1) Assessment: When assessing clients’ musical-emotional status, The Heyward Room Music Therapists utilize the Individual Music-Centered Assessment Profile for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (IMCAP-ND). The IMCAP-ND follows a client’s musical-emotional lead by evaluating the child’s abilities in several developmental categories such as: cognition and perception, communication, musical interaction, and responsiveness in musical-play. The structure of the IMCAP-ND acknowledges the client as an individual, taking into account that clients of all chronological ages can be at various developmental levels.
2) Goal and objective setting: Assessment then drives goal design targeting specific musical responses that are relevant to neurodevelopment disorders.
3) Treatment: Music-based relating is then used to address the established goals and objectives. Possible ways of musical relating may include playing instruments, singing (example: vocalizing, in response to the music) or moving to music (example: jumping, moving to the rhythm to participate in motor planning activity in order to initiate vocalization) improvisation,(example: tolerate playing with peers or others, to begin entrance into the child’s consciousness). This musical way of relating will then transfer to therapeutic applications in non-musical, functional and emotional development.
4) Evaluation: Consistent evaluation is an ongoing process involving data collection, documentation, research, and re-evaluation of goals, objectives, and development status. Clients may be involved in individual or group therapy (or advance from one to the next). After obtaining permission from care-taker, appropriate officials, or agencies, I prefer to consult, investigate, or work in conjunction with other members of a client’s interdisciplinary team in order to support a range of development and give a clearer picture of how a client functions outside the Music Therapy studio.
For more information on our Music Therapy services, please contact Back Mountain Music Therapy, The Heyward Rooms LLC today.