BLOGS
Educational blogs for parents and professionals
The drum set every music therapist "must have"!
When I first began my music therapy practice over ten years ago, I carried around a small suitcase full of rhythm and percussive instruments. I also took with me a heavy hand-carved African djembe drum. I would often have a sore back at the end of a long day. I would often wish they made these things lighter!
And wishes often do come true. A few years later that I discovered Remo’s Sound Shapes®. These were a blessing to me as I'm sure they are to music therapists around the world! These are fun, colorful, stackable and light drums that you can carry under your arm. Oh, and they also come in packs of 6, so you are totally set up for a group.
I have used these drums in the following ways to support children with developmental disabilities.
- Pre-Reading Skills - Playing and matching colors from left to right.
- Gross-Motor Skills - Playing the drums and moving them from high to low and from left to right.
- Color Recognition - Reading and matching colors to each drum
- Social Skills - Taking turns, listening to each other and sharing drums with one another.
I have even created an early music education exercise to help children learn the fundamentals of music, music note value and colors with REMO Sound Shapes®.
I think you’ll find these drums very useful and easily portable in your music therapy sessions. I have used them primarily for children but I'm sure you can find them useful for all ages and populations.
For more details on REMO Sound Shapes® Click Here!
Remo also makes connectors that you can use to join the drums together to make a full drum set.
For more details on REMO Sound Shapes® connectors Click Here!
Here are other Remo products that I recommend:
To find out more about Remo click here!
For Free songs, videos and tips on how to support children with special needs through music click here!
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Mewsic Moves in the Media - The Acorn
Mewsic Moves in the Media - The Acorn
On August 13th, 2014, I had the opportunity to announce the Glee Choir in front of Calabasas City Council. I was honored to stand before the council members and share my passion and joy in providing music therapy programs for families of children with special needs, especially the Glee Choir program.
A few days after the meeting, I was thrilled to receive a request for an interview from Sylvie Belmond, who is a reporter for The Acorn newspaper.
Sylvie had lots of questions, and we talked for almost an hour. She wanted to know more about music therapy and the Glee Choir program that I had created. At the end of our interview, Sylvie said she felt it was important to let others know the importance of music therapy and how it is very different from music lessons. A few weeks later, Sylvie’s article appeared in the September 4, 2014 edition of The Acorn.
I am very grateful to Sylvie for writing such a wonderful article, and to The Acorn for publishing it. I also want to thank Debi Frankle, MFT/Owner of Calabasas Counseling and Grief Center, Calabasas and Ping Ho, Founder – UCLArts and Healing for contributing to the story.
Credits to: Sylvie Belmond – Reporter at The Acorn
Click here to read the article: http://www.theacorn.com/news/2014-09-04/Community/Glee_Choir_for_adults_with_special_needs.html
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For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with special needs through music click here.
Image Courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net
5 Reasons Why Music Therapy is Effective For Children With Autism
March is music therapy awareness month and I would like to highlight some of the reasons why music therapy is effective especially for children with autism.
1. It is multi-sensory
Music is appealing to most of our senses, which makes music therapy unique in that we can work on multi goals simultaneously. For example, a drumming exercise helps with eye-hand coordination, eye contact, motor and impulse control.
2. It is fun, safe and engaging
Music therapy provides a fun, safe and engaging environment for children with autism to explore and play. It also provides many opportunities for successful outcomes which helps to builds self-esteem and increases motivation.
3. It is structured and predictable
Music therapy can provide a structured and safe environment for children with autism to explore. Music that has a lot of repetition is predictable, which makes learning much easier for children with autism. The musical repetition helps them to self-regulate, because they know what is coming up next.
4. It is processed in all areas of the brain
Recent research shows that when we listen to music, all areas of the brain are lit up. Music therapists have known this for a long time, but now have the science to back it up. Music can help with speech and communication challenges, for social connection, for emotional regulation, motor control, and many other things.
5. It facilitates communication
Perhaps you’ve heard that “music is the universal language.” Taking this literally, we can use music in therapy to increase non-verbal communication through improvisation. Children with autism connect to music to express their feelings, emotions, and life stories. The interplay between the music therapist and child with autism is done in a non-threatening way, opening up many channels of communication.
