You are different from the others that come in and play music

     I was doing a music therapy group for an assisted living facility in Eagle, Idaho.  I always work to make sure I am having meaningful interactions with the residents.  After the group one of the residents came up to me and said, "You are different from the others that come in and play music.  I feel like you are with us rather than above us." 
     I loved this.  I think in her own way she encapsulated exactly what I am trying to do with music therapy at an assisted living.  They have a lot of people who come in and play music for them.  I do music with them.  I'm not trying to perform.  I'm trying to interact with them.  I'm listening to their past with music, and I am learning what is meaningful to them.  I am sharing a part of myself through music and having them share a part of themselves.  In other words I use music to make connections.

Music Night in Meridian - July 18th

Hello!

You are cordially invited to attend a special music night event at Meridian City Hall on July 18th. It is an open house type event that will go from 6-8pm. You can show up whenever you’d like. Some things to note:

· The purpose of this event is to raise awareness about the benefits and purpose of music therapy. Board-certified therapist, Matthew Jordan, will share some insights from his years of experience as a music therapist as well as demonstrate through music exercises and games what music therapy is all about.

· It will be less structured to allow for questions, conversations, and for people to come and go as they please. We will also provide information on ways people can access this therapy, including the self and family-direction programs.

· We will need some help eating all the ice cream that will be brought!

Also, we would love it if you could pass this information along to others you may know of who may be interested in exploring the possibilities of music therapy and enjoying an evening of fun and music. 

An RSVP is appreciated, but not required. We look forward to seeing you there!

Music therapy helps a young man with developmental delays work on motor skills

One of the fun things working with special needs individuals is that they are a mirror of what you do.  I quickly find out the phrases that I say most because they start saying them.  I find out what I normally do at the end of a song because they start doing it before I can do it at the end of a song.  They also will follow my movements.

I was sitting at the piano with a young man with developmental disabilities.  He has some problems with sensory issues as well as problems with his motor skills.  Because of that, he moves very deliberately and slowly.  I am working on having him move through instrument playing a lot.  Then something fun and exciting happened when I was playing the piano with him. I tap my foot while playing the piano with out thinking about it.  He looks down at my leg while I am playing and then he starts tapping his foot in perfect rhythm while he is playing the piano with me.  We were really jamming together!

Music Therapy helping a young man with sensory processing difficulties

Music therapy is great when working with anybody who has difficulty with sensory issues.  This is very common in people with developmental delays, especially autism.  Music therapy helps by getting the individuals to engage in a sensory experience in a way that is more motivating because it is paired with music. 

An example is a young man that I have been working with.  He is very sensitive to touch.  He has a real problem using his hands because of it.  However, music is a really motivating thing for him.  He will use his hands when it involves drumming or playing other instruments.  His family was surprised to see him playing the instruments at all.  They were really surprised when they took him to a graduation and watched as he clapped for each of the graduates.  Because of his sensory issues he has not really clapped before.  The music therapy has helped lower his uncomfortableness with touch.

An important part of music therapy. Emotions.

I normally blog about a specific experience that I have had with a client, but this time I want to write in general about something that I think is so unique to music therapy.  When I work with people, I have specific goals that I am trying to reach.  Most of the time the goals are focused on social skills, speaking, motor skills, or communication.  But I think that music therapy has a very unique and special way to help people, which many of the other available therapies never seem to address: the emotions of the people that I work with. 

Emotions effect so many aspects of our lives.  If someone is in a good emotional state, than they excel in every other thing that they are working on.  Music has such a powerful way to effect our emotions.  When I am working with people, I am always mindful of their emotional state, and how the music therapy can help lift the clients.  I love when I can come and help someone go from agitated, frustrated and sometimes depressed to engaged, happy, and calm.  I never discount the power of the music to help the clients emotionally because once they are in a good emotional spot they will meet the other goals so much quicker.

Unexpected connection with a young boy with autism

I love a good surprise.  A great one happened to me recently.  The week before I have to admit was not my best session with a young boy with autism that I work with.  He was distracted, and I could not get him to focus on me.  One of the things that was distracting him was a book.  I decided to make up a song for the book while he was reading it.  I thought it did not really work that well because he did not engage in the song.  He simply kept reading it as though I wasn't doing anything.

