Meet in the Music by Esther Thane, BMT, MTA is a multi media course, packed with demonstrative videos and original compositions for downloads. It is a resource and training tool for parents wanting to connect with their child with Autism through the power of music, using music therapy strategies one can do at home. Others that benefit include family members, behavioral interventionists, treatment team, and school aides.
Benefits of Music and Music Therapy
We are updating this post. Sept. 19th 2016 and the following is part of a blog post by Esther Thane posted June 12th 2016 titled “To the Beat of his Own Drum: Why Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Love Music”.
First of all, children with ASD seem to enjoy musical experiences because they are often “good at it”. This isn’t just pertaining to musical savants, which is a less common occurrence. Current findings do show that children with ASD perform better at certain musical skills than typical children. For example, their memory recall of music is quick, especially when coupled with lyrics. Some can recite or sing a song after only one or a few listening experiences.
Songs can be powerful for children with ASD. A song is like a house and home. A house provides safety, shelter and security for a child. A home provides security, comfort and develops self- identity/confidence out of daily routines, rituals and constancy. A song supplies all of these requirements for the child with ASD. It has a structure that doesn’t change. Its rhythms, lyrics and melodies are constant. Songs can therefore be ritualistic. Their structure can be something a child can rely on, anticipate, and predict with ease and familiarity. When children with ASD are listening to or making music, they can live within the container of space and time that music offers. It can extend their focus for long periods of time. Ask yourself this: when you listen to your favorite album or go to a concert you love, does your perception of time change? Does it speed up or slow down? Why do people listen to music on long road trips or during fitness regimes? It makes the time go faster. Music definitely has the ability to alter our perception of time.
Children with ASD elevate their self-confidence through musical experiences. When we feel at ease and comfortable with an experience, and have the freedom to direct our own learning, we become more interested & more successful (for whatever that may mean for each individual). That in turn bolsters our self-confidence further and we are more likely to try something challenging.
Music and Music Therapy offer numerous benefits for health and development including:
- Fine/gross motor skills
- Social skills
- Spatial reasoning skills
- Higher-level thinking
- Memory recall
- Self-awareness
- Self-esteem
- Self-confidence
- intrinsic motivation
Today we know of the profound physiological and emotional affects of music. This course will guide the participant through a brief and engaging education of how music positively affects the developing brain, making circuitry changes and powerful neurological impacts.
An introduction to music therapy will be presented and parents will be given many 
accessible tools to interact musically with their children. This course includes a variety of immediately usable methods and show you actual case histories of children with varying functioning levels.
Topics of Meet in the Music
Some of the topics covered by Meet in the Music, are:
- What is Music Therapy?
- Music & the Brain
- Connecting With Your Voice
- Incorporating Songs into Daily Life
- and more…
Practical application of musical techniques requires no purchased materials or instruments. It simply requires a willingness to explore new ways of being with one’s child through the voice, body & touch, and through structured musical games for development. MEET IN THE MUSIC includes an array of clear examples and demonstrative videos targeting all developmental levels, which increases accessibility and relate-ability.
*ET MUSIC THERAPY IS AN ESTABLISHED MUSIC THERAPY PRACTICE, SERVING THE METRO VANCOUVER AREA FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS. ET Music Therapy is based on one simple principle: Music is one of the most motivating and effective mediums for building strong connections with individuals with Autism and other special needs.
About Esther Thane, BMT, MTA. I am an accredited music therapist, specializing in Autism & Special Needs for almost two decades. ET Music Therapy’s team provides in center, in home, school based, and group homes services to pre-school children- adults www.etmusictherapy.com. I am Vice President of Sales at Mundo Pato Inc. We are a therapy intelligence company, with UnitusTI- an innovative Electronic data records system for independent consultants, therapy centers, schools, and therapists. Three curricula are hosted on the UnitusTI platform- 1) ASCEND ABA curriculum, 2) ENGAGE Social Skills Group Curriculum, 3) MEET IN THE MUSIC Music Therapy curriculum.
Publication in the book: “Voicework in Music Therapy”, focuses on an innovative method of Vocal-Led Relaxation for Children with Autism. These Relaxation Recordings are available for download at www.mundopato.com, in addition to an online music therapy course for parents of children with Autism.
Please feel free to contact me: ethane@telus.net or esther.thane@mundopato.com
Visit my website: www.etmusictherapy.com and Mundo Pato at www.mundopato.com
Follow Esther Thane:
- Twitter @EstherThane
- Facebook: ET Music Therapy- Connecting to Autism & Special Needs
See Also Guest Post by Esther Thane: Online Music Therapy Relaxation Recording for Autism: “Rooted In Music”
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