Please feel free to share and comment on how you find music therapy to be effective for children with autism.
#mtawareness
For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with special needs through music click here.
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5 Main Benefits of Drumming for Children With Special Needs
Does your child have challenges with speech and articulation? Eye-hand coordination? Or even having difficulty with social skills or social cues? Then drumming maybe the right tool for your child to overcome and build on some of these challenges.
There has been a lot of research on the benefits of drumming over the past few decades. Drumming has been shown to help reduce depressions, boost immune systems and build self-esteem. In this blog I want to focus on five main benefits of drumming for children with speical needs.
1. Increase Communication and Speech
Drums can reinforce speech, vocalizations, sounds and even help with sentence building. You can use drumming to reinforce word syllables and then expand to full sentences. Have the child sound out each syllable or word as they simultaneously play it on the drum.
2. Support Eye-Hand Coordination/Motor Skills
Drumming can help strengthen upper body control, arm movement and increase eye-hand coordination, particularly if you use more than one drum. Drumming with mallets helps with reaching, grasping, fluidity of movement and fine motor skills.
3. Develop Social Skills
Groups drumming, with the proper facilitation, is a powerful exercise for people of all ages to strengthen social skills. Group drumming teaches children to listen, pay attention, turn-taking, sharing, and taking cues from one another.
4. Support Emotional Needs/Impulse Control
Drumming can help a child learn to regulate their emotions. It can be very useful for expressing emotions and to "get it out." Drumming can vent aggressions, and invite in a calmer state of mind, particularly improve impulse control.
5. Improve Self-Esteem and Fun!
Drumming is catchy and can be a lot of fun. If you have ever been in a drumming group you can surely attest to this. Drumming is a great way for children with special needs to play and to get physical exercise.
Drumming combines motor movement with auditory and visual feedback, which makes it a great tool for strengthening a variety of skills for children with special needs. Since drumming is multi-sensory, it facilitates greater engagement, encourages learning, brain function, and skill building all while having fun! I have seen drumming to be very effective for my clients. I hope you'll give it a try!
To get you started, I wrote a song that helps facilitate a fun drumming experience while working on various skills mentioned above. To download the full song, click on the image to the right, check it out and let me know what you think. Happy drumming!
You can also view my youtube video on how to make your own rhythm sticks! Click Here To View
For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with special needs through music click here.
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I am a Music Therapist! I am an Advocate! #mtadvocacy
January is Social Media Awareness month for music therapy advocacy. #mtadvocacy
To me, an advocate is someone who believes who-heartedly in their cause, and demonstrates by example those values and beliefs, and seeks to educate others on the merits of their particular cause.
I wasn't always a music therapy advocate. During my undergraduate studies in music, I soon realized that a career in music wasn't for me. I knew the power of music, but I really wanted to be in a healing/helping profession. My faculty advisor suggested I consider music therapy and recommended I read Case Studies in Music Therapy, by Kenneth Bruscia. That day I became a music therapy advocate!
This discovery caused me to move from Newfoundland to Vancouver to get my degree in music therapy. That was 14 years ago this month! Wow, how time flies.
Over the years I have learned and applied the modalities of music therapy, and have seen some amazing transformations in many of my clients.
My music therapy clientele has mostly been children with special needs, primarily autism. Over the years, I have heard so many parents say that they had tried every kind of therapy out there, but that music therapy is the only one that worked. This is why I have been such an advocate for music therapy in everything I've done since -- as a music therapist, marriage and family therapist, child advocate, student executive, college professor, online blogger, and in various committee positions. Here is how I advocate for music therapy every day:
Doing
Showing
Proving
Blogging
Modeling
Sharing
Educating
Loving
Encouraging
Supporting
Promoting
Researching
and more...
These are just a few qualities I have committed to as a music therapy advocate. Can you think of other qualities to add to this list? Please write in the comments below.
To celebrate music therapy advocacy month (#mtadvocacy) I am offering 50% off all my original songs.
Click on the image to the right and it will take you to the song list.
Enter Code: MTAD2014
Offer Ends: January 31, 2014
Get Your Discounted Songs Now!
