mt reflections

8/16/2019 MT Reflections

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Introduction

Brothers of Charity:At the beginning of the academic year, Rosie and I were each assignedto the Brothers of Charity service as a component of our Music Therapy

module. The Brothers of Charitys southern services is located in theMahon area, on the outs!irts of Cor! city. The primary ob"ective of theservice is to provide assessment, diagnostic and intervention servicesto pre#school children with special needs. These children would rangefrom the age of $ % &. This service primarily enrolls children with anintellectual disability, communication disorder, developmental delay orsocial and emotional behavioural problems. In our e'perience, wewor!ed with children mainly within the communication(developmentaldisorder category.

)rior to commencing our placement, I personally felt *uite out of my

depth. +aving never before e'perienced a group setting # whether it beclass teaching or community music # I was feeling a little overwhelmedat the prospect of addressing an entire room. imilarly, I have had verylittle contact with children with disabilities in the past and so I foundthis to be e*ually daunting. Though several of these obstacles werefacing me, never the less, I was still *uite e'cited to see how I wouldcope with the environment and how the children might respond to thesessions.



Introductory Meeting

October 21st

, 2015

-n ednesday the /0st of -ctober, Rosie and I visited the Brothers ofCharity centre for our 1rst meeting with both the nurses and childrenwith which we would be wor!ing. -nce we reached the centre we wereimmediately welcomed and brought in to a small o2ce where we metour person of conact, 3er Mc Carthy. 3er very !indly gave us a briefoutline on the wor! that they do within the service and the caliber ofchildren with which we would be wor!ing. Though 3er did manage to*uench any initial fears we had regarding the placement, she didforewarn us in stating that we would be dealing with a 4particularly

severe group5. he then brought us through to a sort of 4playroom5where we would 1nally meet the children and their nurses.

-ur group consisted of three, beautiful children % Al, Ad and M. 6ach ofthem were accompanied by their own individual nurse. 7one of thethree children had been diagnosed with any speci1c disability, thoughwe were told that they were within the developmental delay category,each at varying severities.

Al is a young girl, possibly between the age of / and 8. hen we 1rstmet her, Al was perched in a colourful 9oor mat that was supporting

her body in a seated position. Al does not have the strength in herbody to hold herself upright and so, is generally seated in a supportchair or mat. he has severe developmental delays and is neitherphysically nor verbally able. he also has some visual impairments butis *uite attentive to sound nonetheless. This was evident when thenurse wound up a music bo' and Al proceeded to wave her head in thedirection of the music.

M is another young girl possibly around the age of 8. M is moderatelyphysically able and was playing with a train set as we entered theroom. Though we were told M had made great physical progress in the

past few months, she still re*uired the support of her nurse to wal! andmove about. M too is within the developmental delay category, but isma!ing progress both physically and verbally. Though M has nospeech, she does proceed to ma!e sounds either when she is happy ordistressed. This sound is usually made by her pulling on her lip with herteeth whilst ma!ing a 4hmm5 noise. he did continue to ma!e thisnoise several times throughout this initial visit. )rior to meeting M, wewere informed that she had great rhythm and was particularly



attracted to music. 3er recalled their Christmas party the previousyear where M was energetically moving along to the music, and sothey thought that our musical interaction with her could be verybene1cial.

Ad is a young boy, again in and around the age of 8. 3er initially toldus that Ad has not yet been diagnosed with anything speci1c, but thatit is clear from his appearance that he has some sort of syndrome. Aswe entered the room, Ad was cradled in the arms of his nurse, as hetoo does not have the ability to hold himself up independently. Thoughthe other nurses "o!ed about him being spoiled by being cradled sooften, they then informed us that he would usually be seated in astructured chair or a beanbag :preferably the beanbag, as he had *uitestrength of movement and would often launch bac! at the bac!support of the chair;. Ad too has severe developmental delays, and isneither physically nor verbally able. Though I personally wasnt sure if

he had some visual impairments, it became evident that he was veryaware of people in the room regardless.

e in*uired as to whether communication aids were used with thisgroup, and were told 4to a very limited e'tent5. After entering theroom, I noticed the nurse using the <AM+ sign for 4again5 with M. Theythen proceeded to use the picture e'change communication method. Itseems that these communication aids will be particularly relevant forM.

