Music Therapy Moments
This week was crammed full of music therapy moments - those times when you just say, "This is why I love music therapy!"
This week was a short one - we had Monday off in recognition of Martin Luther King Day, so kids and staff were a bit rattled as we do whenever our schedule is changed or interrupted. Influenza has also hit our area of the world, so staff members have been away while under quarantine, kids have been in and out, other kids have started to look a bit green around the gills indicating that they are getting ready to succumb. It was a strange week.
As I was sitting down to plan my week, I thought about all of the things that were going on and tried to find something that I could use with all of my groups. So, the light FINALLY went off in my head!
Drumming with Splash Balls!!!! Ta-daaa!
Let me explain. I take out all of my large drums, the spare bass drums, unmounted toms, and large paddle drums, and I place them in the center of the room. I throw all of my Splash Balls onto the drums and the floor. Group members have one instruction - they have to bounce the ball on the drum before it goes any place else. (This one rule keeps kids from hitting peers on purpose - they have to figure out the geometry and physics of bouncing the ball on the drum using appropriate force and angles in order to hit that person using the bounce - that is acceptable to me!). I turn on some music with a steady and predictable beat at a low volume, and off we go!
This week was full of memorable music therapy moments. One client figuring out where to stand in order to bounce the ball into the trash can every single time. Another client laughing so hard he was crying. Yet another client saying, "I was crabby when I came here, but I feel better now." My vice principal watching during one of my groups and stating, "That was so much fun!" (We will see if she was able to identify some of the therapeutic reasons for engaging in this experience later.) The change in group attention to task once the balls were put back in the bag and the focus of cognition in clients who have difficulty attending to any and all tasks after the experience was finished.
At the end of the week, I was exhausted. So were my clients, but we had absolutely NO behavioral issues in the music therapy room this week. No one had to or opted to be removed from the session. Everyone laughed and seemed to be happy to be around one another. The music therapy room was a place where we could all be together.
This is not the case in each and every session, each and every week, but when it happens, it's a memorable music therapy moment...and, the reason I am still a music therapist nearly 20 years after getting my first music therapy degree.
I hope that you have some significant music therapy moments this week! Enjoy and rejoice in those times!
This week was a short one - we had Monday off in recognition of Martin Luther King Day, so kids and staff were a bit rattled as we do whenever our schedule is changed or interrupted. Influenza has also hit our area of the world, so staff members have been away while under quarantine, kids have been in and out, other kids have started to look a bit green around the gills indicating that they are getting ready to succumb. It was a strange week.
As I was sitting down to plan my week, I thought about all of the things that were going on and tried to find something that I could use with all of my groups. So, the light FINALLY went off in my head!
Drumming with Splash Balls!!!! Ta-daaa!
Let me explain. I take out all of my large drums, the spare bass drums, unmounted toms, and large paddle drums, and I place them in the center of the room. I throw all of my Splash Balls onto the drums and the floor. Group members have one instruction - they have to bounce the ball on the drum before it goes any place else. (This one rule keeps kids from hitting peers on purpose - they have to figure out the geometry and physics of bouncing the ball on the drum using appropriate force and angles in order to hit that person using the bounce - that is acceptable to me!). I turn on some music with a steady and predictable beat at a low volume, and off we go!
This week was full of memorable music therapy moments. One client figuring out where to stand in order to bounce the ball into the trash can every single time. Another client laughing so hard he was crying. Yet another client saying, "I was crabby when I came here, but I feel better now." My vice principal watching during one of my groups and stating, "That was so much fun!" (We will see if she was able to identify some of the therapeutic reasons for engaging in this experience later.) The change in group attention to task once the balls were put back in the bag and the focus of cognition in clients who have difficulty attending to any and all tasks after the experience was finished.
At the end of the week, I was exhausted. So were my clients, but we had absolutely NO behavioral issues in the music therapy room this week. No one had to or opted to be removed from the session. Everyone laughed and seemed to be happy to be around one another. The music therapy room was a place where we could all be together.
This is not the case in each and every session, each and every week, but when it happens, it's a memorable music therapy moment...and, the reason I am still a music therapist nearly 20 years after getting my first music therapy degree.
I hope that you have some significant music therapy moments this week! Enjoy and rejoice in those times!
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