Training Music Educators to Teach Youth & Adults with Autism

Access to tech and creative industry employment

City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Autism rates have nearly doubled in a decade, with 1 in 36 U.S. children now diagnosed. In LA County—home to 1/3 of California’s autistic population—the lack of trained educators limits access to inclusive arts education.Post-pandemic, educational and employment gaps have widened, deepening isolation and economic disparity for neurodivergent youth.Though demand for music educators is expected to grow 12% by 2026, most lack the training to support autistic learners.Jazz Hands For Autism addresses this urgent need through a culturally responsive, hybrid-formatted music curriculum paired with a targeted educator training program that expands access, fosters belonging, & builds creative industry pathways—where 30% of workers already identify as neurodivergent. Given that LA County's creative economy supports 1 in 6 jobs and generates approximately $127 billion in sales revenues annually, equipping educators to inclusively train neurodivergent youth is both an economic & social imperative.

Jazz Hands For Autism (JHFA) is launching the Jazz Hands Affiliate Program (JHAP)—a scalable, tech-enabled solution that equips music educators with the tools, curriculum, and training to effectively support neurodivergent learners & expand equitable access to creative industry pathways.
JHFA’s proprietary music curriculum is research-backed, hybrid-formatted, and designed specifically for learners on the autism spectrum. It uses explicit, multi-sensory, and culturally responsive pedagogy to teach instrumental performance, music theory, and technology. We've already trained 50+ educators from Elemental Music and the Los Angeles Secondary Music Teachers Association (LASMTA) and are working with Claudio D. Alcantar, Music Director at Barack Obama Global Preparation Academy, to scale our curriculum from 1:1 and 1:5 ratios to 1:35.
With LA2050’s support, we will:
Hire an instructional designer to refine the educator training scope, sequence, & quality metrics;
Bring on a licensing expert to ensure intellectual property protection and scalability;
Employ a regional sales representative to expand program adoption across Los Angeles.
JHAP directly addresses the systemic lack of autism-specific training for music educators & removes barriers that exclude neurodivergent students from STEAM learning and creative workforce access. By investing in educators, we create ripple effects for 1000s of youth across Los Angeles—connecting inclusion, creativity, & long-term economic opportunity.

If successful, Jazz Hands Affiliate Program (JHAP) will radically increase access to inclusive music education for autistic students in LA County. In year 1, JHFA will work with Claudio Alcantar who teaches 6 music classes at Barack Obama Global Prep Academy to adapt our curriculum for large classroom settings. Building on this project & training already provided to 50+ educators via Elemental Music and LASMTA, we aim to expand access to more LAUSD music educators through our growing partnership with LASMTA. In Year 2, we aim to bring the JHAP to 20% of LAUSD music educators to implement our curriculum, resulting in over 2,700 autistic students could gain access to empowering music instruction, creative expression, & post-secondary pathways into LA’s $229B creative economy. This initiative will build systemic capacity & result in more neurodivergent youth in LA thriving through tech-enabled arts education & accessing sustainable careers in the industries that define our city’s future.