Happy Music Therapy Advocacy Month!
#mtadvocacy
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For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with special needs through music click here!
"Music Therapy Rocks!" sharing a guest blog, by Susan Seale
I have recently joined a vibrant supportive online Facebook group called, The Daily Dose, created by Kat Fulton and Tim Ringgold. Kat and Tim also created an online support for clinicians to have a platform to fertilize their dreams and share their successes, empower-u-academy.com. This is an inspirational group filled with music therapists, clinicians and educators in business.
I this group, Kat and Tim chooses inspirational weekly themes and doses us daily with amazing articles, videos and tips to help inspire and move us into the best year of our businesses. What I enjoy most is that they also encourage us to share our dreams, visions and successes with each other in the group.
I've had the pleasure of sharing my dream in the discussion group this past week about the Glee Choir program I had created. I also shared that I am expanding this program to Southern California, Agoura Hills area! Instantly, I was flooded with amazing cheers, roars, comments and even guests bloggers sharing my dream and passion for support for adults with special needs through music therapy, such as, the Glee Choir Program.
Susan Seale - Founder of Make Me Musical!
A fellow group member, Susan Seale, writes passionately on her blog from Victoria, BC. Canada about the Glee Choir Program! Susan is the founder of, Make Me Musical! She has an amazing company supporting professionals and parents in their work to nurture, heal and educate children, and all through music and the arts! Congratulations Susan.
Please follow the link below and read Susan's blog post on the Glee Choir and her perspective on music therapy, entitled, Music Therapy Rocks! Thank-you Susan for sharing! Susan and I both welcome your comments!
Stay in-tune (musical pun intended) for more information on the Glee Choir coming to Agoura Hills California! If you would like more information please contact me: john@mewsicmoves.com
Musically,
John Mews, MA, MTA
Founder & Director - Mewsic Moves
Music Therapist
Special Needs Family & Parenting Coach
Agoura Hills, CA
LETS STAY IN TOUCH !
For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with special needs through music click here!
FREE Christmas Song - Christmas is a Time
This is one of my favorite times of the year as I'm sure it is for many others as well.
The most favorite part of the season for me, is getting out the large selection of Christmas CD's I've collected over the years and playing them over and over. Somehow, I just never get tired of traditional Christmas tunes. They always tend to get me into the spirit of Christmas. It's kinda magical!
Speaking of getting into the spirit of Christmas, I was inspired to write an original song of my own. I began to reflect on all the things that Christmas mean to me, such as carols, giving gifts and playing in the snow (when I lived in Canada!). The song is called, Christmas is a Time.
In the spirit of giving I would love to share this song with you, your family and your child for FREE!!! I invite you to write your own lyrics to help your child refelct and create their own personal Christmas experiences within the song.
This FREE download includes:
- track - vocals
- track - instrumental (so you can make up your own lyrics)
- lyric and chord sheet
- sheet music
To download the song you can click on either image or click here.
I hope you and your family enjoy this song and in the spirit of giving, please share it with others! I'd also love to hear what Christmas traditions you and your family celebrate and use in the song.
Happy Holidays Everyone! And cheers to a prosperous and happy new year!
Musically,
John Mews, MA, MTA
Executive Director
Music Therapist
For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with music click here.
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Top 10 Christmas Gifts For Children With Special Needs
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At this time of year, parents often ask for Christmas gift suggestions for their child with special needs. For these parents, it can be quite challenging to find the right gift - a gift that is fun, not over-stimulating, and has some therapeutic value.
So in time for the holidays season, I have created a top-10 list of my current favorites. I have also included its potential therapeutic value under each link so you can see which gift would be best suited for your child. (Click on each item to view its description)
1. Sounds Shapes
- Gross motor skills
- Impulse control
- Sensory input
2. Cabasa
- Fine motor skills
- Stimulation and sensory needs
3. Ocean Drum
- Relaxation
- Sensory needs
- Impulse control
4. Melodica
- Fine motor skills
- Oral and breath control
- Eye-hand coordination
5. Ukulele
- Fine motor skills
- Eye-hand coordination
- Gross motor skills
6. Kazoo
- Oral motor skills
- Breath control
7. Legos
- Fine motor skills
- Joint attention skills
- Task focus
- Sharing
- Turn-taking skills
- Problem-solving skills
8. Eggspressions
- Social skills
- Emotional awareness
- Emotional Development
9. Trampoline
- Sensory input/needs
- Gross motor skills
- Balance/coordination skills
10. Dizzy Disc
- Sensory input/needs
- Gross motor skills
- Balance/coordination skills
I hope you discovered something new and useful from this list. If you have any toys that you would like to add to this list, please add it in the comment section below.
