CJ was invited as guest on Music Therapy Round Table podcast this month, (as well as their companion site, Music Therapy Pro), to talk about SensoryFriendly Concerts and Neurodiversity. What an honor! The audience is primarily comprised of board certified music therapists, and if there’s one thing we’ve realized in the past year or so, it’s that the work we are doing is NEW and NOVEL, even within the music therapy community.
Our mission and vision is to make SensoryFriendly Concerts accessible to credentialed music therapists, so they can facilitate these Community Music Therapy events in their own local regions = thus promoting the Neurodiversity Movement, advocating for the field of Music Therapy, and giving their clients opportunity to advocate for themselves!
To acknowledge and celebrate the successes of music therapy clients, at the same time giving a positive message to society that autism should be respected, accommodated and given equal access to the fine arts.
The discussion in the podcast includes the topic of Community Music Therapy. What is it? How can it benefit local communities? How is it [much!] different from traditional music therapy services?
We believe that SensoryFriendly Concerts fall under the category of Community Music Therapy, and can also become a self-sustaining service to people on the autism spectrum and other special needs, under the guidance of credentialed music therapists.
For more information on how to make SensoryFriendly Concerts happen in your area, you can sign up here.
To listen to the podcast, click on the image below:
Mrs. Christy,
I JUST got to hear your round table discussion today. I am (once again) so very impressed with you. As a mother of an autistic child with limited expressive and receptive language, I cannot express how vital community music therapy will be for him! We can very clearly trace almost ALL of his major cognitive, language, social, (you name it) gains to a music related class or activity. At 17 months old my son was in a 12 hour a week, one on one; intensive A.B.A. program and was highly resistant and making very little progress. At his very first run of the mill “mom and tot” social music class he spontaneously mimicked another child doing the hand movements to a song. I could give you a mile long list of examples, which taught me that music is not only my son’s currency, but it, levels the playing field. He does not have the language to participate in group sports, or succeed (happily) in a preschool setting. But his musical intelligence is amazing and “when words fail, MUSIC SPEAKS.
Thank you for championing for people like my son, I am so very grateful for you!
Thank you Heather! I’m thrilled about having him perform in the next SensoryFriendly Concert! And really curious as to how he will respond when he sees a beloved “double bass!”
I’m already thinking about how I can get access to one, for the music studio. That is some MAJOR currency there! 🙂
CJ Shiloh recently posted..Chatting up the Hot Topic of Community Music Therapy