Music Therapy and Occupational Therapy provide an intensive program for children with Autism and special needs.
Joyful Music and Dance has been treating children with special needs through Music Therapy for the past two years. Tamela Ponder, Board Certified Music Therapist, knows first-hand how much music can motivate children to engage in the challenging activities that promote skill development. She has also witnessed how combining Music Therapy with other disciplines, like Occupational Therapy, can accelerate healing through incorporating music into the treatment session; and Joyful Music and Pediatric Therapy was formed.
Randall Yates, OTR joined Joyful Music and Pediatric Therapy (JMPT) on December 1st 2009. Since that time Randall and Tamela have been developing a program called Joyful Music Mind and Motion (JM3). The JM3 program was created in response to frequent parent requests for socialization groups/activities.
Tamela and Randall initially began designing MT/OT groups to incorporate socialization with music. In order for Randall to learn Tamela’s students and treatment style, he participated in her treatment sessions. What they both noticed was a rapid improvement in students who have been receiving the OT/MT co-treatments. The responses were so significant that the socialization program was developed to begin with these intensive co-treatments.
JM3 is a 6 to 8 week intensive program of combined OT and MT. The program begins with an assessment and 6 to 8 co-treatment sessions. Each session is 50 minutes long and is provided by Tamela and Randall together. The program is focused on specific goals that are developed through parent interviews and the therapist’s assessment.
Once students complete this 6 to 8 week course, they can be transitioned into one of Joyful Music and Pediatric Therapy groups (Adapted Kindermusik, Adapted Art Lessons, Handwriting without Tears), take a break from therapy or they can take individual Adapted Piano or Guitar lessons. These adapted lessons are led by the JMPT Therapists.
JM3 is designed so that students do not grow weary of endless therapy and the expense for parents is manageable. Specific goals are easily measured and attained in the intensive program. Tamela and Randall have seen the results first-hand and believe that the intensive program provides a jump-start for skill development that can then be refined in the adapted lessons and groups in a way that is fun for the student and less expensive for the parents. Several intensives may be required as new challenges arise. The primary intention for JM3 is to continue to mainstream students as much as possible within the Joyful Music Studio and in their community. More information including; schedules, available classes, articles and parent testimonials can be found on our website.