Happy Holidays!
John Mews, MA, MTA
For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with music click here.
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How a Music Therapist Adapts Songs to Fit Each Client's Need
I want to share an experience with you from a therapist who used my song, Leaves are Falling Down. click here for song
Nam Kim Kyo, a talented and creative music therapy colleague of mine share with me some of her adaptations of this song. She kindly has allowed me to share these with you to give you some ideas on how you might use this song with children who have special needs.
First check out her art props! She had her clients decorate the foam leaves into smiling life-like characters! What a great idea. Can you tell which one her client made? (You've got to love the big eye expression.)
Client A:
This client has been diagnosed with Autism and has minimal verbal and communication skills. One of Nam's goals was to teach her client to recognize body parts and colors. Nam presented her client with red, yellow, orange and brown leaves made of foam. She then encouraged her client to match the correct colors while providing verbal, visual and musical prompts. She said her client seemed to be very engaged and was able to match the verbal/musical prompt to the proper leaf colors with success!
Client B:
This client has been diagnosed with Autism, Seizure Disorder, is non-verbal and is considered low functioning. Nam is working on teaching him how to reach, grasp and release, as this client often grabs objects but has trouble letting them go. Nam cleverly adapted the song's activity by turning the drum upside down, then having her client pick up the leaves and drop them into the upside-down drum with a verbal and musical cue! Fun!
These are just two ways in which you can adapt this song to fit an activity. I want to thank Nam for sharing her stories and artwork with us and encourage her to keep up the great work.
How have you adapted songs to help address any of your child or client's needs? I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or suggestion below.
Nam is practicing music therapy specializing in supporting children with autism and teaches music in Vancouver, BC. Canada.
For a download of the song click here.
For a download of the adaptive drum song instructional video click here.
For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with music click here.
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Why is it Important to Teach Your Child to be Thankful?
Does your child have a lot of expensive things, such as an iPad, Xbox, Nintendo DS, DSI, or an iPhone even?
If so, did they receive these gifts as a reward? Or have you been showering these expensive gifts on them simply because they are your child? And when they received these gifts, did they express their gratitude?
Over the years I have seen children with the most expensive shoes, gadgets, and clothes. Many of these children had severe behavioral problems, like acting out in school and/or showing disrespect for their parents and teachers. I asked the parents how they received these gifts, and I found that often these gifts were given for no particular reason - not even because it was their birthday or Christmas.
I believe that children who aren't taught to express gratitude will face many difficulties later in life. Positive psychology demonstrates that the more we are grateful, the happier and more fulfilled our lives will be. Betsy Brown Braun , a child development and behavior specialist, states that not only is it mannerly to say "thank-you," but that thankfulness is connected with living a happier, more resilient, empathic and self-fulfilled life.
I had the good fortune of being born into a very giving family. Yes, things were given to me when I didn't necessarily deserve them. But fortunately my parents also taught me to be grateful for the gifts I had received.
Teaching children to be thankful can be a challenge because as they naturally develop their sense-of-self, they tend to become self-centered. But, a child that has learned to be grateful will have better social skills, empathy and self worth.
As a music therapist I have taught children to be thankful through music. I was inspired by the season of Thanksgiving to write a song entitled, "I am Thankful." This song includes two tracks, one with vocals and one without so you can sing along and insert the things for which you and your child are thankful. The song also comes with a lyrics sheet and chords so you can play along if you are musically inclined. One mother told me she played this song to her two young boys and was excited to hear them going through the house singing about the things they were thankful for!
Here is an easy way to teach your child to be grateful. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am offering a 50% DISCOUNT on this song through the end of November. All you need to do is click on the picture to the right and type in this code when you place your order: THANKS
Get it soon as it is only available until November 30th! And share with as many people as you can!
