino With Autism Taught

Himself to Play the Piano
He learned to play at age 6 and now has 10 classical pieces in his repertoire. Awesome!
by Kitty Elicay
There's a lot of heartaches involved when a child gets diagnosed with autism. “Not only are they saddened by
the news of diagnosis and overwhelmed with the changes it will bring to their lives, but they’re also worried
about the kind of lives their children will have,” says Thumby Server-Veloso, director of Toddlers Unlimited

any parents experience with Global Developmental Delay with talking at almost 2 years old,” she
denial and even reject the autistic features in 2011. shares. “We finally had him assessed
diagnosis. It’s what by a developmental pedia, and we
“It started out as little things his pedia
happened to Chloe found out Chace was not developing at
noticed, like how he would not make
Kayanan, 36, when her 8- the same pace as other kids his age.”
eye contact and how he was still not
year-old son, Chace, was diagnosed

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It took a while for Chloe and her
husband, Carlo, to accept the truth.
They only told immediate family
members because of fear that other
people would judge their son. They
admitted that, at the time, they
continued to hope that Chace's
development would eventually catch
up.
“We thought he was too young to be
properly diagnosed. We thought that
the doctor would turn out to be wrong,
that Chace was just a little delayed,”
Chloe recalls.
But after two years of following the
doctor’s advice and doing
occupational therapy, the couple
slowly realized that Chace’s significant
delay in speech and language meant
only one thing: he is a child with
autism.
Chloe and Carlo did not give up on
Chace. They enrolled him in a school
that specializes in special education
and made sure his therapy was
consistent. One of Chace's difficulties
was communicating with words. As
she persisted to find ways to help her
son express himself, Chloe soon
discovered that music could be her
son's language.
“When Chace was still a baby, even as
we observed him missing some of his
developmental milestones, we noticed
how quick he was to pick up a tune. He
could hum ‘Happy Birthday’ and
‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ before he
turned 1 year old. It gave me the idea
that he might eventually learn how to
play an instrument, like the piano, or
maybe even the violin,” she shares.
Chloe, who took piano lessons as a
child, bought a digital piano so that she
could practice playing. She secretly
hoped it would interest Chace, who
ignored the musical instrument. But he
was now singing pop songs (he loves
Bruno Mars) and fiddling with his iPad
and the app Garage Band, which lets
users create tracks using instrumental
effects.
One day, when Chace was 6 years old,
Chloe and Carlo heard "Twinkle
Twinkle Little Star" playing. As they
listened, Chloe wondered why “the
song sounded broken in some parts”
She looked to see what Chace was
doing and was dumbfounded — the
boy was playing the tune on the iPad
on his own!
“We watched as he played out the
notes, brought the tablet close to his
ear at times to listen if the notes were
right.”
Chloe excitedly took Chace to the
piano and showed him that he
could play the same tune on the
instrument. “He intently watched
as I sounded out the notes one by
one with just my right hand.
Almost immediately, he tried it out
for himself and got the hang of it in
10 minutes,” she shares.
Chloe's gut instinct was telling her
Chace had an ear for music. She
decided to test her son’s skills
further. “I played the tune again,
this time with two hands, the left
accompanying the melody played
by the right hand. Chace watched
me with his big, big eyes. I played
it again and again. Then I asked
him to try.”
Tentatively, Chace tried to copy his
mother. He used his left hands and
made mistakes, as expected. But
after a day or two, he mastered the
tune that Chloe played for him.
Weeks later, Carlo told Chloe he
heard Chace playing the classic
"Fur Elise" by Beethoven. She was
stunned. The piece was one of the
few she had memorized, so she
would often play it on the piano.
Chace never had formal piano
lessons, and Chloe had not been
able to teach him or break the
music down for him. He could have
only learned it by playing from
memory. “We know that many
have this gift of 'ouido' (being able
to play music on instruments just
by listening and without reading
the notes), but what made it even
more special for Chace was he
learned how to do it at only 6
years old.”
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Jan 24, 2018, pg 16 - Anvil Publishing, Smart Parenting
Chace slowly improved his musical
ability. He sometimes played demos
from the piano’s song bank, listen and
learn how to play the songs. If he
heard something he liked, he would
try to play it on the keyboard. Pop
songs were more straightforward for
experience made Chloe realize they
needed to find a teacher who was
willing to accommodate his special
needs. "I don't want him to be stunted
just because he can't learn the
traditional way," she says. As of this
writing, Chace now plays 10 pieces
flawlessly.
Chloe also tells us that Chace has
started to sing while playing, which
may have been inspired by Chloe, who
sings along to the music while Chace
plays. Chloe hopes it would encourage
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him to learn than classical pieces.
The couple enrolled him in UP College
of Music's Extension Program. It
lasted six sessions and culminated in
a recital. While Chace found learning
to read musical notes challenging, the
experience made Chloe realize they
him to talk more.
Like any proud mom, Chloe shares
videos of Chace playing for family and
friends to see, and in 2016, she took it
a step further with a YouTube
channel, Chace Plays the Piano. It only
contains four videos for now, but Chloe
just wants people to see that her son is
so much more than his autism.
“Given the stigma of mental health, and
how many people still think autism is
an illness that needs to be ‘cured,’ I am
hoping that we could give kids like
needed to find a teacher who was
willing to accommodate his special
needs.
"I don't want him to be stunted just
because he can't learn the traditional
way," she says.
Chace slowly improved his musical
ability. He sometimes played demos
from the piano’s song bank, listen and
learn how to play the songs. If he
heard something he liked, he would
try to play it on the keyboard. Pop
songs were more straightforward for
him to learn than classical pieces.
The couple enrolled him in UP College
of Music's Extension Program. It
lasted six sessions and culminated in
a recital. While Chace found learning
to read musical notes challenging, the
Chace a chance to share any gifts that
they have. It doesn’t have to be just
through music. It can be as simple as
enhancing current laws to give PWDs
more opportunities, more chances to
be a part of society,” she says. (With
the proposed Autism Care Bill, we can
be one step closer.
For all parents who have a child with
autism, the ultimate goal is this: “In our
growing social consciousness, I want
for Chace what every mother wants for
her child: acceptance.”