April was Autism Awareness Month and I had the opportunity to do something I LOVE to do: travel to different library branches throughout Miami-Dade county and lead Rockin’ and Readin’ music therapy sessions.

Rockin’ and Readin’ is a program I created to bring music therapy sessions to the libraries in our area.

Our focus in April was on toddlers and young children with autism and other special needs and for this round of sessions, all my activities were spring related. I incorporated a butterfly movement song, a musical egg hunt, a spring-themed instrument playing activity, and of course a singable spring story.

I chose the book “Five Little Ducks” because many children and adults are familiar with this song and can sing along (which helps them feel successful!)

I’ve used this singable story before, but this time I decided to incorporate one thing that made it stand out from all the other times I’ve done it. One thing that grabbed the attention of the children who were distracted and reengaged them in our activity.

What was that one thing you ask?

(drumroll.…)

The duck quacker!

If you are not familiar with the duck quacker, I highly recommend you check it out.

This silly sounding instruments sounds JUST LIKE A DUCK. The toddlers and children I work with absolutely love it. Every time we got to the part in the song where the mother duck says “quack quack quack quack,” I played that quacker as loud as I could. The group erupted in laughter because I had hidden it behind the book and they couldn’t see what was making that noise.

Was it a real duck?!

The key takeaway here is this: think about what you can incorporate into your sessions that will grab the attention of your clients and refocus their attention back on you. If you work with toddlers and young children like I do, you know we need to have an endless amount of reengagement strategies in our back pocket.

Maybe it’s the duck quacker, maybe it’s the thunder tube, maybe it’s the castanet. Leave a comment below to let me know what’s worked for you and your clients!

The post A Spring Session Idea to Reengage Your Young Clients appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Rhythm sticks are quickly becoming my favorite instrument. Why?

They’re incredibly versatile (just like this instrument is!),

They’re appropriate for a wide range of ages,

They can be used to address goals in a variety of domains,

And, they’re multi sensory.

The multisensory component is my favorite part because the majority of the individuals I work with are on the autism spectrum. I purchase the rhythm sticks with ridges and the possibilities for sensory stimulation are endless.

Here are some ways I use rhythm sticks to address the sensory needs of my clients:

• Tap sticks together
• Tap sticks on legs, knees, toes, or other body part
• Rub sticks together
• Scrape and tap
• Roll on body parts such as the legs or back

All these movements provide great sensory feedback in the hands and the body part being tapped or rolled.

I’ve had rhythm sticks in my “bag of tricks” for years and only recently did I think to add in some different ways of using the sticks to provide more sensory feedback for clients.

How do you use rhythm sticks with your clients?

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Thanksgiving is my new favorite holiday. I do my very best to go about my day in a state of gratitude and thankfulness, so this holiday is a perfect fit for me. (Oh and I LOVE turkey and apple pie! :)

In today’s blog, I want to share one of my favorite original songs to use in my sessions, “Let’s Make Some Music.”

{Click here to read why I am *adamant* about using original songs in my music therapy sessions with children.}

The beauty of using original songs is that I can be flexible and change the song any way I want based on the needs of my client.

I use “Let’s Make Some Music” during instrument jam sessions, but here are some ways I vary the song based on the differing needs of my clients:

• Direction following ~ I change the lyrics of the song to “It’s time to shake side to side…It’s time to shake up and down…It’s time to shake really…..fast!”
• Body part identification ~ I change the lyrics of the song to “It’s time to shake on your head….It’s time to shake on your knees…It’s time to shake on your toes!”
• Motor skills ~ I can choose an instrument that allows my client to practice a certain type of motor skill. For example, I can give the client a jingle stick to work on the fine motor skill of grasping…or the rhythm sticks to work on bilateral coordination…or the drum to facilitate bringing arms to midline.
• Sustained attention ~ I can extend the song by added extra verses to work on increasing the amount of time my client attends during the intervention.
• Vocabulary words ~ I can change the lyrics of the song to teach various concepts like fast, slow, loud and soft. For example, “Just shake, shake, shake, shake really loud!”
• Social skills ~ I can change the lyrics to “It’s time to pass to a friend” to facilitate the clients passing and sharing instruments.

Whew! Those are just a few ideas of how I can take one original song and vary it in a multitude of ways to target my client’s goals.

Want to use “Let’s Make Some Music” in your sessions? Click below to purchase the sheet music for just $1!

 Happy Thanksgiving!!

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There are times when I am going into a session carrying my guitar, a keyboard, a gathering drum, AND a bag of instruments….and eight arms would really be helpful!

(Who needs the gym when you have sessions all day long, right?)

I have found that there is one instrument in my bag of tricks that is worth it’s weight (literally!) in gold. It’s one of the most versatile instruments in my bag and it can be used with children with many different levels of functioning.

That instrument is…

…the Q-chord!

I love the Q-chord because I can use it in so many different ways with my clients. Here are just a few of the ways…

1) Use the Q-chord for a hands-free (or almost hands-free!) accompaniment

I will often set one of the styles (March or Country) and use it to provide a rhythmic beat for marching or jumping activities. Once the beat is set, it’s completely hands-free so you can model movements and provide hand-over-hand assistance.

I can also set a style and use the chord pad to change chords. Even when I do this, I still have one hand free to model movements with a scarf, streamer, or maraca.