Gratefully yours and Happy Thanksgiving!
John Mews, LMFT, MT
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10 Years as a Music Therapist And Still Using The "Top 10 Greatest Hits"
After Ten Years as a Music Therapist, I Still Use the “Top Ten Greatest Hits”
I am celebrating my tenth year as a music therapist. I have spent many hours learning new songs, as well creating new ones and developing adaptations. However, I’m finding that I tend to use the same classic favorites over and over! These songs have such great utility in that they can be easily adapted for many different purposes. These top ten melodies reliably get kids to start toes tapping, hands clapping and bodies grooving.
I use these songs as a platform for improvisation to inspire and motivate children with special needs. It also saves me from having to create something new all the time!
So here are my Top 10 ”Greatest Hits” which I’ve found work well with children in music therapy:
- You are My Sunshine
- If You’re Happy and You Know it
- Shake Your Sillies Out
- Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
- Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Do as I’m Doing
- Alphabet Song
- We’re Gonna Rock Around The Clock Tonight
- London Bridges
- Hey Dum Diddley Dum
Ok, I threw in an extra one for fun and good measure!
What are you favorite Top 10 Greatest Hits? Maybe together we can create a Top 100 Greatest Hits! Please share and comment below.
For FREE songs, videos and tips CLICK HERE!
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Image Courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Help Your Child With Autism by Changing Their Routine
Routines are important for most of us. We typically wake up at the same time, find the keys in the same place, and all the dishes are properly put away. We create routines and consistency in our lives to reduce stress and to keep things going smoothly.
This is particularly important for children with autism because they process information in a different way than most children. Keeping things predictable can help reduce stress, filter out distractions, and help them to focus on the task at hand.
But what happens if our keys go missing? Or we find our car has a dead battery? What would we do? Panic? Fortunately most of us have developed healthy coping skills to deal effectively in situations like this.
I’ve seen therapists as well as parents create strict routines for their children with autism, and they keep those routines going for far too long! I often ask, what happens if the school bus is late? What happens if the fire alarm goes off at school? What would your child learn from these strict routines about dealing with the unpredictable things in life?
Yes, I agree, whenever we start something new, we must first adhere to a strict schedule to eliminate distractions and keep the stress level down. But I do believe that once your child has learned this routine and can manage it without stress, then we need to start implementing changes to their routine.
For example, I begin and end each session with the exact same tune, but with different words (“Hello” and “Good-bye”). Depending on the child’s functioning level, I will slowly incorporate a few changes to the lyrics and sometimes the order of which the song is placed in the schedule to see if there is a response to this change. This can be a powerful tool in helping teach a child with autism how to cope when things don’t go exactly as they might expect. Then we explore options about what to do next, where we can go, how we can change things, what our options are and most importantly, how to manage the stress caused by the change.
How are you helping your child cope with changes in their routines or in everyday life? I hope you find this helpful and are encouraged to experiment by implementing subtle changes into your child’s routine. This will better equip them to deal with the realities of life. Every moment something changes and something is different. Their success in life depends upon how well are they able to cope with change.
I’d love to hear how you incorporate subtle changes into your child’s daily routine to help them cope with change. Please leave a comment below.
Here are some resources I recommend to help you and your child cope with change.
Image Courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net
Using Music to Help Children Develop and Strengthen Impulse Control
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a parking lot and your child keeps wandering away and you shout “STOP!” for fear they’ll get hit by another car? And their response was more like you said “RUN!” and they just bolt away from you? This might seem like a dangerous situation to you, but to your child it’s a fun game!
Children at a young age learn to play chase with family. They often run around the coffee table shouting, “I’m going to get you” or “I’m coming after you.” To a young toddler this is a fun interactive bonding game and they haven’t yet learned to differentiate dashing at home vs. dashing in public!
To change this, try making “STOP” a fun and playful game!
I would often see a child running down the hallway after a session. The parent screams “STOP” and what do you expect? Yes! The child continues running around laughing! Then you feel like you have no control and are tempted to put them on a short leash right? Well, you don’t need to. Here is one of the songs that I use to make the “STOP” game easy and fun, and you’ll find it works anywhere.
