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School Bus Driver, Aide Sing to Soothe Special-Needs Students

Kentucky driver Jennifer Ward and monitor Diana Becker find that students enjoy singing together more than listening to the radio and that it helps alleviate anxiety for some.

January 6, 2017
1 min to read


FAYETTE COUNTY, Ky. — A school bus driver and monitor here have found that singing to the special-needs students on their bus has helped alleviate anxiety for some, Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Bus driver Jennifer Ward and monitor Diana Becker sing student favorites such as “The Wheels on the Bus,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and “Old McDonald Had a Farm,” according to the newspaper. Ward told Lexington Herald-Leader that she had played music for the students because they seemed to be soothed by it. Then, one day in 2015, a Bluetooth speaker failed. Ward and Becker started singing, and the students liked that even more and wanted to sing instead of listen to music on the radio.

One parent told the newspaper that the singing has helped her daughter become less resistant to boarding and exiting the bus.

To read the full story, go here.

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