Team Therabeat Intervention Ideas to Share!

Oh what fun! That was my response after participating in the team Therabeat in-service on November 11th. It is an honor and a privilege to work with such talented, selfless, and creative therapists. The members of team Therabeat are these things and more. I believe nothing makes us happier than helping the children that we service. This was definitely displayed through the interventions that were presented during our intervention idea swap.

During this intervention swap the therapists and interns shared their developed interventions, manipulatives, and found resources that are used to target various goals and objectives that they are aiming to reach during sessions. Interventions and ideas shared targeted such areas as cognition, academic, and idea development; oral motor, fine motor, and gross motor skills; and communication and social skills. Some of these interventions were also fun and entertaining ideas developed around this season of the year and the holidays and famous icons such as Santa Claus and Thanksgiving Turkeys.

Check out a few of our holiday related ideas:

 

"Little Snowflake"
By: Laurie Berkner

(*To the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”)
I'm a little snowflake, icy and round
I fall from the sky (and I don't make a sound)
When it's cold I'll stay all day and When it's warm I melt away-

"He'll be Coming Down the Chimney when he Comes"

He’ll be comin’ down the chimney when he comes, ho, ho, ho.
He’ll be comin’ down the chimney when he comes, ho, ho, ho.
He’ll be comin’ down the chimney, comin’ down the chimney,
he’ll be comin’ down the chimney when he comes, ho, ho, ho.

He’ll be flying with his reindeer when he comes. Where’s Rudolph?

We’ll leave him milk and cookies when he comes. Yum, yum!

Now, we better go to sleep so he will come. Snore, snore!

And we’ll all say Merry Christmas when he comes. Merry Christmas!

He’ll be sneezing down the chimney when he comes. Achoo!

He’ll be clapping down the chimney when he comes. Clap, clap!

He’ll be dancing around the chimney when he goes. Yahoo!

"Rudolph! Rudolph!"

Rudolph! Rudolph!
What will you do?
You can't guide Santa
If your nose is blue!

Rudolph! Rudolph!
You're such a silly fellow.
Who will know it's you
If your nose is yellow!

Rudolph! Rudolph!
Your way cannot be seen
Through the wintry weather
If your nose is green!

Rudolph! Rudolph!
Santa gave a wink.
But what will Santa think
If your nose is pink?

Rudolph! Rudolph!
It's time to fly at night
But you're quite a sight
Cause your nose is white!

Rudolph! Rudolph!
It's time to go to town
But Santa's wearing a frown
Cause your nose is brown!

Rudolph! Rudolph!
Santa has his sack.
But you're not ready
'Cause your nose is black!

Rudolph! Rudolph!
The children are in bed.
And now I know you're ready
'Cause your nose is red!

(*Have printed and laminated black and white Rudolph and different color dots for his nose.)

End of Internship

I cannot believe I’m at the end of my internship, but I can believe that this internship was the right one for me! It’s amazing to look back just 6 months ago and compare it to where I am now. To think about all I have learned over this time is astounding. I have absolutely grown as a music therapist under the guidance of these amazing music therapists at Therabeat and I am so grateful I was able to do my internship here. The type of training that is offered is invaluable. Not only did I have the opportunity to do music therapy with a variety of children from 1.5 years -18 years, but I was also able to work with adults at a rehabilitation center as well as with geriatric patients. On top of all that, I got to observe a variety of therapies at In Harmony including speech, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. This extensive range of experiences has allowed me to gain so many valuable tools to put in my music therapy toolbox, as Jen would say!

I feel prepared to be a real life music therapist and continue this journey, but how bittersweet it is to finish this internship. These amazing kids have truly taught me so much – not just about how to be a music therapist and what works and what doesn’t, but also what it really means to be a music therapist. They have taught me about life. Helping these kids achieve their goals while making music with them was just a blessing and I was honored to get to work with them and help them grow! But man, with as much preparation as this internship offers, saying goodbye to these wonderful kiddos was something I was not prepared for. I will miss every one of my kids more than I can put into words. All of them are so unique and so individual and kept me on my toes for sure, but I really thank each one of them for teaching me and helping me grow too! No matter where I go next, I will always remember my first music therapy clients fondly.

And Jen, Chelsea, Alison, Haylee, and Anna Katheryn, thank you to all of you for helping me improve my skills and making me feel like a part of the team! I had so much fun getting to know you all through this experience and I will miss you all too! Ugh goodbyes are hard, but it’s just because of how happy I am to have gotten to know the team and the clients here. I will be back to visit for sure, but until then, wishing everyone the best New Year and Merry Christmas!! 

 

Love,

Stephanie Schecter

 

Therabeat Summer Recital by: Perry Wright

After almost three months of interning at Therabeat, it was time for the Summer Recital. Since I started in June, so many of the kiddos were already working toward August 23rd—I was amazed at how many hours of practice these kids were putting in to achieve their goal of getting up in front of a ton of people to perform their own piece of music.

               The day of the Recital was such a culmination of joy to watch not only the kids I had been working with, but to also enjoy some awesome performances from kids I had never seen before. Whether watching from the audience, or up on stage with a little performer, I couldn’t have been prouder of all the awesome kids who shared their light and brought joy to everyone in the audience.  Every performer brought something great to the table—there was a perfect mixture of sweet and fun moments that made almost everyone a little misty, because of how touching all the performances were!!

               When I think about why the day was so special, I think it is a time for everyone to step back and see Music Therapy at work in a really tangible and enjoyable way. Music is a powerful means of communication, and every child was able to communicate a part of themselves to the audience through sharing their gift of music. Furthermore, from someone who has definitely been super nervous to get up and sing in front of people—I was so impressed and touched by the way confidence was built in the kids by even walking up in front of everyone to perform. What a cool experience to see kids work so hard for months to finally reach their goal!!