I use the song “This is the way” and at the end we all stop…and freeze. This is very important for young toddlers, and particularly children with special needs, because they often have difficulty with controlling their impulses. Working on these impulses will help your child gain self control and you will find improvements at home, at school, and in public places. STOP now means STOP and its FUN to STOP!
It may take several tries to learn the rules and enjoy playing the STOP game. Remember to stay positive and reward your child when they do STOP and FREEZE!
Adding music and play makes learning fun for everyone!
The video on the right shows two ways in which I used music to develop and enhance impulse control.
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Image courtesy of Chris Roll/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Video Blog: Making The Most With Mewsic:
Here are some musical adaptations on how you can help develop and strengthen impulse control in children.
Music Therapists Sharing Favourite Apps
image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
At our annual MTABC (Music Therapy Association of BC) business meeting I was struck by something that one of the presenters said. “We need to focus on abundance and less on lack," she said. Those words have stayed with me all week.
I was there to present my favourite iPad apps and how they can be very helpful tools to music therapists. There truly is an abundance of great apps helpful for music therapists, and some of these are even free. I was happy to share my favorites, and to explain why I found them to be so useful.
I'd like to continue sharing the abundance of these great tools, so I thought I'd post my favorites here too. I invited all music therapists in attendance to post their favorites as well. That way everyone benefits!
Here is a list of our favourite apps for music therapists from MTABC. Many of these apps can be used across multiple populations. I have done my best to put them in categories according to appropriate population benefit.
Enjoy!
Multiple Populations:
iGuitar
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/iguitar/id443419246?mt=8
iAutoharp
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iautoharp/id304091719?mt=8
Noteshelf
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/noteshelf/id392188745?mt=8
Celtic Harp
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/celtic-harp/id371900975?mt=8
Accordeon
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/accordeon/id364741802?mt=8
Virtuoso
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/virtuoso-piano-free-3/id391994966?mt=8
Garageband
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/garageband/id408709785?mt=8
Recorder HD
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recorder-hd/id364613376?mt=8
History of Rock
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/history-of-rock/id468650707?mt=8
History of Jazz
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/history-jazz-interactive-timeline/id411521458?mt=8
Small Talk Phonemes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smalltalk-phonemes/id384170714?mt=8
Adults: Mental Health, Brain Injury, Geriatrics and
Speech and Language
Trivia Tunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/trivia-tunes-music-quiz-radio/id407757286?mt=8
3D Brain
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/3d-brain/id331399332?mt=8
Small Talk Dysphagia
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smalltalk-dysphagia/id337184701?mt=8
Small Talk Oral Motor
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/smalltalk-oral-motor-exercises/id337145605?mt=8
Toddlers:
Baby Chords
https://itunes.apple.com/ne/app/baby-chords-lite/id408506566?mt=8
Piano Pals
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/piano-pals/id395388472?mt=8
Children/Teens:
Songify – Turn Speech Into Music
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/songify/id438735719?mt=8
iXylophone
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ixylophone-lite-play-along/id329934119?mt=8
Dust Buster
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/piano-dust-buster-song-game/id502356539?mt=8
Wild Chords
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/wildchords/id453707538?mt=8
Pic Card Maker
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/picture-card-maker-for-communication/id419089000?mt=8
Endless ABC
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/endless-alphabet/id591626572?mt=8
Vid Rhythm
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vidrhythm/id457548851?mt=8
Harmonizer
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/harmonizer/id393762975?mt=8
Magic Piano
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/magic-piano/id421254504?mt=8
Falling Stars
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/falling-stars-by-trident-vitality/id439921044?mt=8
Glee Karaoke
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/glee-karaoke/id360736774?mt=8
Beatwave
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/glee-karaoke/id360736774?mt=8
Music Therapists: Helpful Tools
Turboscan – quickly scan multi page documents into high-quality PDFs
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/turboscan-quickly-scan-multipage/id342548956?mt=8
DeepDish GigBook – Organizing all your songs
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/deepdish-gigbook/id373676401?mt=8
Capo
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/capo/id386963803?mt=8
iReal b – Music Book and Play along
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/ireal-b-music-book-play-along/id298206806?mt=8
NoteStar
Don't take it from me, its in the Research! Music Therapy and Autism: Significant Supporting Evidence
Image courtesy of samuiblue/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I can't count how many times I've been asked by parents and other professionals about scientific evidence to prove the efficacy of music therapy interventions with children with autism. The study in the link below was conducted in comparison to other non-music based therapies, and the evidence was....significant!
