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Post-Grad Music Therapy: A Parent’s Perspective

Post-Grad Music Therapy: A Parent’s Perspective

by | Aug 28, 2020

Congrats to the Class of 2020! Mari Johnson is one of many students who graduated high school from Newark Education Center this year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than concluding her services, Mari transitioned to community-based music therapy services this summer. Mari’s mother, Tammy, was gracious enough to discuss the family’s many years receiving music therapy as well as what it was like to transition to virtual therapy.  

Below is Tammy’s interview conducted by Mari’s music therapist and UMTC employee, Katie Pistilli.  

1) For how long has Mari received music therapy services through Upstate Music Therapy Center? 

Mari has received music classes/therapy services from Upstate Music Therapy Center since 2005, 15 years! 

2) What inspired you to initially seek out music therapy for Mari? 

I sought music therapy services for Mari because music was a game changer, it removed barriers for her!  Music motivated and calmed her; music completely turned off the “upset” light switch! Music also stimulated and developed her cognition and language abilities. Metaphorically speaking, it’s almost like music opens the windows in your house and lets that refreshing breeze in. 

3) In your eyes, how does music therapy benefit Mari?  

In my eyes, music benefits Mari as an organized, predictable way to express her wants, needs, and feelings, while gaining confidence and knowledge! 

4) What was it like receiving music therapy over Zoom for the first time? Has it helped her transition after graduation? 

Receiving Music Therapy over zoom the first time was a wonderful, familiar re-connection/continuation to Mari’s daily schedule.  

5) Now that Mari has graduated, what do you see the role of music therapy being in her life? 

Music classes/therapy will continue to play a major role in Mari’s life post–graduation. In Mari’s life, music is equivalent to oxygen! 

6) Do you have any advice for parents questioning whether they should pursue self-direct services post-graduation? 

The advice I have for parents questioning whether or not to pursue self-direction services is…. As a parent you know your child’s needs the best! Self-Direction services can provide access to goods and services in your community that will help your child. I would encourage you to advocate for Self-Direction services to help you help your child. 

 7) Do you have any stories that you would like to share about music therapy and Mari? 

Music therapy/classes has provided carryover into all areas of Mari’s life and development. A recent example of this was when Mari was working with another therapist. In the beginning of the session Mari made a few requests on her communication device what she wanted to do after her work was complete. When we didn’t understand her request, she sang her request!  


Music is an access road that leads to a destination, a superhighway leads to that same destination, the road we take doesn’t matter…. what matters is that we both arrived safely!    
 

Thank you, Mari and Tammy!  

UMTC is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with you for the past 15 years. We cannot wait to continue growing with Mari in the future.  

If you are a parent interested in self-direct pay services for your young adult or graduate, please contact us! Email Amy: amy@upstatemtc.com or give us a call at (585) 377-1000 

 

8 Strategies For Quality Sleep

8 Strategies For Quality Sleep

by | Aug 14, 2020

Getting less than the required amount of sleep can affect your health, your mood, and your brain’s ability to function.  This is true for children and adults. The longer you go without the sleep you need, the more the harmful effects compound.  The recommended hours of sleep fall between 7-8 hours.  So, it pays to make sleep a priority every night of the week, even if you need to cut back on some of your current evening activities. 

If this is hard for you or your family, you are not alone.  We know that more than one-third of adults are sleep deprived.  https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html

10% of children in the United States have a sleep issue. The percentage rises to 50% to 75% in children with mental health and neurologic/developmental disorders.  In addition, children need even more sleep than adults. Children ages 5 to 10 need 10 to 11 hours of sleep; those ages 10 to 17 require 8.5 to 9.25 hours. Children are getting enough rest if they can fall asleep within 15 to 30 minutes after going to bed, wake up easily at the correct time, and are awake and alert all day without napping.

 

What happens when you sleep?

Blood pressure drops

Breathing becomes slower

Muscles are relaxed

Blood supply to muscles increases

Tissue growth and repair occurs

Energy is restored

Immune system is strengthened

Hormones are released, such as: Growth hormone, essential for growth and development, including muscle development

For these reasons and more we want to be sure to make sleep a priority. Sleep’s most obvious benefit is energy. With a good night’s sleep, your mind is alert, and your body is responsive and resilient. You can learn more quickly and better remember what you learned. Your judgment is more likely to be on target, and your reaction time optimized. On the other hand, lack of sleep can negatively affect your mood and your ability to think and function. Your productivity and your creativity are likely to be compromised as a result.

