Martyn, Percy's father shares how his son has developed a wonderful relationship with music thanks to his music teacher, Patxi.

Percy has attended TreeHouse School from the age of five. He has complex autism and learning disabilities. His communication is severely limited and he has many behaviours that challenge. However, from his very earliest years, Percy has always loved music, going to concerts and festivals with us, and this passion has been actively developed by TreeHouse School, where he’s flourished. We're so proud to watch our young boy turn into a thriving and happy and young man.

Thanks to his work with his music teacher Patxi, he's developed a truly wonderful relationship with music. Percy is confident in exploring music by himself now and he uses music to help calm him down and regulate his emotions. He navigates online music platforms with ease and discovers new music all the time, which he likes to share with us and Patxi. We’ve seen Percy dance and even heard him sing at end-of-year shows. We’ve also watched videos of Percy playing an array of instruments, all done with such enchanting ownership of his own learning journey! It's been a great source of joy for us.

Other parents within the school community have shared similar experiences. Stories of shared music-making and children taking their first steps towards vocalising and communicating; the live concerts that have helped with pupils’ anxiety levels and behaviours that challenge. 

During the lockdown, many TreeHouse School pupils would wake up in the morning and go straight to the computer because they knew it was Tuesday, and Tuesday was the day for a remote-learning music lesson. One week, Percy got Patxi to try and play one of his favourite songs. Not only had Patxi learned it by the following week but had also turned it into part of the lesson plan. Such talent!

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