Kids Hear Now + Music Therapy

Whew! After the launch of Tuneful Teens 2 I’m ready to get back to my regular blogging schedule!

I am SO proud of this E-Book and all the new interventions, songs, musical games, templates, resources, and ideas that are inside. Check it out for yourself if you need a little inspiration for your teen sessions!

Here’s what else I’ve been up to:

Last Thursday I had the privilege of taking a group of my students from University of Miami (see the picture above!) to participate in an amazing event. The event was Family Night for the Barton G. Kids Hear Now Cochlear Implant Family Resource Center. Kids Hear Now is an amazing organization that provides services to children with cochlear implants and their families.

Last year I was able to connect with the psychologist and audiologist who run this program when they reached out to find out more information about music therapy and how it can benefit children with hearing loss and cochlear implants.

After a few meetings, we decided that instead of talking about what music therapy is, the students at UM and I could show what music therapy is!

So a group of us packed up our keyboards, guitars, drums, scarves, parachutes, maracas, and bells, and attended the Family Night event to provide group music therapy for the children and their families.

The responses from the children were amazing!

Here were some of the music therapy experiences we provided:

– One of our students played the cello, while the children gathered around with their hands on the instrument to feel the vibrations. Even those who were sitting on the floor around the cello could feel the vibrations!

– We used the gathering drum, which also provides vibrations on the head of the drum and on the floor. We used exaggerated physical gestures to cue playing in various ways and stopping.

– We used the parachute for visual stimulation and as a way to get our bodies moving and grooving to the music.

– We used scarves to play peek-a-book and find the group members who were hiding.

– We used tone chimes (which have a beautiful sound and also provide tactile stimulation to the child holding them) to provide accompaniment for “Firework” by Katy Perry.

– We used xylophones, maracas, and bells to create a jam band: all these instruments provide tactile stimulation and creating a band requires attention, impulse control, and the ability to work together with other children!

Here are some pictures of the event:

All in all it was an incredible experience for the students and I to learn about hearing loss and cochlear implants. I am so glad we had the opportunity to gain experience working with this clinical population and I look forward to collaborations with this program in the future!