Week Three

Day 7:

This Monday, we had 5 preschool boys and 1 girl (who was probably a year or two older). The girl didn't want to participate most of the time, but warmed up over the session. They practiced asking and answering each other. I noticed speech delay in the grammar of one of the boys while asking a question. They played a shaker game and there was some trouble with sharing and passing them around. There was a lot of enthusiasm while singing songs that they knew well. With some songs, the kids had to add hand movements to show they understood and were listening. I made them name tags to sit in front of them, which became a distraction because as soon as one made an airplane out of theirs, more wanted to do the same. The session itself was very slow, which led to the kids being very unfocused by the end. They were also rolling around on the floor because their attention had been lost.

Side Note: On Tuesday, I met with a music therapist at the ASU Music building and we practiced songs (Hallelujah, Hey Jude, Morning) for the sessions with the elderly people on Friday morning. I played piano and he played classical guitar.

Day 8:

I continued working on the visual aid folders, which I plan to have done by next week.

I also went to an actual drum circle in Paradise Valley. A woman named Darcy Andelin inherited this group from my normal health rhythms facilitator Frank Thompson. There were 6 women and 1 man at this session, most being elderly. I saw the protocol I described in my last post represented in this class, and it was done well. I did notice there was a bit more teaching (which isn't normal in these classes) but that was probably just a technique to teach the newer people not to hurt themselves while playing the drums. There were 3 larger beats over the session, and everyone did their own thing, because nothing is right or wrong. Some people really got into it, while others just listened and enjoyed the other people playing. A safe place was established because people started to open up about their personal hardships when asked to share their feelings.

Day 9:

Today I learned that half of the elderly people in the sessions on Friday mornings have Alzheimer's. The group is made for married couples who have one with Alzheimer's, and their partner is their personal caretaker. So the session is really for both of them. It's a way to relax and let any stress out. We sang a lot of songs like Only One, Amazing Grace, Que Sera Sera, Love Me Tender, and Happy Trails. We did an exercise where each person does a motion or two and the group repeats it. They also learned the hand motions to Do, Mi, and So. One of the music therapists and I played Hallelujah, which was really nice because it allowed the listeners to imagine whatever they wanted. There was a lot more effort today trying to keep the session calm and flowing. The other music therapist student played a song by Bach on her violla, which was relaxing to listen to.

I then went to the music therapy clinic to observe. The first client didn't show up, so I was only able to observe one boy with Autism today. This has by far been the most productive and effective session I have observed. This boy's goals are attention at task and acknowledging that there is another person in the room. They sang hello to each other, took turns picking activities, and then sang goodbye to each other. They can only change activities once one has been completed first. Typically, there is a lot of waiting for him to focus on what the task is, but today there was barely any waiting. I could definitely see his improvement from last week, and the week before.