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.

Music Therapy at a Skilled Nursing Facility in Idaho

I started music therapy for at a skilled nursing facility yesterday.  It was my first time working with them, and it was exciting to see their reactions.  It was great to see how music therapy helps people who normally do not interact to make eye contact, sing, and talk about their lives.

The was one resident in particular who had an amazing interaction.  The facility wheeled in a woman who was sleeping.  The activity director said that she has never seen the resident interact with anybody in any way as long as she has been working there (around 9 months).  During the session, there were two times that the resident mouthed the words to the song.  The staff was amazed.  It was great to be able to facilitate a connection with someone who has been so isolated for so long.

A young man with autism finds his voice through music therapy

While working with a young man with autism this week, I had an amazing experience.  The young man is hypoverbal, he rarely speaks.  The music therapy is helping him to speak more in the sessions and even in general.

This week I decided to improvise a song about him playing on the drum.  He is singing more and more of familiar songs so I thought I would try to get him to sing something new in that moment.  I set up a song with repeating words, and then left out the word drum to see if he would sing it.  He did which was great, but then something unexpected happened.  He started singing an improvised song himself about playing the drum.  It was amazing.  He continued singing for about 5 minutes.  It was very exciting to see him find his voice through the music.

Music therapy as a way to create a therapeutic relationship

A therapeutic relationship is key in any form of therapy.  If you don't have a trusting open therapeutic relationship, you can't make changes.  I am amazed at quickly a therapeutic relationship can be built through music therapy.

I am reminded of a person that I am working with who has had a lot of trauma in the past.  When she came in she was timid and had a difficulty expressing herself and what she wanted.  Then we played music together.  There was no words shared, just improvisational music.  The change after the music was significant.  Her thoughts were more organized, she had more confidence, and she opened up freely.  The music was able to quickly create a therapeutic relationship without any words.

Music Therapy breaking out of the Isolation of Autism

Many people with autism use music a lot.  Yet, most of the time they use music in isolation.  They put on their headphones and listen to music for hours and do not interact with anyone.  Or they watch the same youtube video over and over again.

For these individuals, music therapy is great at bringing them out of their isolation by using music as a way to interact with someone.  They sing with someone.  They play music in the same rhythm as someone, follow the directions of the music and learn how to use music to connect with someone.

I work with a young man with autism who is beginning to break out of using music in isolation.  He smiles when he notices that we are playing in the same rhythm and is beginning to sing with me.  The last song we use to sing good bye to each other.  I first sing using their name.  Then they get a chance to sing good bye to me using my name.  He has sung good bye to himself since the beginning.  But this time he looked at me and sang, "Good bye Matthew."  It was so exciting.

Progress in music therapy

Sometimes changes happen quickly in music therapy.  People are often astounded at the first time people make a strong connection during a session.  Sometimes changes happen over time of working with people.

While working with a child with sensory processing disorder in Meridian, I see small improvements in focus and connection every week.  This week I did something with him that I had not done for a few months and I was astounded at the difference.  Sometimes when we see just the small improvements it is important to realize that the collective change is amazing.