Friday was my last day with the children at UCP!! I can't believe it! I'll be leaving United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) to start my new position as Interim Professor of Music Therapy at University of Miami. There are many things that I'll miss about UCP, but most of all will be the children. Don't worry ~ [...]
I don't know about you, but I am ready for a little fun in the sun! Even though I live in Miami, I always get excited to go to the beach. I love the smell of the suntan lotion and the sound of the waves. The summer is also a great time to bring some of the [...]
Did you catch Part 1 in my series on Music Therapy + Sensory Integration? In it I showcased a video of me utilizing the therapy ball in my music therapy session with a self-contained class of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)! I am using the therapy ball to provide proprioceptive and vestibular input to the children while [...]
I can pinpoint when a major shift in my music therapy practice took place. It was when I began co-treating with some amazing occupational therapists at UCP's Early Beginnings Academy. Through these co-treatment sessions, I became fascinated by sensory integration, how it relates to my clients with autism and how it can be incorporated into my [...]
Life has been pretty darn exciting lately! Wholesome Harmonies is offering a number of summer music therapy groups including: Kids Rock and children and tween music therapy groups through the Down Syndrome Association of Miami. At UCP, we are in full presentation-preparation mode: the debut of our musical Little Red Riding Hood happens next week! [...]
Happy Wednesday! I can feel the excitement in the air now that the holidays are just around the corner. My desk at UCP is filled with Christmas cards, I have seriously overdone it with cookies, cupcakes, and candy, and I hear the kids still talking about their musical performance of the Nutcracker. Today I want [...]
Launch Day is here and my new ebook Sensational Songs & Activities has arrived!!!! I am thrilled to announce that his resource is available, since it has been months in the making! In case you missed my announcements all over Twitter and Facebook, Sensational Songs & Activities: Sensory-Based Ideas for Music Therapy is an ebook jam-packed with intervention [...]
Visual Stimulation Today's song will continue my series on Sense-ational Activities, those that target the five senses. I use this song when I am facilitating visual tracking goals and providing visual stimulation to my clients with severe and profound intellectual disability. Initially, I used this song in UCP's sensory room, which has a tube with water and bubbles that light [...]
Auditory Stimulation In honor of the beginning of Spring (although it always feels like Spring in Miami!) I'm continuing my series on Sense-ational Activities. Sense-ational activities are those that target the five senses. I've shared activities that provide olfactory stimulation, tactile stimulation, and multisensory stimulation. Today's post will focus on an activity I use to provide auditory stimulation. [...]
Olfactory Stimulation At UCP's Early Beginnings Academy, I work with many children who have a diagnosis of severe and profound intellectual disability. For these children, stimulation of the five senses is very important. In my previous Sense-ational Activity post, I shared a song and activity about providing tactile stimulation. Here's an original song I wrote [...]
