Day 18:
On Monday, we had 6 preschool boys in the session. There were things that we noticed like saying they were happy but would act sad, and vice versa. Most of them sang the whole time. One activity was drawing what they felt while a MT played a song. One boy showed signs of OCD in his drawings. They were getting a lot better at taking turns today. They were also a lot happier by the end of the session. I recorded moods for the session, and have been asked to find more recording devices/charts to analyze their progress. I will hopefully be playing piano for them during the next session.
Day 19: I wasn't able to make any visual aid folders on Thursday, but plan to make them next week.
Day 20:
I took more of a scribe role for the sessions with the participants with Alzheimer's on Friday. I recorded if they sang, what their feelings were, and how much they participated during each activity. Fun note: One couple brought their dogs so that was very fun!! :)
I also did more research on the behaviors of the children who have Autism. (Another fun fact: I learned that saying 'Autistic kids' is wrong and that it is better to say 'children with Autism' so they don't feel like they are defined by what they have). The clients cover their ears to block out sensory input and to lessen auditory input. It may also be because they feel anxious, scared, or uncomfortable. They have a tendency not to sit still and fidget because of sensory-motor challenges and/or difficulty with attending behaviors. They also tune out during the sessions because they feel overwhelmed. Overall, each session was good.
Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteYour music therapy project is very interesting and I am enjoying your comments. I do have a question on the methods you use to determine the moods of the preschool children during their session. Do you feel you are able to accurately record their moods? It will also be interesting to see which forms of music make them the happiest.
Mrs. Terrell
Hi, Mrs. Terrell! Thank you for the nice comment and question. In the beginning of each session, we sing a hello song and ask each child how they are doing. Sometimes they will respond right away with an answer, while other times we will put pictures in front of them that represent possible moods. The children have had tendencies of saying they feel one thing, but then will show the complete opposite emotion throughout the session. So knowing that is a bit concerning because it makes us wonder if they just don't know how they are really feeling. And sometimes they will give copycat responses of the other children. The first boy to answer may say he's sad, and then a few boys after that will say they're sad too, but won't act that way. So when we record their moods, we write down both what they say they're feeling, and how they actually show their feelings in their behaviors. They definitely like the instruments that they can actually play, like the large drums and the Q-chord. Thank you!
DeleteHi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteSomething that comes to mind here reading this week's post is the different range of ability to respond to the music therapy. I think we all have the "folk wisdom" as well as the brain science to back up that children are more receptive to learning and change. It's interesting to think of how you're seeing music therapy help very young kids with rapidly developing brains and then Alzheimer's patients whose brains are in a state of deterioration. Then you have the children with autism who, as you're showing here, have sensory issues that can make it hard to respond fully and flexibly to the world around them. As you develop your work, I think it would be neat to organize some thoughts around the idea of flexibility and adaptability of these very different groups. For example, are you seeing things that challenged any assumptions you might have had coming into this project?
I also want to second Ms. Terrell in how feelings are mentioned. If I remember right from our conversation a few weeks ago, the music therapists often use simple feeling inventories to help the clients / participants identify and name their emotions. When they do this more clinically, like with the kids with autism, do they try to keep track of this in some way they can measure week to week? Is this something you could have access to (even if not by name, but with some kind of numbers or graphic way of seeing change)? Or is the work more "organic" and not so tied to charting precisely measurable progress?
I will be regular about getting on here and making comments Elizabeth. You are continuing to do some exciting work!
Hi, Dr. Aquilano! Thank you for commenting. It would be interesting to work around the idea of flexibility and adaptability to each group. I didn't know things were so personalized to each clients needs, so that was an assumption that I learned more about. If you read my comment above, we do record the moods they tell us, and what they seem to actually be feeling. We have taken some records over the weeks, but only this week did I start writing down their exact responses, so it would be hard to show right now any change. But I will look into this and see if I could get the therapist's past notes. Thank you!
DeleteReally great journaling Elizabeth. I am very interested in understanding the communication levels of your "clients". For example, as my friend's Alzheimer's symptoms progressed, she got less and less communicative. Some children have very hard times describing how they feel. Are you using survey questions with you observations? Is there a rubric for observational recording?
ReplyDeleteHi, Mrs. Gathas! Thank you for your interest and comment! I'm not using survey questions, I'm only writing down what I observe in their actions and participation amount. There isn't a rubric that I know of, but I write down my observations from each group every day I see them, so I will be reporting the progress I've seen. If you read my earlier comments (or my week 8 post), I do have a scale for the preschoolers. But with children with Autism, I'm only able to observe from a distance. They are nonverbal, too, so I can only record what I see. As for the clients with Alzheimer's, most of them talk and communicate. Only a few barely talk or show feelings. Their caregivers are very protective and try hard to not let anything happen that could be embarrassing, so I don't want to directly survey them and make them feel like they are being judged or anything. Thank you!
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