Towards the end of our visit, the nurses decided to demonstrate one of

their group songs called 4the cloud song5. 6ach of the children andnurses sat around a small round table with a large, cloud#patternedcloth. The nurses would wave the cloth up and down li!e a parachutewhilst singing an accompanying song that would encourage thechildren to call the cloth to them. This was e'tremely bene1cial for usto see as it gave us an insight as to what level the children might be at.=uring this activity, Rosie and I caught the particular attention of Ad,as he proceeded to loo! past the nurses and directly at us for sometime. The nurses were astounded by this, as his attention is generally*uite indirect.

As our visit came to a close, we than!ed the nurses and said goodbyeto the children. >ollowing this introductory session, I felt much more atease. I certainly found that in the company of the children yourundivided attention is re*uired and leaves little room for worry.



Session No. 1Noe!ber 11th, 2015

"ength: 25 !inutes

-n 7ovember 00th, three wee!s after our 1rst visit, Rosie and I returnedto the centre in Mahon to commence the 1rst of our 1ve#wee!placement. Although our 1rst meeting with the children went verywell, I was once again e'tremely nervous nonetheless. -n arrival, wegreeted the nurses and children who were located in the 4play room5. They informed us that Ad was actually unwell that day and that only Mand A< would be parta!ing. e were initially concerned about this aswe were unsure if this meant that our session could potentially run tooshort, as we had timed it to having three children present. As they

readied themselves we then proceeded to set up in the occupationaltherapy room ne't door.

The room in *uestion is *uite spacious and e*uipped with several 9oormats. ith the intention of each of us being at 9oor level, we decidedto set the !eyboard up on a low bench % this facilitated us beinge*ually interactive whilst accompanying. The nurses and childrenbegan to assemble in the -T room % Al was seated in one of thestructured chairs whilst M sat either on the mat or else in the lap ofone of the nurses. Although only M and A< were present, Ads nursealso sat in on the session. e re*uested that they allow us to

incorporated the ?Cloud ong, and ma!e use of the cloud cloth. ethought that it might be appropriate to include a song that they werefamiliar with into the 1rst session.

The session began and I was 1rst to lead. e began with the ?+elloong, where we incorporated each of their names on di@erent rounds.M instantly too! a particular interest in Rosie playing the !eyboard. heproceeded to wal! towards her and peer over the bench. The nurses



were e'tremely impressed by this, and once again recalled the how thenoted her musicality and the Christmas party the previous year. ethen continued on to our ?=rum ong. e were slightly apprehensiveabout these instrument#orientated songs due to the lac! of physicalability of the children. Than!fully they proved to be entirely

appropriate. The "ay, rhythmic bass line had both Al and M moving intime, and once the drum was introduced even further progress wasnoted. M would beat the drum energetically when it was her turn, andeven responded to direction when as!ed to play loud or soft. ee'pected little to no physical response from Al, but were pleasantlysurprised when she proceeded to gently place her hands on the face of the drum. Although she is *uite limited physically, it becameundoubtedly apparent that she was very aware of di@erent soundinginstruments. This song une'pectedly prolonged as both the childrenwere en"oying it so much and were continuing to give such hugereactions.

7e't both Rosie and I seated ourselves on the mat in preparation forthe ?Cloud ong. Initially we thought the inclusion of this song mightbe good for familiarity purposes, but as it began I felt it to be a littleanticlimactic following the energy of the preceding ?=rum ong. I feltthat M in particular didnt have a huge interest in this song althoughshe did respond by putting her hands in the air, calling the cloud clothto her. The nurses reassured us that this song was the level that theywere at and that it was an appropriate inclusion. e then continuedwith ?If oure +appy And ou now It. Although this song wasappropriate for the session, we felt it to be a little less engaging than

some of the songs featuring the instruments. imilarly, here we werean'ious that we might be e'cluding Al with the physical demands ofthis song, though we did incorporate more simple movements such as4nod your head5. -nce again M was particularly ta!en with Rosiesplaying of the !eyboard, and continued to wal! in her direction.