Over time, lack of sleep can have consequences on your physical health. Heart disease, high blood pressure, weight gain, diabetes, depression, and anxiety are among the many conditions that have been linked to insufficient sleep.

8 Strategies for Sound & Sustained Sleep

  1. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
  2. Dim the lights after dusk.
  3. Get blackout curtains if very sensitive to the light.
  4. Put electronic devices away 60 minutes prior to laying down.
  5. Get thirty minutes of exercise each day.
  6. Watch what you eat in the evening including, avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol & hard to digest food.
  7. Set the temperature in the room around 65 degrees.
  8. Practice relaxation such as mindfulness, deep breathing, and music listening.

 

We suggest the following music for relaxation and sleep.  Each one is unique in its composition.  Try all of them to determine if one is more helpful than another.  

August Book: Hands to Heart

August Book: Hands to Heart

by | Aug 7, 2020

Blog post written by Kayla Davitt, MT-BC

Song performed and recorded by Jamie Swieringa, MT-BC

 

Stress. Stress of the unknown, stress of responsibilities. Now more than ever, we find ourselves in a time full of uncertainty. With schools announcing their plans for reopening, these times ahead are sure to be full of anxiety and worry. As adults, we have a better understanding of how to handle the stressors of everyday life. However, young children may not know how to express how they are feeling or how to regulate their bodies to bring them back to a state of calm. But, with Alex Bauermesiter’s book Hands to Heart: Breathe and Bend with Animal Friends, children will be able to relate their emotions with animals in the book and learn how to use yoga poses (demonstrated by the animals in the book) to calm themselves down and relax.

 

As a music therapy agency, we at UMTC find it extremely important to address the mental health of children through the use of music. One of our therapists, Jamie Swieringa, has written a melody to use along with this book in order to bring in the element of music to assist relaxation.

 

 

In order to get the most out of all this book has to offer, here are some suggestions to keep in mind:

Deep breathing

This book focuses a lot on simple yoga poses. However, your child will benefit more from the poses if they pair them with deep breathing. Encourage your child to breath from their belly while keeping their shoulders down. This type of breathing through the diaphragm will force our bodies to slow down and focus.

Adjust the poses as necessary

Most of the yoga poses in this book are straightforward, but some do involve laying on the floor. If your child is unable to lay on the floor for any reason, they can still do the poses! Everyone has different abilities, so it is perfectly acceptable to adjust the poses as necessary in order to help your child be most successful.

Zones of regulation

For those students that are older, you can use this book to identify the different zones of regulation. If you are not familiar with the zones of regulation, click here to learn more. It is a system in which emotions are put into colored categories: red, blue, green, and yellow. Encourage your child to identify how they are feeling, what zone that feeling is in, and what they can do to get themselves back to the “green zone” or a state of calm.

We hope you enjoy using this book in your homeschooling adventures! For more resources and activities to use with your children, please visit our “Resources” tab located at the top of the page.

 

If you are interested in purchasing Hands to Heart: Breathe and Bend with Animal Friends, click here.

 

Happy reading!

Emotional Wellbeing in Our Children: What Should We Look For?

Emotional Wellbeing in Our Children: What Should We Look For?

by | Jul 31, 2020

One of our top priorities since the middle of March has been to carefully watch for the emotional wellbeing of our students, and their families once we began remote therapy sessions.  As children were approved by each school district to receive music therapy through a teleconferencing platform, according to their IEP, one of our first priorities was observing for any cues during the teleconferencing session that the student or family were experiencing social-emotional challenges due to the stay at home order.  Since then we have worked diligently to reach families who have been less responsive to explore if there is another level in which we can support them, even if teleconferencing is not an option.  This has included phone calls, emails and sending packets of digital and printed music opportunities for the parent to participate in with their child.  Music has offered the child and family a refreshing escape from some of the day to day challenges they have been experiencing.  Families have at times sought out continuing music therapy over other services for the summer because of the positive effect it has had.

