Over the last year, ten-year-old Katherine has developed a real love for the violin and eagerly awaits her lessons every week. AMBER’s support has enabled her to join a local String Group, where she is able to practise her violin playing, as well as learn to work in a team of sighted peers. It also allows her to have one-to-one lessons with an experienced teacher who is able to adapt the lesson and materials to Katherine’s needs. All this has given Katherine the confidence to perform in front of large audiences both at school and in the String Group.

Katherine says: Music helps me to think of creative things – without music I wouldn’t have such a creative mind to think up different tunes and how to play them. Learning to play an instrument can make you feel very successful. I have been very successful lately and my teacher congratulates me when I have done things well, which encourages me even more. I hope to bring my experiences and achievements with me to help me settle into my new secondary school next year and to show people than even though I look different and can’t see as well as them, I am still similar.

Katherine continues to grow in confidence. Her music groups provide a wider social network for her to share her enjoyment of music and she is now far more at ease in front of groups of unfamiliar people. Her social skills, including communicating effectively with sighted peers, have improved immensely and are helping her to prepare for secondary school next year.

Music enables Katherine to practice essential hand-to-eye coordination skills. It also helps her become more diligent and responsible in regards to her own practising and learning, as well as giving her a structure for her day and a way to relax.