Capture the Power of Music
Yes there is still snow on the ground and maybe more to come. But Jammin’ Jenn Music Therapy is already beginning to plan our ESY (Extended School Year) as well as our 2018-2019 school year schedules with our existing and new school clients!
SPECIAL NEEDS GROUP MUSIC THERAPY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
MORE OFTEN THEN NOT, TRADITIONAL MUSIC ED. IS NOT APPROPRIATE
OR WHAT THEY NEED!
INTRODUCE US TO THE SPECIAL ED. DEPARTMENT AT YOUR SCHOOL.
THESE KIDS DESERVE IT!
Jammin Jenn would like to help spread the word about an amazing Camp for kids with Special needs. We have provided Music Therapy for Camp PAL for several years and have a long standing relationship with them. The camp (Camp PAL – Play and Learn)is run by Creative Speech Solutions, LLC (CSS) and is based on the philosophy that ALL children deserve a traditional summer- time experience, but not at the expense of missed opportunities for essential therapy or needed support. Camp PAL offers the perfect mix of summer- time camp fun and therapeutic intervention!
Over the past few years CSS realized not only the unbelievable need for a camp like this, but also the remarkable benefits it has for children with special needs. At Camp PAL, traditional summer activities such as sports, arts and crafts, music and games provide an array of opportunities to expand children’s communication, social and educational skills. Children participate in small group activities that focus on fun, skill acquisition and positive group dynamics. This unique camp offers goal- directed activities that provide each child with endless opportunities to grow, socialize, explore and develop new skills with just the right amount of structured support. Language, social and sensory activities are infused into each component of the camp day with the ultimate goal being to teach the children to transfer these skills to other real life situations.
Registration is now open and groups are forming. Summer is right around the corner so don’t delay!
Please join us for some fun at the Arc of Union County‘s children’s services and support department’s family fun night on Tuesday, 10/22! See below for details.
Download the pdf flier here
Please come join us as the special need resource fair in West Orange. We would love to see you there!
Sunday, Nov 23rd at 12:30pm – 4:00pm
Childcare and youth programming available with RSVP. For more information, please contact: Rebecca Wanatick, Community Inclusion Coordinator, MetroWest ABLE, (973) 929-3129, rwanatick@jfedgmw.org
Click here to RSVP and Share the Facebook Event
Jammin’ Jenn Music Therapy is very pleased to announce a group music therapy program we are running in early 2014. In our work we come across some fantastic organizations doing great work with children that have special needs. We are very proud to be running a group with Laura Hynes of Extraordinary Minds in Staten Island, New York. Please click on the flyer below to learn more about this program. If you are in the Staten Island area please join us! We are planning on rockin’ n’ rollin’ and conducting some outstanding music therapy.
We as music therapists are very fortunate. We get to do something for a living that can make a significant difference in a child’s life. Beyond that we give parents so much hope to see their child’s potential, through the most creative form of therapy, music.
One of the most basic human needs is to give and receive love, to be told that one is loved. Deep down, it what makes us all tick. Sometimes children with Autism are non-verbal or they have profound struggles with expressive language. Of course physical love can be expressed and that means the world. But when a parent hears their child express love with words it is one of the best and perhaps most needed feelings a Mother, Father, or other relatives can experience.
Many times when working with children that suffer from expressive language disabilities, over time and with hard work, their communication can develop. Sometimes, there are words “in there” but it takes time and a team of skilled therapists to “pull out” those words.
“I love you” is a common phrase we work on with children. We don’t just sing the word for a child to echo back without meaning. Rather, we use visuals, or actually have a parent in the room as we are singing an “I love you” song prompting for language.
We work on syllables and sounds aiming for that cherished phrase, “I love you”.
If we can “pull” those words out of a child, a child that has never verbally expressed love before to his Mom for instance, this is a triumph for this child, for the family and of course for us as therapists.
Jammin Jenn Music Therapist, Amanda Pelletier, a very talented therapist has been working with a particular family for a while now. This family expressed the following in an email to us, “I am forever grateful for the recommendation and for the services offered by Jennifer Pacht- Goodman & Amanda Pelletier, you have in conjunction with all of Daniel’s other therapies made a huge shift in our lives. Daniel said, “I love you” tonight! We are over the moon and very, very thankful.”
It happened! One of those triumphs!! Music therapy is only one of the therapies this child is receiving. Without a doubt, this child responds extraordinarily well to music therapy. Amanda, in conjunction with his other therapists made it happen! They were successful in “pulling out” these highly valued words. This child was able to, for the first time, express – WITH WORDS love to his parents.
This months blog is going to focus on intuition for what to do and when at a particular moment in the sessions.
I was recently interviewed by a HS student and one of her questions was,” Is there a particular music you use in your sessions?” My answer was,” NO, I use music that ranges from familiar children’s songs to Bon Jovi”.
In thinking about intuition and what a client needs, what music a client needs at a particular moment in the session, I recall a session this past weekend with a little boy. He entered the therapy room as he usually does, happy and ready to engage, smiling from ear to ear. As we started doing music activities, which included shaking bells, playing drums and singing Old McDonald; I began to sense he was just not happy with what we were doing. He was moaning and sort of whining, resisting the connection. I quickly had to think, “What does this little boy absolutely LOVE?”
I remembered that dancing is something that he has most recently had taken a liking too, so I put on the recorded CD of Bon Jovi’s Livin On A Prayer. The smile that came across his face brought tears to my eyes, he was in his glory. It is just so important for a therapist, particularly a Music Therapist to know and feel in their gut what makes their clients tick!
The rock music and dancing energized him, distracted him from whatever was bothering him and the session turned out to be one of our best. In this example, instead of just dancing and vocalizing along with the music I was also thinking,” Okay, now this kid is smiling, he is engaged, lets throw some of his goals in here while we are dancing”. Increasing vocalizations, imitating sounds, holding instruments without stimming with them.
I grabbed 4 rhythm sticks and we began to dance and tap together. I was also vocalizing. We were connecting, laughing, smiling, jumping, and turning. To sum it up, we were having a ball!!!
My intuition was right, you just have to know what your client needs in the moment. There is not a lot of time to think about it, and I never “plan” my sessions. I go with each moment and work to always accomplish making some kind of connection with the client. Experience of course has helped me get to this place. I was not always this intuitive about client’s needs, it took time, but if you know your client well enough you will be successful.
We are now offering "Tele-Jam" music therapy sessions conducted
remotely via online platforms like Zoom or Facetime.
Please contact us for a complimentary trial
Ed Goodman - Managing Partner
edgoodman1@mac.com
917.859.6364