Uncertainty for the Fall

As school district administrations watch for direction from the state governors for guidelines, they are surveying the families.  The intent is to determine what type of school attendance the parents are thinking is best for their children and family circumstances, however, in some cases the preferred choice is not available.  One of the most popular preferred choices that have not been an option on the surveys is reopening schools fully for all students and allowing families to decide if they would like to participate.  Instead, there appear to be hybrid models being proposed combining online learning and school attendance, to spread out the children during bussing and within the facility.  Regardless of what each school district decides they will be offering the students and their families; it has become clear that the anxiety over what the new school year will look like is rising. 

Parents are sharing the following concerns and questions:

  • Will my child be safe if attending school?
  • What are the potential health issues of my child wearing a mask all day in school?
  • My child is showing depression over not being able to go back to school. What should I do?
  • My children are not making progress using remote learning.
  • We have a child with special needs, and she is falling further and further behind. How will she ever catch up?
  • Are pandemic pods a safe way to go to help my child socialize and learn in a group?
  • I need to go back to work however cannot do so unless my children can go back to school fulltime.
  • My son has been experiencing increased anxiety when I am not around, something that we have never observed before.

Parents are wise to watch their children’s reactions to the changes they are experiencing.  Here are some of the symptoms that might be observed:

4 to 7-Year Old

In children ages 4 to 7 years, children tend to express stress through regression and separation anxiety.  They may begin bedwetting or cling to a parent when they attempt to leave the home.  This is where routine comes in. It does not need to be the same routine from Pre-Covid19, it simply needs to be realistic for the current situation. This age group also struggles with social distancing which makes getting together with other children more difficult.  

7-10-Year Old

In the 7 through 10 age group, children can pick up on stress and may become fearful for their own health.  At this age, they are not typically capable of expressing their own emotions.  The parent may see an increase in irritability or crying.  Limiting how much news and adult conversation is conducted about the pandemic around these children is important.  Instead, create opportunities for the child to talk with an adult and ask questions they have about what is going on as well as share how it is impacting their life, including their own health fears.

10-13-Year Old

In ages 10 to 13 years, children tend to struggle with academics. At this age, they work well with structure, which is why they need routine.  They generally have not developed self-regulation at this age which makes schooling with much less instruction and guidance especially challenging.  Parents should focus on the effort of the child and not necessarily the completed tasks.  Providing them with an organized space and helping them create a structure that works best for them is most helpful for children in this age bracket. 

14-17-Year Old

At ages 14 to 17, social distancing can have a devastating effect on them, resulting in an increase in depressive symptoms such as listlessness and lack of motivation.  This age group is heavily impacted by the loss of sporting games, social gatherings like proms, clubs, and other regular or annual events.  They can express their emotions and will do so when feeling safe and supported, so offer those natural times to open the door for honest conversation.  Seek out someone outside of the family if they are not willing to talk to a family member.  Assist your child in finding acceptable online social opportunities like yoga classes, gaming, and Zoom parties with their friends. 

Creating a New Normal

All children can benefit from learned breathing exercises, mindfulness, regular weekly social gatherings online or in a pod, and scheduled weekly family activities that the child enjoys. Creating a new normal for this time is important while watching your children for emotional wellbeing concerns.

If your child is experiencing a difficult time with the many changes COVID-19 has created feel free to scroll down and send us a message in the Contact Us portion.  We have many services including, counseling, creative arts therapy, and music therapy that might be helpful.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masked Communication: Helping Young Children

Masked Communication: Helping Young Children

by | Jul 17, 2020

Young children look for emotional cues from caregivers to help interpret the environment. They rely on their caregiver’s facial expressions, tone of voice, and body posture to identify and understand emotions.  There is much controversy on mask-wearing and at what age do children need to be masked in public.  Regardless, our young children are being exposed to environments where they many times cannot see the bottom portion of the other person’s face, causing difficulty for them to fully understand what is being communicated.  In some cases, they are having a difficult time socializing with their peers, which is especially frustrating for them.

Below are a few ideas and tips for helping children identify emotions when your face, your most expressive feature, is covered by a mask. Use these strategies to let children know that behind the mask, a kind and warm expression is still there!