The following week I went to see him.  The session started great with a lot of interaction.  He then went and got the book from the previous week.  He opened up the book and looked at me.  I started singing the song, and he sang it with me while making eye contact.  It was a good surprise.  I love a good surprise.

A man with autism opening up communication with his mother in Mountain Home

I have really enjoyed working with a young adult man with autism.  He had some very limited communication when he was going to school, but has stopped any form of communication since leaving school. 

As part of music therapy, I have been having him indicate with gestures and signing yes what music he wants to do and/or what instruments he wants to play and wants me to play.  The more that I have been doing with him, the more he has been readily letting me know what he wants.

His mother told me, she has been doing the same thing, and has been very happy because he has been communicating with her.  I love how music therapy can open doors of communication. 

Music therapy with a young man with autism

It has been really fun working with this 7 year old boy with autism that I see.  The music therapy has been really great at helping him make social connections.  It has been fun to watch him begin answering questions in the context of the songs, singing with me, and asking me for his favorite music.

At the last session, during one of his favorite songs, he made a point of looking at me to make eye contact and make sure that we were in sync musically.  That was so huge because eye contact in general is a difficutl thing for people with autism.  But not only was he making eye contact, he was making eye contact for a specific social purpose!

Music Therapy helps a young adult increase motor skills

Music therapy is tricky.  Not in a bad way, but it is tricky.  People who have difficulty moving their arms often have physical therapy where they make them do a series of exercises to increase their range of motion and their stamina.  Here is where the music therapy is tricky.  I work with people and make them do "exercises" while playing instruments.

It has been fun working with a young adult man who has significant difficulties in moving his arms.  But he loves to play the rhythm instruments.  He has been able to really improve how much movement he has, and has increased how long he do play the instruments.  He even has a huge smile while he is doing it!

Music therapy gives unique connection for a young adult with autism

I am working with a young woman with autism who recently became an aunt again.  Her little nephew (2 months old) was with us in our last session.  The young woman talks only rarely, but will sing if I give her prompts.  Lately I have been working with her doing improvisational song writing.  We make up a song about anything and she smiles as she sings our simple made up song.  This time we did a song about her baby nephew.  She got the pattern of the song and sang more than I have heard her sing during this intervention.  The most exciting thing was to watch her look at her nephew and she sang with more tenderness than I have ever heard.  This is the first time I have seen her even look at her nephew.  It was a sweet experience to see.

A Boy with Autism Finds a Musical Voice

Music allows people to find success.  I work with a young boy who has autism.  He speaks almost exclusively in eccholalia.  He will only repeat what you say when you ask a question, or he will say the same phrase over and over without meaning.  During a recent session I picked up a small xylophone toy he has.  It only has 6 notes on it.  I played a short pattern, and shockingly he played the same notes and rhythm I had just played!  I was surprised.  I then played the first 8 notes of Twinkle, Twinkle, Litte Star and was astounded when he played the next 8 eight notes in the song!  The musical ability he displayed in that moment is extraordinary for any child.  Without me showing him how or giving any direction he was able to figure out the remaining melody of a song and play it note perfect.  I credit music with the ability to give him the opportunity to connect in a meaningful way.  It opens those windows to the soul that show how extraodinary the people I work with can be.

Music Therapy Group for Preschool age children with disabilities

Right now I am working with Idaho Parents Unlimited to try and get a music therapy group for preschool children with special needs.  We are asking for people to spread the word.  Please let people know.  The group will be working on social skills, communication skills, emotional expression plus much more.  All of this in a fun way so that we are working on the skills without the childretn feeling like we are working on the skills.  Have anybody who is interested contact me at matthewjordan@musicmakesconnections.com or they can call or text me at 286-5508.

Giving words to an aphasia patient through music therapy

It was been an awesome experience working with a woman who has had a stroke and can't speak because of the stroke.  The only word that she can say is, "no."  While working with her, we worked first to get her to match sounds while singing.  Now I have written some simple songs for her to learn with phrases that she wants to be able to say.  She can sing a lot more words than she can say right now.  Obviously the goal is to get her to be able to say rather than sing some things.

