On Monday, there were 7 preschool boys. Most of them wanted to participate towards the beginning, but they peaked during the middle of the session. They did a lot of activities like reading/singing story books, playing with a Q-chord (trouble taking turns), and playing with big drums. The goal of this session was to have 80% participation in their behavior. One boy threw a fit and had to leave the room.
Day 16:
I did a lot of stuff with the visual aid projects on Thursday! I finished the pop. song folders from last week. I completed one of the long term assignments called "My Sound Song" sets. I also adjusted a lot of the other folders to make everything fit (like: Down By The Bay & Purple People Eater).
Day 17:
With the Alzheimer's clients, they described their feelings with colors. They did breathing and other exercises, too. They played with small musical chime boards and did a lot of singing. There were a lot of Irish songs because of St. Patrick's Day. They would also take turns singing verses in the songs by gender.
Both of the Autistic boys had really rough private sessions. I learned afterwards that it was most likely a mix of being a teenager and being on spring break. Client 1 cooperated a little more than client 2, but he was also distracted a lot. Client 2 actually had a really unproductive session because he just sat in the corner behind a chair for a majority of the session and the music therapist couldn't get him to cooperate at all.
I am really enjoying reading all about your experience. You seem very engaged and your posts are extremely thorough. It's such a unique project, where you're able to work with all age groups and help in a multitude of ways.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the kind comment, Mrs. Kirk!!
DeleteI'm curious about how the music therapy relates with sensory issues for the children with autism. Do these clients have sensory sensitivities (or sensory-seeking behaviors)? Does the therapy have to be adjusted to address those needs?
ReplyDeleteClient 1 in particular has 2 goals: Communication and sensory skills. He is easily overstimulated and overwhelmed, so he is very sensitive. Each client does have their session adjusted to their own needs. Client 2 has a goal of achieving attention at task. He needs to not be distracted and complete the activities properly in order to move on to the next ones. Something interesting that I noticed was that each boy has a different Hello Song. Client 1 has to enunciate sounds if he wants the therapist to continue with the song (sensory/communication), while client 2 has to acknowledge that they both need to take turns being greeted (attention) in order to finish the song and move on to the next activity.
DeleteHi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI notice two really interesting observations you make here that can be connected. The pre-school boys were resistant but were won over by the sequence of the work whereas the older boys with autism had a much tougher time. With the preschoolers, are there some definite patterns the therapists use to structure the session to help with this? For example, do they find that it's best to start with a particular activity like singing or drumming, or are they flexible and go with the flow depending on how the kids are?
I'm curious how long the therapist has been working with these two boys with autism and whether building a relationship by working with them over time helps at all to know how to enter their world and guide them out of difficult states. It sounds like they're doing a lot of that already as you're noting in the way the boys are able to communicate some of their wishes with them.
I have enough background knowledge of autism to know how distressing the symptoms can seem, especially because progress is often very hard won and very slow in coming.
Hi, Dr. Aquilano! With the preschoolers, the therapists definitely try to do activities to help with their trauma and lifestyles. They choose activities that are really upbeat, but also ones that are very interactive and honest. Next week, we're singing about owies that are on the outside and inside, and we are preparing for any negative stories/feelings that may come up. They do have a pattern though of singing hello, doing the activities, and then singing goodbye. They have a plan before each session, but they do give the children some options during it.
DeleteAs for the boys with autism, having the same therapist each week helps a lot with their progress because it's with someone they're more comfortable with. The therapist also knows what certain behaviors mean, how to respond in certain situations, and things like that. Thank you!