  • Practice emotional expressions with a mask on in front of a mirror. Pay attention to facial cues that can be seen, body movements, and hand gestures.
  • Incorporate some simple ASL when teaching emotions. Here is a video to get you started:

  • Direct children to look at your eyebrows, eyes, body movements, and gestures when talking about emotions. For example, “Look, I am happy. You can’t see my mouth smile, but my cheeks lift up, my eyes crinkle, and my shoulders and arms look like this.”
  • Increase the use of gestures throughout the day and when talking about emotions (e.g., shoulders shrugged for sad, arms out to indicate a happy mood).
  • Talk about your feelings as much as possible (e.g., “I am feeling happy that it is almost time to go outside and play.”; “I am feeling sad that it is raining right now.”; “I am feeling excited that we have a new toy in centers today.”).
  • If using an emotion check-in, encourage all adults in the classroom to participate and check-in when the children do.

Click here for “This is How I Feel Today” visuals.

  • Be sure to face children and remain nearby when talking to them while wearing a mask. Wearing a mask muffles the speaker’s speech, which can make it more difficult to understand what is said.
  • Provide an activity for children to practice wearing a mask and making different faces while looking in a mirror or at each other. Point out how their face looks (e.g., eyes, eyebrows).

 

If your child is experiencing a difficult time with the many changes COVID-19 has created feel free to use the Contact Us Link to speak with one of our therapists.  We have many services that might be helpful.  

Book: Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea

Book: Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea

by | Jul 10, 2020

 

Blog post written by Kayla Davitt, MT-BC

Song performed and recorded by Jamie Swieringa, MT-BC

 

A sea turtle. A dolphin. A great white shark. These are just some of the creatures you may think of when picturing yourself swimming in the ocean. With this summer heat, everybody wants to be swimming, whether that be in a pool, a lake, the ocean, or even the bathtub! In Jan Peck’s storybook Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea, young children will encounter numerous sea creatures while journeying through the ocean with the main character who is on a quest for pirate treasure!

 

Jamie Swieringa, a fellow music therapist and employee at UMTC, wrote a very creative and catchy melody to sing while reading this book with your child. Feel free to sing along with the recording or create your own melody!

 

 

At UMTC, our therapists strive to develop creative ways to incorporate music into everyday activities. Using this book during storytime with younger children is a great way to entice them into learning through music! This wonderfully illustrated storybook is mostly geared towards younger children. While reading this book with your child, you can address a multitude of skills such as animal identification, color identification, opposites (big/little, up/down, etc.), and appropriate social greetings using “hello” and “goodbye” in song. Here are a few suggestions to follow when reading this book with your child:

 

Animal and Color Identification

Most young children may be familiar with the more commonly pictured sea creatures such as turtles, dolphins, fish, or sharks. This storybook, however, features some creatures that may be less familiar to a young child: a hermit crab, starfish, sea horse, and swordfish! Encourage your child to become more familiar with these sea creatures by describing them in detail! A hermit crab will grow out of its shell and explore his surroundings to find a new shell. A starfish can grow new legs if it is hurt. A male seahorse carries the baby seahorses instead of a female. A swordfish has a sword-like bill to use to swipe through schools of smaller fish when hunting. While identifying the creatures, you can also encourage your child to describe the colors he/she sees when looking at the different sea creatures.

 

Opposite Identification

The illustrator of this storybook, Valeria Petrone, created scenes in which the main character is larger than some of the animals. As the storybook progress, you will notice that the main character becomes smaller while the animals become larger in reference to what a human would look like next to a given animal. Ask your child to identify who is bigger and who is smaller as you read through the book. Don’t be afraid to challenge your child by asking him/her where in the ocean the animal is swimming: up towards the sky or down at the bottom of the sea. This will encourage your child to use his/her inference skills!

 

Appropriate Social Greetings

As you may notice while listening to Jamie’s song, there is a constant part that includes “hello” and “goodbye.” This is a great opportunity for younger children to practice singing “hello” and “goodbye.” You can also pair a hand motion (wave, fist bump, high five, etc.) when singing “hello” and “goodbye.” Don’t be afraid to take the greetings out of context when the song has become familiar and sing them to your child throughout the day: “Hello, mom! Goodbye, dad!”

 

We hope you enjoy using this book in your homeschooling adventures! For more resources and activities to use with your children, please visit our “Resources” tab located at the top of the page.

 

If you are interested in purchasing Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea, click here.

 

Happy reading!