I think that we should try anything that will help our students. Music Therapy wouldn't be my first resource because you have to have someone trained and certified in that field to do it. But, the progress they made with M gives hope that it may be the key to helping other children too.
In the area of reading/literacy we read the book like a song. The students may be more engaged because they are participating and also continually needing to remember what they've read since we must repeat it in the song. You could sing books and create actions with words to get students to work on their reading and listening skills.
Music Therapy can be huge for social skills. The students can communicate through songs. Singing through puppets, creating a social signing game.
Teachers can sing to mark transitions or sing about the behavior students are to be doing. This cues the student to be doing the right thing.
Great reflection, Carly. I think that we can have a huge effect on children with music, even if we are not certified in music. Hopefully this has brought to your attention the importance of Music Therapy so that you might be able to refer your students to a specialist.
ReplyDeleteWell done.