Gabriel Lazuka, 23, loves to sing—anytime, anywhere, at any volume. His mother, Margaret Hutzel, remembers her son leading the family in singing Christmas carols in the summer. "That's how much we love to sing," she says. "Even if we can't sing well, we sing!"

When Lazuka, who has Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attended Beacon School in Athens, OH—which serves students ages 3 to 22 with developmental disabilities—he performed with its choir, Beacon Singers. After he graduated in 2017, he joined Athens County Community Singers, whose motto is "a choir for all voices." Since then, Lazuka has learned to sing "at a more appropriate volume" and is better at recognizing songs, says Hutzel. "When my husband, who is a musician, hums a melody, Gabe can more easily identify the song."

Other choir members have similarly blossomed, says Stephanie Morris, founder and director of both Beacon Singers and Athens County Community Singers. "I have seen individuals who didn't necessarily speak to people when they came in now speak to people." One woman, who has developmental and intellectual disabilities, knew few people when she joined the adult group and hung back. Now she says she feels fully included. "These people have become her friends," says Morris, who is a board-certified music therapist and neurologic music therapy fellow at Central Ohio Music Therapy.

The idea for the two choirs grew out of Morris' volunteer work with the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities and her experience parenting a son with ASD. In creating the choirs, Morris combined music therapy, life skills instruction, and singing to help participants express themselves creatively, improve their ability to communicate, and live with more independence.

To accommodate members of Beacon Singers, some of whom have severe cognitive disabilities or use wheelchairs, Morris demonstrates visual cues for lyrics, provides options for nonverbal participation, and limits rehearsal to 30 minutes. She starts by asking students to sing everyone's name up and down the musical scale. "It's our way of saying hello to that student, and telling him or her we're ready to start choir practice," says Samantha Dunlap, a teacher at Beacon. For nonverbal students, Morris provides musical instruments or invites teachers and administrators to sing on their behalf.

During her nine years at Beacon, Dunlap has watched the choir grow. "We have a lot of students here with sensory sensitivity. Being in a gym with a loud echo and noisy musical instruments is a lot for some of our students to take in," she explains. Gradually, however, more and more students wanted to join. "I feel like we have way more participation than when we started," says Dunlap. "It's been really cool to see."

And the students are benefiting, says Becky Martin, director of educational services and principal at Beacon. "They are happy to belong to a group and are always so proud of their performances. Overall, we see a rise in their level of self-esteem." Beacon Singers perform four times a year in the school's gym for family, friends, and teachers.

In a radio interview, Morris described her work as using "music as a tool to reach nonmusical goals." One of those goals is to provide Beacon students with friendly and accessible postgraduation options for socializing and performing, which can help ease their transition into the community. "There are so many changes for someone leaving a school environment like [Beacon]," she says. Her son Blane, who is now 34 and sings with the adult group, was worried about life after high school. (He did not attend Beacon.) "Prior to his graduation, he worried about what he was going to do for a job, where he was going to live, who his friends were going to be," says Morris. "Those were big concerns for him, and they were some of the reasons why I created these groups."

Everybody, with or without a disability, is welcome to join Athens County Community Singers. Its members include people with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down syndrome, and ASD. "We don't want anyone to feel left out," says Morris. People do not need to have choral experience, play an instrument, or read music or lyrics, and they can apply for financial aid to cover the $50 yearly fee.
Fundraising efforts plus grants from organizations like the Ohio Arts Council and ATCO Legacy Fund help cover the services of the choir director, maintaining the instruments, transportation, and financial aid. To pay for instruments, the group relies on funding from other sources, such as the local Rotary Club Foundation and the Beacon School PTA.

The Athens County Community Singers have performed at national and regional conferences for music therapy. They also have held Christmas concerts and recently began hosting community sing-alongs. This year, they hope to sing at the annual convention of the Ohio Association of County Boards, which provides advocacy, professional development, and technical assistance for people with developmental disabilities.

Whenever the choir performs next, Lazuka, who lives at home and keeps busy with Special Olympics bowling and part-time work cleaning cabs, will be "singing up a storm," says his mother.

To learn more about the Beacon School, visit athenscbdd.org. For more information on Athens County Community Singers, visit facebook.com. For information about similar choral groups around the country, visit American Choral Directors Association at acda.org.