OT Diary
Friday, February 12, 2010
Daily Blog:
Combining OT and Music Therapy has been one of the most
amazing things in my 15 years as an OT. I have watched students transform over
the last 2 months as they engage with music and therapy. One mother told us
that she had stopped Occupational Therapy and Physical therapy because her
child “just was not getting anywhere”. The parent felt speech had reached a
plateau as well but noticed some big changes when the Music Therapy began. She
described her child as having “come alive”.
The child was not only gaining more in terms of oral motor
strength and communication skills, she was gaining self-confidence in her
interaction with others. Now that Occupational Therapy has been added, we are
able to address upper body strengthening, fine and gross motor coordination and
oral motor skills. The child is able to successfully engage in therapy in a fun
and challenging way.
The amazing thing about working in a session with a music
therapist is that we can accomplish so much more together! What would take
months to accomplish in individual Occupational Therapy sessions literally
happens in a few weeks.
In the last 3 weeks, one of our students went from speaking
in a monotone voice in 1-2 word phrases with little or no eye contact to now
making eye contact with 4-5 word phrases requesting to play the song he wants
to hear or to play on the swing. His mom told us that he will be at school and
will start asking for “Miss Tamela” days before his appointment! Everyone at
the school is asking, “Who is Miss Tamela?”
Seeing how much the students respond to the music and
knowing that Tamela and I can make such great differences in the lives of our
students and their families is truly rewarding!
Randall Yates. OT
Randall Yates
2/12/2010 4:11:00 PM
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