It's here! It's here! My course for Music Therapy Ed is here! Can you picture me jumping for joy? Last summer, the incredible Kat Fulton invited me to create a CMTE course for Music Therapy Ed, the site that offers on-demand continuing education opportunities. I happily accepted and spent the summer writing brand new songs, creating brand [...]
I am finally back in the swing of things after a wonderful whirlwind of wedding festivities! (By the way, my favorite discussion so far with my preschoolers went like this: One child: "Amy got married!" Another: "She graduated!" I love how their minds work.) Today, I am sharing a video that goes along with this [...]
Last week, I shared some ideas on how to improve your practice with children with ASD. You can read that post here. Here are some more tips and suggestions of things that I have learned along the way that have completely changed my sessions with children with ASD (in a good way!): 4. Bring down the [...]
Happy Wednesday! My master's thesis, Joint Attention Responses to Simple Versus Complex Music of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) JUST came out in the most recent issue of the Journal of Music Therapy! Yay! It has not yet arrived in Miami, so I am eagerly checking the mailbox to see if the little brown book is in there. [...]
I love when my clients inspire me and give me new ideas for interventions during my music therapy sessions. This happened a few weeks ago and I've been using the idea ever since. One little guy I work with individually loves book and songs. I use this type of musical experience to work on expressive language, [...]
I used to come into the classrooms at UCP's Early Beginnings Academy and I talk a LOT. "Okay everyone let's sit down in the circle." "Oh you have new shoes - awesome!" "Ok everyone sit down. Stop pulling her hair. Don't pick your nose. Come on let's all sit down!" This year, I am making [...]
Last Thursday I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Temple Grandin speak at my alma mater, University of Miami. Each time I hear her speak, I pull out new information. This time, I was absorbing information so I could integrate it into my work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I have always had [...]
Having four days off to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday was JUST what I needed. At UCP we are in full Holiday Show preparation mode and I feel like I am going a mile a minute. Can you relate?? It was nice to have a few days off to relax, catch up on sleep, and of course.....work [...]
I'm going to be honest. I spend a good amount of time perusing social media sites. I LOVE to check out what’s new on my two favorite FB groups – Music Therapists Unite and Music Therapy Business Owners. Through these interactions and through emails with my newsletter subscribers I’ve heard overwhelmingly that music therapists are sometimes just [...]
Happy Saturday Song Share to you! Five Fine Foxes is a song I wrote my very first year working at United Cerebral Palsy (UCP). The lyrics are taken from the B.E.L.L. Literacy Program, which stands for Building Early Language and Literacy. The program uses rhymes and chants to engage the children in practicing letter sounds and working [...]