ith Als attention to varying instruments in mind, we decided toinclude ?Dingle Bells in the hope that she might respond to the sound of the bells. -nce again, M began to lead this song, ta!ing the bells out of Rosies hands and sha!ing them vigorously herself. My attention wasmainly focused on Al here, where her eyes began to follow in the

direction of the sound of the bells ne't to her. I thin! this song mighthave wor!ed a little better had we had a lighter pair of bells that wouldhave been placed under Als hands. At this stage, I swapped toaccompanying on !eyboards whilst Rosie led the following few songs.7e't we played ?)lay The Cymbal And Beat The =rum. I found itslightly di2cult to !eep note of the varying reactions of the childrenwhilst accompanying, but both myself and Rosie agreed that this singmight have been a little too advanced for the children. It seemed that



swapping between the drum and the cymbal was too much of anordeal and their interest began to waver.

?Clap our +ands To The Music seemed to be very successful, where

we varied between clapping, nodding and waving. M, again distractedby the !eyboards, wal!ed over towards me and accidently pressed thedemo button during the song. This added an additional burst of energyto the song, as the demo was coincidently also in C ma"or and almostseemed li!e e'tension of our song. Both Al, M and each of the nursesgot great en"oyment out of this, and even we were reluctant to turn ito@. >inally we rounded the session o@ with our ?3oodbye ong.>eaturing the same melody, we once again incorporated their namesas we sang 4well see you very soon5. Although we initiated thegoodbye song, we were a little concerned that we hadnt producedenough material. It wasnt until afterwards that we realied that the

session had ran for /E minutes. As the nurses wal!ed the children outof the room, they than!ed us and reassured us that each of theactivities were entirely appropriate for their level. They wereastounded at the reactions of the girls, and noted that even theslightest reaction in them is in fact a huge result.

#a$uation:Although many of our songs were *uite physical, it seemed that theywere appropriate for the level of the girls nonetheless. It seemed thatall songs e'cept ?)lay The Cymbal produced *uite a reaction in them,where this song might have been a little too advanced at this time. Its

clear that many of the other percussion songs are e'tremelyappropriate for this group as they stimulate prominent reactions in thechildren. I thin! a wider selection of instruments can be included forthe ensuing sessions.



Session No. 2Noe!ber 1%th, 2015"ength: &0 !inutes

-n Tuesday the 0&th, Rosie informed me that she would be unable toattend our session the following day. As our original session planmostly included songs that re*uired two people, this meant that I hadto rethin! the structure. Additionally, 6del was attending this sessionfor observation purposes. As a result of this I was *uite an'ious as Iwas including new pieces in which I would have to accompany myself

on the !eyboard.

As I arrived to the centre at 8pm on ednesday the 0F th, 6del wasalready seated in the waiting area. he helped me in with some of theinstruments as I carried in the !eyboard. -n arrival, I was once againinformed that Ad would not be present as he was still unwell. As thechildren and nurses readied themselves in the play#area, 6del and Ibegan to set up in the -T room ne't door. I thought the layout



her. >ollowing this session, 6del suggested that maybe we allow M tochoose her instrument if we were to include this song again.

At this point I returned to the !eyboard to accompany myself for ?If oure +appy And ou now It. +aving reached the middle of the

session, I thought that this was an appropriate time for a movementsong. Gnli!e the previous wee!, this time I did two rounds of eachmovement, to allow the children time to react and participate.>ollowing the session, 6del wondered if the 4nod your head5 sectionwas appropriate as it may be a movement that M does habitually. edid ma!e note though that she did have the ability to cease thismovement at varying times.

Moving away from the !eyboard, I sat on the 9oor to begin ?DingleBells. This song seemed to wor! well the previous wee!, though thisdidnt seem to be the case on this particular. Although M once again

seemed eager to hold and ring the bells herself, similar to thetambourine, the sharp sound of the bells eventually left her to be alittle distressed. he even reverted to the noise she made on our 1rstintroduction, where she would pull on her lip and ma!e 4hmm5 sound.As a result of this I decided to cut the song short and move on. Thiswas an interesting reaction in M as she didnt seem to have this type of aversion to the bells the previous wee!. I also thin! the use of a lighterpair of bells might be a little more appropriate for Al, where she mightbe able to e'perience their touch as well as the sound.