               The whole experience was an opportunity for me to think about how much of a blessing it is to get to work with and know these awesome kids! After the recital, many parents were thanking the Therabeat team for helping their kids—as much as I appreciate that, I couldn’t help but think about how thankful I am to get the chance to know these kids and learn from them everyday. That night I went to bed with such a full heart, and some fresh musical inspiration from all the amazing performers—which is such a gift to have halfway through a challenging internship. I am thankful that the whole day allowed me to keep my focus on what really matters: always striving to learn more about Music Therapy, and becoming a more well-rounded therapist, so these kids can have to best opportunity to succeed and share their gifts with everyone!

 - Intern Perry Wright 

Summer Recital!!!! Blog post by Stephanie Schecter

I felt like a proud mom watching each one of my kids perform during the recital. The weeks leading up to it, I could feel the excitement growing in each of the clients.

I actually got little nervous butterflies when it was performance time. I wanted everyone to do so well and I just hoped I could be there for each one if he or she needed. I knew they were ready – I had a good feeling everyone would do well and boy did they! 

It was amazing to see some kids who had been so nervous before, come up on stage, perform for a big audience, and proudly take a bow. One of my clients had been too nervous to bow after giving a practice performance in our session one day, but after he performed at the recital, not only did he take his bow, but he also raised his arms up high and shouted “Yea!” while running back to his seat! It was awesome to witness how thrilled he was about his accomplishment! 

Another client I see made me get all teary-eyed and get goose bumps. He sings so well and we had worked a lot with him to have appropriate performance etiquette, such as holding the microphone properly, not making loud noises into the microphone, and keeping his hands down so not to lick and wipe his mouth nervously. When he sang, he exhibited absolutely none of the off-task behaviors and gave such an amazing and sweet performance of “Hallelujah”. I was so proud of him, I just wanted to go up and give him the biggest hug. I can’t even imagine how proud his family felt!

I had fun performing with two other clients! They both charmed the crowd, one with his dance moves and the other with his original lyrics, in which he included family members into the song. Their enthusiasm was infectious.

Two brothers I see did a duet on piano and recorder and it was so sweet to see them working together, listening to the other for musical cues of when to play.

One kid went right for the trophy after he finished his performance…it was adorably hilarious! He just knew he did so well!

It was truly a special day watching everyone become so focused, striving to do their best as they performed their songs. They all did wonderfully. My heart swells again just thinking about it! Like I said, it was a proud mom feeling over here. Seriously one of the most heart-warming things I’ve ever been a part of. It made me so thankful to be doing what I’m doing!!

Music Therapy with Patients with Alzheimer's Disease - An Intern Perspective by Perry Wright

“Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” –Ephesians 5:19

               What a blessing that being an intern at Therabeat, Inc. has allowed me the opportunity to work not only with children, but now also with older adults. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is something that effects so many people of this population, and it is something that is very close to my heart. My grandmother of 89 has been diagnosed with AD for a few years, and my family and I have begun to see some of her cognitive abilities begin to fade. However, this is the amazing woman who taught me the meaning of music, and how precious of a gift it is. Growing up, she was the one who encouraged me to sing and explore music more than anyone else in my life. She always said “If music can soothe the little babies, then God must have meant it for all of us.” I truly believe that her influence is a major reason why I was led to the field of music therapy! So now that she has been effected by AD—it’s pretty awesome to see how music plays a therapeutic role in her life, and also the life of so many other people suffering from the same disease.

               A lot of research has been conducted to give some evidence to show that music (especially live music between two or more people) accesses memories and personality in people that may seem lost as cognitive abilities of individuals with AD. “The Role of Singing Familiar Songs in Encouraging Conversation among People with Middle to Late Stage Alzheimer’s Disease” in the Journal of Music Therapy (JMT) is a great article that demonstrates the role that music therapy plays in helping a deep sense of self emerge. In this article, the researcher notes that patients with AD often lose their conversational skills. This includes a lost in speech fluency, decrease in spontaneous speech, difficulty naming things, and a loss of meaningful content of speech. This can be frustrating for the patients and for families as well. However, in this study, group music therapy with patients with AD was shown to improve conversational and spontaneous speech. This occurred through singing music from the patients’ formative years. In a disease in which the hallmark is memory loss, music elicits not only memory of melody and lyrics, but also of memories and emotions associated with the music. In this study, music therapy was shown not only to elicit conversation, but to access long forgotten emotions, a sense of self, and a sense of belonging. This helps to improve the quality of life for patients with AD (Dassa, 2014).

               I saw this in action this past weekend while singing some old hymns with my grandmother I mentioned earlier who has AD and my grandpa, who does not have AD. They often have trouble communicating as the cognitive abilities of my grandmother decrease. However, whenever we start to sing some of their favorite old hymns—the verse in Ephesians quoted above rings so true! Communicating and sharing with one another through song is such an encouraging and edifying experience for them both. My grandmother is starting to forget lots of things, but she remembers all her old favorite hymns—even some that she hasn’t sung since childhood. After singing together she said to the family—“When you can’t do anything else, you can always sing. And this will bring joy to your heart.” To me, this quote sums up how special and effective music therapy is to patients with AD—it provides an outlet for success and joy in a situation that seems hopeless.

Dassa, A. (2014). The Role of Singing Familiar Songs in Encouraging Conversation

               Among People with Middle to Late Stage Alzheimer’s Disease.” Journal of

               Music Therapy 51(2), 131-153. doi: 10.1093/jmt/thu007.