2) Use the Q-chord for clients with limited range of motion in their arms

I love using this with my classes of children with severe and profound intellectual disability and Cerebral Palsy or those clients who have limited range of motion in their arms. With a small movement, the clients can reach out a finger or hand on the touch pad and make a beautiful sound.

There are so many ways to vary the style, chord progression, tempo, and even instrumentation on the touch pad that it never gets boring! If the child moves their finger or hand up and down the touch pad, they are receiving a good amount of sensory stimulation.

3) Use the Q-chord to allow your client to accompany themselves

This is perfect for a child, tween, or teen. I choose one of the client’s favorite songs and make a song sheet. (For example, in a session last week, it was the song “You’ve Got a Friend” from Toy Story – who doesn’t love that song?!)

I make up a song sheet that has the lyrics of the song and with the chords over top (I make the chords large and bold so they stand out). Then we choose a style on the Q-chord and the client begins playing the song by pressing the chord on the keypad that matches the chord on the song sheet. After that goes smoothly a few times, we trying singing along at the same time. Talk about working on divided attention!! You can make this activity as simple or as challenging as you want, depending on the level and needs of your client.

4) Use the Q-chord for improvisation

Sometimes I will simply set the Q-chord in front of a child, tween, or teen, and just let them explore. There have been times they’ve discovered things even I didn’t know the instrument could do! After they explore, we move into an improvisation – they are allowed to choose the chord progression, the instrumentation on the touch pad, the tempo, etc, etc, etc.

5) Use the Q-chord to facilitate social interaction

I have a dyad sessions where two siblings are working on social skills such as waiting your turn, asking for a turn, reflecting what the other is doing, and working together. The Q-chord is perfect for this! I have one “control” the chords on the keypad while the other chooses the instrumentation and strums the touch pad. They must work together to make a song! I also have them reflect back what they heard the other sibling do (“How was your sister strumming? Was it fast or slow?”) Then we switch and they have “control” over the other side of the Q-chord.

Now do you see why I say this is the most versatile instrument in my bag? I absolutely love it.

I want to hear from you…yes YOU! Leave a comment below and let me know one creative way that you use the Q-chord in your session with children, tweens, or teens.

I’d love to get some fresh ideas!

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As I type this post Steve and I are about 3 weeks away from our wedding day! I could not be more excited!

Thank you to everyone who replied or commented on my Here Comes the Bride Post with fun song suggestions for our reception. We have lots of great songs to choose from – let me know if you think of any more!

Amidst the whirlwind and excitement of wedding planning, I have not forgotten the importance of immersing myself totally and completely in my music therapy sessions, and leaving all else outside the door. (That seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb at other times as well!)

As I’ve written about, I love when my clients are the ones who help me generate new and creative ideas. Last week, I watched one of the children I work with line up four drums in a row and begin playing them in a random order. That sparked this idea:

Drumming By Number:

I lined up four drums.

I placed a number on each drum: 1, 2, 3, 4.

I told him: “Listen, watch, and repeat after me.”

Then I played one drum at a time while saying the number of that drum. For example: “1, 2, 3, 4”

Then he repeated back by playing the drum and saying the corresponding number: “1, 2, 3, 4”

Then I played: “2, 4, 3, 1”

He echoed back and played “2, 4, 3, 1”

This continued for a while. Then we switched and HE was the leader and I followed the patterns he came up with.

* Variations: add drums of different sizes and timbres. Add more numbers. Use letters. The list goes on and on depending on what your client need to work on. Just yesterday during this activity I began singing on a different pitch for each number (1 = do, 2 = re, 3 = me, 4 = fa). Very effective!

It was the coolest experience because we both were partners in coming up with the activity. He was so engaged, we did this activity (with variations) for TEN MINUTES!!! That is a long time for any child to attend to an activity, no matter how engaging it is.

In that time, we packed in skill-building in many different areas: sequencing, imitation, attention, improvising, eye-hand coordination, just to name a few. I am looking forward to adding many different variations on this activity. For now, I would love to hear from YOU!

Leave a comment below and let me know how you use drumming to work on the skills I listed above (imitation, improvising, sequencing, etc.)

Image courtesy of [africa] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Happy Saturday Song Share!

I hope you’ve been enjoying the latest: Flora the Fish (for your beachy session plans) and Say Hello and Shake Hands (a greeting song for kids!)

Today’s song is for your instrument jam sessions. Whether you’re using drums, bells, shakers, or any other type of instrument, this song will be great!

Have a listen…

The post Let’s Make Some Music appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Sing your heart out week continues!! Here is a song I use during my instrument playing activities, particularly those involving the xylophone and glockenspiel. I take out the ‘B’ and ‘F’ bars and the song fits perfectly. Also, the song lyrics can be individualized for different children using different instruments, for example “Danny plays the drum!” or “Anna plays the bells!”

Have a listen!

Image courtesy of [Salvatore Vuono] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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First, we heard the snare drum…

We explored sounds that were soft and loud…so loud that we had to cover our ears!

We got to play the kalimba (very gently!)…

…and we got to hear how a conch shell can sound like a brass instrument.

We were able to play a special kind of shaker…

…AND we got to play a gong!

This was a great experience for all the children and they are STILL talking about all the new percussion instruments they were able to try!

The post Feeling the Beat at UCP appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Pod guiros!

Podshakers!

What are YOUR ideas?

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