“Music is a universal language,” explained Kayla Daly, MA, MT-BC, LMHC at Therapro’s recent Saturday seminar entitled: Clinical Music Therapy with Children Diagnosed with Special Needs.In addition to being a board certified music therapist, Kayla, like many other graduate-level trained therapists in her profession, is a licensed mental health counselor. Kayla provided a glimpse into the practice of music therapy, described as a “multi-modal approach.” She utilizes a goal-oriented, developmental approach to treatment. In her presentation, she dismissed a common myth that many may associate with providing music therapy, namely that it is purely aesthetic. It is a “process oriented” therapeutic modality rather than being “product oriented.” The video clips she showed of treatment sessions, as well as live use of her guitar and voice during her presentation were both enlightening and fun.
Music therapy is IDEA regulated. Since the passage of Public Law 94-142, 35 years ago, credentialed music therapists have been providing services to children with disabilities. In 2010, the US Department of education clarified the recognition of music therapy as a “related service” under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Music therapy can be an integral component in helping a child achieve educational goals that have been identified on his/her IEP.
Music therapy is a service that can work closely and cooperatively with other more traditional therapies to benefit a child. Kayla discussed the value of co-treating with therapists of other disciplines to ensure teamwork and the best outcome for each child.
Music therapy can make a difference for young children with special needs!
Those who attended this seminar were primarily OTs and educators from a variety of school settings. Attendees echoed a common positive response to Kayla’s presentation:
“Excellent speaker – excellent presentation, interesting”
“Excellent material, fun & well presented”
“I would recommend this seminar because it benefits everyone and so we can all be on the same page – knowledge is power, which creates success.”
Thank you, Kayla!
Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L
September 20, 2014