I encourage you to click on the link below to learn more about how music therapy can help a child with autism. I have seen these effects everyday for the past ten years and am excited to finally be able to share with you the research that supports our daily work.
Here are just a few highlights of what the researcher found:
- Music Therapy produced longer events of joy and engagement of initiation
- Music Therapy develops social skills
- Music Therapy is effective in increasing attention, focus, behavioural cues and interests
- With Music Therapy, children were better able to express their emotions and share them with others.
- There is significant evidence that Music Therapy supports social, emotional and motivational development in children with autism.
I often say to parents, "once a child is motivated and is having fun, their self-esteem is elevated." A child with confidence can achieve more and will often work harder. This is fundamental to our strength-based music therapy programs. We begin with an improvisational program, building upon areas of strength to build confidence. We then massage this into the overall goals and objectives of the program. We have found this approach results in early successes and improved overall outcomes, just like this research indicates. So don't take it from me, read the research yourself!
Here's the link:
Best Practice Autism: Autism and Improvisational Music Therapy
Mewsic Moves in the Media
We were so delighted to be interviewed by Janis Warren from the Tri-City News!
Janis came to our office to interview me about the benefits of music therapy and to help celebrate our new office opening in Coquitlam. Janis' timing was musically in sync as she happened to stopped by when the Glee Choir was midst rehearsing some of their favourite songs.
Janis decided to take some pictures and captured the moment in a beautiful way. Please find Janis' story below on music therapy and how we help Connect the Community through Music. Thank you Janis for such a moving story.
Making The Music Connection by Janis Warren, Tri-City News
Glee Choir Performs and Receives Amazing Community Support
Ever since I began my music therapy practice some eight years ago, I have looked for ways to expand the reach of my practice, and to bring the benefits of music therapy to more families. So at this year’s MTABC conference, I was keenly interested in Johanne Brodeur’s workshop on grant writing and fundraising.
At Mewsic Moves, we have had great success with various programs over the years. We’ve been particularly pleased with the success of our Glee Choir program, which we started last year. This program is a result of a long held dream of mine to offer a place for those with special needs a platform to express their joy and love for music.
We ran multiple sessions of the Glee Choir program over the past year. The members were so excited to share music and it was obvious that they loved performing. Their joy and enthusiasm was truly irrepressible, and we felt we needed to culminate the year with a Christmas performance.
We made the decision to put on the concert just two short weeks beforehand. It began with a community school donating space, lighting, sound and volunteers! We were overwhelmed with the support of the local businesses that donated dinners, Festival of Lights tickets, artwork, gift cards and numerous other gifts, which we used to raise money for future music therapy programs for those with financial challenges.
We had over 100 friends, family and supporters in attendance. The night was filled with smiles and joy, beaming parents, and amazing music straight from the heart. All of us at Mewsic Moves were deeply touched by this heartfelt performance. It rekindled a passion within me to expand the horizons of our practice. Since we were able to create such a beautiful event in just two weeks, imagine what we could do with more time to plan!
So we are planning another Glee Choir this summer, which will be even more amazing. We hope to raise even more money to expand the number of programs we can offer, particularly for those who have challenging financial conditions.
So we look forward to the continue expansion of our horizons in our quest to bring the benefits of music therapy to more of those who can benefit from it. I encourage all of your to join me in setting your vision to a new heights this year and do your part to advocate and promote music therapy in all your workplaces and communities!
Happy Expanded Horizons!
Click here to view our thank-you video
Check out some of our photos from our Concert: December 14, 2012
Dad, You Too Can Make a Difference!
It seems I get inspired and learn something new from my clients every day. Most of what I know about Autism I learned from my clients over the past eight years. Recently, I was especially touched and inspired when a client’s FATHER joined us in the music therapy session. And he still comes faithfully each week.