I made a last minute decision not to accompany myself for ?Clap our

+ands To The Music, as this time I wanted to include di@erentinstruments as well as clapping which would re*uire all of myattention. As I 1rstly introduced the drum, Al showed a little bit more of a willingness to play where she would rub her hands on the face of thedrum. M was naturally very ta!en with the drum, but didnt respondwhen I would sing 4and now were ready to stop5, but would continueto play. This made me realie that maybe I needed to ma!e more of anobvious rall. as I came to the end of a song. I then introduced the bells,but *uic!ly reverted bac! to the drum as M was once again showingsigns of distress towards the sound.

7e't I introduced another new piece % ?hat hall e =o. This pieceencouraged the children to beat the tambourine and sha!e the sha!er.Although I was a little apprehensive to reuse the tambourine, Alsreaction was a clear indication that it was the correct thing to do. As Isang 4beat it, beat it5, she proceeded to beat the tambourine in timewith me without the aid of the nurse. This astounded both 6del and I:as well as the nurses; as she hadnt shown much ability ofindependent physical movement before this. As M was much more



physically able I allowed her to establish the tempo. he soon becameaware that she was in control and that she could determine when I wasto sing. As a result, she playful switched tempos throughout by beatingthe tambourine. I soon realied that the sha!er wasnt reallyappropriate, as it was too heavy for Al to hold, and didnt produce

enough of a distinct sound for M to be interested.

I once again completed the session with the ?3oodbye ong. Iunfortunately made the mista!e of not clearing all instruments bac! into the bo', as M continued to grab the sha!ers throughout this song. This led me to believe that their attention to certain songs might bewavering and that this was an appropriate time to 1nish. I was againconcerned that the session ran too short, and couldnt believe it when Irealied that it ran for a full 8$ minutes. I was delighted with the hugeresponses of both girls throughout that session. As 6del and I discussedthe session afterwards, she did warn me not to be disappointed if I

dont receive similar reactions in the ensuing few sessions as this reallywas still within the evaluation period.

#a$uation: This session was certainly very di@erent to that of the wee! before.Although I was initially *uite an'ious that I would be on my own, I*uic!ly settled in and found my own rhythm within the session.>ollowing this session, I am reluctant to include sharp soundinginstruments such as the bells as a result of Ms reaction. +aving saidthat, she did not have this reaction towards them in the previoussession, so I understand that it might be a case of trial and error. As we

progress, I thin! it might be appropriate to introduce even morevarying instruments, and even allowing the li!es of M to choose themfor herself. I would li!e to include more instruments suitable for Al %possible lighter ones, or even some that could be placed around herwrists. >or ne't wee! I would li!e to include the ?Rain ong, to allowthem to hear the sounds of the relevant instrument.



Session No. &Noe!ber 25th, 2015

"ength: 25 !inutes

ednesday the /Eth brought about our third session out in the Brothersof Charity 6arly Intervention Centre. As we hadnt seen each other intwo wee!s and only managed to 1t in one practice session, I felt thatwe were a little underprepared for this session. )rogressing from theprevious wee!s structure, we were to include new songs insubstitution for others that were becoming a little tired. +aving saidthat, I had faith in our ability to wor! as a team and was con1dent thatthe session would run smoothly regardless.

This wee!, on arrival we were greeted with three children inattendance, as opposed to the previous two sessions where Ad hadbeen absent. As we greeted the nurses and children before setting up,I noticed that one of the children was ma!ing some sounds of distress #although I couldnt decipher whoH This wee! I suggested we set theroom up in a similar fashion to the wee! before with the low table andchair placed at the edge of the 9oor mats. I thought this layout wasmuch more practical in allowing both the leader and accompanist tointeract at the same time. The children and nurses entered the roomand arranged themselves in a semicircle near the table. Although wehad all three children in attendance, only two nurses were present at

the session. Ads was cradled in the arms of his nurse, whilst Al wasloo!ed after in her chair by the second. Although they werent by anymeans neglecting M, it did mean that she was able to roam aboutfreely, which often led to her being unfocused throughout the session.

As I began by leading our ?+ello ong, it became immediatelyapparent that there was a di@erent dynamic in the room now with allthree children in attendance. Ad soon began ma!ing sounds of what Ihad earlier thought to be distress, but his nurse assured me that thiswas not the case.

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