There was something amazing that happened at our last session.  One of her favorite phrases is "lock the door" because she is always trying to remind her family to lock the door at night.  For a while now she has been able to sing the phrases, and last session she actually said the phrase.  That was amazing.

Music Therapy with a young boy with autism

I recently went to see a young boy with autism at his home.  When I got there, I could hear him screaming when I was outside the door.  When they opened the door, it was clear he was upset.  He was wondering around, screaming asking for things, but not really wanting what he was asking for because when his mom would give it to hm he would just scream and ask for something else.

The mom looked at me and said, "go ahead and see what you can do."  I took out my guitar and strummed a chord.  The boy stopped.  He looked at me.  He came over and we sang and played instruments.  It doesn't always work that quickly and dramatically, but it has worked like that enough that I wasn't surprised.

Music therapy with a child with autism

One of the most exciting thing is the first time you hear someone speak.  I was working with a young girl with autism in a music therapy group.  She can speak, but I had never heard speak.  Obviously this is not uncommon with people with autism.  I gave her plenty of opportunities to speak during the group, but she would never take it. 

At the end of the group I was singing the good bye song.  Out of the corner of my eye I see her mouthing the words.  Maybe not singing, but definately participating.  That was exciting.  When the group was over, the staff working with her encouraged her to say good bye to me.  Imagine my surprise and the suprise on the face of the staff member when she looked up at me and said, "Good bye Matthew."

Seeing a smile from Young Man with Autism

I have been working with a young adult with autism in Mountain Home Idaho recently.  His attention span is short, and his interactions with me have been short too.  He will interact for a few minutes at a time.  But everytime I go he interacts a little bit more.  The last time I worked with him I saw something amazing.  He was more interactive with me than he has ever been.  He was playing music in time, following simple directions in the songs and even singing with me.  But my favorite moment was when he looked at me and gave me a big smile.  I had never seen him smile before, and it was a beautiful smile and a beautiful moment I won't forget.

Music therapy with an adult with Autism

It is exciting showing people music therapy for the first time.  A lot of times people do not know what to expect.  I went and did an initial music therapy session recently with an adult with autism who lives with his mother.  The adult is nonverbal and has very little interaction with people.  When I got there the mother said she did not think that he would sit down.

When the music therapy started, not only did he sit down the entire time, but he played on instruments, followed directions in the music, frequently made eye contact with me, and even smiled when I did some "musical jokes."  It was fun to see and to work with him.  The mother commented how she thought he would have some interaction, but she was amazed at how much he did respond and interact.

Music therapy and dementia in Boise

Check out this video that I did a while ago with a woman with dementi that I worked with.  Her speech was limited to 2 to 3 words, but she was able to interact through music.  It also provided an opportunity for her to interact with her husband which he loved.  I remember the first time I went her husband was in tears and he just kept saying, "You do remember."

I am doing a music therapy open house tomorrow at my clinic space at 10112 Overland Rd Boise for people with dementia.  It is free.  It is from 5:30-6:30.  I would love to have as many people as possible.

Music Therapy helps a young adult with developmental delays find his voice

Music therapy can be so exciting when a break through happens.  I have been working with a young adult with developmental delays in a group for about a month.  This young man is able to speak a few words, but I have never heard him say to words in the correct context.  Last session while working with him in the context of the song we were doing he answered a question with an appropriate response.  It was awesome.  I saw the look of suprise on his mother's face and I got so excited.  It is moments like this that make me so thankful to be a music therapist.

Connections without words with a non verbal young man in Boise

I named my company Music Makes Connections for a reason.  It is so exciting to be able to connect with somebody in a way that nothing else can.  I have a nonverbal young man in a group that I work with.  He has difficulty following verbal cues.  Well, when working with recently I noticed that he began playing in perfect rhythm with me.  I started changing the tempo, and watched as he was matching my changes perfectly.  I have only been able to connect with him a little bit with words, but it was amazing to have a connection without words.