Image Courtesy of Ambro by FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I have been working with this young boy who is quite charming and gifted, but lives with the challenges of Autism, which affects his speech and language. From the beginning, I saw that the boy’s mother was very involved with her son’s cognitive development. I see mothers take on this role quite often, so this was somewhat expected. But rarely do I see dads come to the music therapy session as well. So having BOTH of this young boy’s parents present during the music therapy made for an incredible session.
When Dad first walked in, I expected to receive a barrage of first-timer questions about music therapy, its effectiveness, and my experience. Earlier in my career these questions would put me on the defensive, but as my confidence grew over the years, I began to see these questions as a wonderful opportunity to explain the amazing power of music therapy.
And Dad indeed had a lot of questions. He was genuinely curious about how this modality could help their boy, whom he obviously loved very much. As the session progressed, I watched him go from “protective mode” into “enthusiastic supporter” right alongside Mom. It was incredibly gratifying to see them cheer their boy’s progress as if he had just scored a winning soccer goal!
While this experience was special and moving for me, I believe it was exponentially more beneficial for this boy’s cognitive development. It was so clear to me that the cheering from Mom and Dad greatly enhanced my effectiveness as a music therapist. It was as if the combination of music and cheering parents generated an exponentially greater benefit.
In a society where both parents are often working full time jobs, it is understandably difficult to have both available to participate in music therapy sessions. But I am amazed at how quickly we are achieving our therapeutic goals for this boy, which I believe will go along way towards ensuring he grows up to live a happy and productive life.
We are always so appreciative of mothers who work so hard to provide the very best for their child. But we also want to send a big “thank you” to Dads who are able to take time to be a part of the program as well! For Dads that are not yet involved, we invite you to join us one day, ask questions and learn about how your participation in music therapy can really make a difference in your child’s life.
Music Therapy is Not The Same as Music Lessons!
Photo Courtesy of: Alexandra Stead
As a parent, you should be sure you clearly understand the difference.
Music Therapy might seem like a new kind of therapy, but in fact it has been used for hundreds of years. In the last fifty years, music therapy has become a widely accepted treatment modality for patients with a broad range of illnesses and disorders.
Still, many people have never heard of music therapy, and are unfamiliar with its benefits. I believe one of the biggest reasons for this is the varying levels of quality we see in music therapists that are practicing today.
Sadly, many parents may be wasting their money on ineffective music therapy treatments. If you are a parent using the services of a music therapist, you should routinely do a progress check to make sure goals and objectives are being achieved. This is only possible if parameters are established in the beginning so that you can effectively measure therapeutic progress.
To better understand the difference between music therapy and music lessons, I think it is helpful to think of the difference between physical fitness training and bodybuilding. With physical fitness training, the goal is to improve health and proper body function. Bodybuilders however, have a very different goal, and that is to achieve cosmetic “perfection” by a particular date, such as a bodybuilding contest. In both cases, the same exercise equipment is used, but for very different goals and objectives.
Music lessons help students attain a high level of performance “perfection” which can be showcased on a particular date, such as a recital. On the other hand, Music therapy helps clients enhance cognitive, social and learning abilities, with no attempt to achieve perfection. Achieving musical proficiency is not the focus in music therapy, and is certainly not a requirement. Music and the instruments used to create music are simply tools for the music therapist to achieve his or her goals.
Using brain-imaging technology, scientists have shown that when we hear music, we stimulate both sides of our brain. We believe this explains why our clients with speech difficulties respond so well to music therapy – the part of the brain that control’s speech is also being stimulated by music. Since music stimulates the brain so broadly, we have seen music therapy be very effective for a wide range of interventions for children with special needs. Music rewards engagement, and this can be a powerful motivator for children. Therapists can use music to reward desirable behaviours and eliminate undesirable ones.
For children with special needs, their quality of life is closely related to the time of intervention – the earlier the better. Therefore, we believe children with special needs should begin therapy as early as possible in their development. It is crucial that time not be wasted on ineffective music therapy interventions or music lessons that have no therapeutic benefit.
If you’d like to learn more about how music therapy can benefit your child’s needs, please give us a call for a free consultation.
