I wrote this several years ago after the passing of one of my students. It was a tender experience, and one that was deepened through the power of music–just not in the way I had anticipated. I have a heavy heart tonight. A couple days ago I heard that one of my former students whom..
Many children with communication delays have difficulty making their wants and needs known. Music is an effective and memorable way for children to learn how to make requests. In this video, Cassie demonstrates how implementing a pause or a break during a song can help encourage your child to communicate their wants and needs by..
Many consider music therapy to be a “luxury”. A nice but unneccessary service, and they find other ways to get from point A to point B. But for so many, music therapy is the driving force for change. When I think “luxury”, I think Lexus. Lexus is a great brand of cars–they are high quality, reliable,..
Tommy was one of the most friendly, talkative, and animated students I’d ever worked with–an absolute delight! I thought he would made a great Captain Hook for our school musical, but I was surprised when I discovered his unique challenge. School musicals at Jordan Valley were quite the production. We were made up of 150..
Music therapy is grossly underutilized in special education settings across the country, but most especially in Utah. Here’s why. Even though students show significant progress with music therapy as a related service, only a handful of Utah schools currently utilize the power of music therapy. School-Based programs who currently incorporate music therapy include: Center based..
Besides the data, some of the best evidence of the impact of music therapy in the special needs classroom comes from teacher and student reports. Here is a sample of both from Utah Schools. We’ve worked with a variety of charter & private schools, as well as state funded programs providing music therapy for..
You’ve been interested in starting a music therapy program with your business or organization, but something is holding you back. Chances are, it’s one of these three barriers. #1 Budget If you’re a business owner, budget is always at the forefront of the decisions you make. In fact, it can trump even the best services..
Music therapy is as far reaching as the lifespan, and its impact is as timeless as music itself. So who can benefit from music therapy? Everybody can (but we’ll be a lot more specific on who is a good candidate!) Music Therapists are trained to use music to promote positive change in every walk of..
The use of music during a procedure can reduce the tactile neurons to help the patient experience less pain. Here’s a little bit about how and why it works. Sitting up in bed, her eyes were locked on mine as she mouthed the words, “West Virginia, Mountain Mama”. The music therapist stood bedside as the..
Goals in music therapy in Early Intervention generally focus on speech and language, social skills, motor development and coordination, and/or cognitive development (following directions, attention span and focus). The thing that confuses people at times about goals in music therapy is that they do not specify music in the goal. This is because music is..