Tuned In To Learning: Kid Tested and Therapist Approved!

I feel like I might be late to the party on this topic, but better late then never! The "Tuned in to Learning" (TIL) program has been around since 2004. I think I have seen it around, but never got a chance to look into it. After all, there are so many new music programs for learning out on the market! Until now, I have not found one that I could wholly recommend. TIL had the advantage of being developed by music therapists and an autism specialist who field tested it before it was presented to the public.

TIL addresses many of the problems I have with using recorded music for therapeutic purposes in the education setting. For example, most recorded music is too fast and provides too little space for learners with disabilities to participate successfully. Much of the children's music also caters to kids in the general education setting with lyrics that speed by and contain advanced vocabulary. TIL successfully manages these issues and takes it a step further by using lyrics to provide directions and information.

I tried out some of the songs during recent music therapy sessions to see how the kids would react. I used various songs from the TIL sample CD in an early childhood setting, elementary school and high school classes. In every instance I was impressed that the children immediately participated in the songs and quickly learned what do to. I feel this is an important indicator because sometimes it takes children with disabilities a few times experiencing a new song before they really start participating. I also found that the songs allowed plenty of time for my clients to respond verbally or follow modeled movements to the music. I was able to use the songs during therapy without a problem since they directly addressed some of the goals and objectives that I have been working on with my students.

The TIL music comes with picture books, printable content and sometimes a DVD or CD-ROM. The music I have listened to so far is very pleasant with catchy tunes and nice sounding vocalists. They have employed clever instrumentation and arrangements so that the music often provides cues for actions and words. Each learning module is centered around a theme, so teachers, home-schoolers and parents can buy appropriate material such as, "Social Skills and Pragmatics," or "Wh Questions," if they can't afford the entire set, although I believe many school districts have purchased the full curriculum. I am always looking for good materials to recommend to my classroom teachers so that they can do music activities with goals and objectives in mind in between my therapy visits. I highly recommend this Tuned in to Learning series.

Tuned in to Learning

Side Notes! Special Olympics takes on the word 'Retard'

FOXNews.com - Special Olympics Launches Campaign to Ban 'Retard' - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Posted using ShareThis

This story came out on Wednesday and it has prompted some good discussions at the schools among special education teachers. Of course, we love the Special Olympics program and many of our students enjoy great times and success at the annual events. Most of us feel, however, that the Special Olympics program may be misappropriating time, money and publicity for this campaign.

I find the campaign against the word problematic in several ways. I think SO is focusing on the negative instead of the positive. I would rather see promotions of accomplishments rather than the focus on a word that describes limitations or disabilities. I am not a big fan of the "word police" in general. Words have meanings and should be used correctly in the appropriate situations. It also seems like some of the people involved in the SO campaign want the word completely banned from use. Obviously, there are appropriate uses for the word, "retard," since it literally means to slow down or delay the progress. It is often used in science and mechanics to describe processes or machinery. (See Dictionary.com) In music we use the word, ritardando, and often just say, ritard.

I think a better way to approach the situation is to change hearts and minds. The audience SO is trying to reach is mostly kids or crude, perhaps uneducated people. This is not a group likely to be swayed by people telling them what words they can use! If we can change their outlook on people with disabilities and demonstrate their accomplishments and amazing creativity and spirit, then people will be unlikely to use a disparaging word. It is unfortunate that even our current president may need a change of heart. His remark about bowling like he was at the Special Olympics was definitely a "foot in the mouth" moment, but I can't imagine me or one of the teachers I work with ever saying this on television or even to one another. We probably have a lot of hearts and minds to change since it was the American people who elected someone that said this!

I hope SO can keep the conversation at a high standard and respect the word. All of the school districts I work in still use "Mental Retardation" as an official category for labeling a disability. We always try and use "person first" terminology (i.e., a person with mental retardation, someone who has autism, rather than he or she is autistic or mentally retarded) so that the label does not define the person, but I don't see the term going away any time soon.

What do you think? I think this deserves some discussion if only in the larger context of language and dialogue in America. I don't want the descriptive labels we use in working with people with disabilities to undergo the same controversy that has happened with phrases like "illegal alien" having to be changed to "undocumented worker." I may be making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I think Special Olympics could better allocate their resources than buy into they hype around "political correctness."

Please let me know if you fell I have missed seeing or understanding something. I am open to ideas on the subject.

Behavior Management Redux

I have talked before about managing behavior in group settings. As a therapist, I also frequently work with clients on an individual basis. After talking about some clients with one of my therapists I thought that the subject deserved to be revisited. Music therapists are often called upon to work with the most volatile children because music seems to be a motivator or sometimes a calming influence. When I work with clients who have been reported as having episodes of spitting, hitting, throwing things, or even self-abuse I usually don't see these inappropriate behaviors during music therapy because the kids love the music so much. Their interest in music, however, is not enough to guarantee appropriate behaviors. There are several musical and non-musical things that can be done to increase the chances of having productive work session with students who require behavior intervention strategies.

1. Try using a picture schedule for the activities you will be doing. I have a picture that represents each song or activity, beginning with a Hello song and ending with a Goodbye song. The student is expected to take each picture off the schedule in the order of the activities. A picture schedule is helpful because it provides a visual reference that can be used to redirect attention. It also gives the student an indication of where they are in time. Once a student is familiar with the general flow of a music therapy session, the picture schedule allows him to know how much longer he needs to maintain his focus of attention and behavior. The schedule can also be set up to allow breaks or rewards as indicated by pictures. It is much easier for a child to respond to first/then expectations if he has the visual representation.

2. Keep the session or work time short when working with a new student or situation. The idea is to aim for success by completing a session from beginning to end without any major behavior incidents. Once a successful routine has been established, the session time can be increased incrementally across sessions.

3. I have sometimes had success in using a visual timer. This type of timer can indicate how long the student has left in the session or how long before he or she can obtain a specific reward. I like to find out what object rewards or activities the student receives in the classroom and you may have to use those in the music session until a pattern of appropriate behavior has been established. Ideally, we want to give the child a musical reward so that if he or she can maintain good behavior for the specified amount of time, then a favorite instrument or song is presented.

4. Keep the session flowing and moving at a good pace. I counsel my therapists that during music therapy sessions there should be a music stimulus as much as possible. Suggestions for this idea include singing instructions such as raising a hand to make a choice or putting instruments back into a bag. This helps to keep the music going and limits down time in between activities. I see the most aberrant behavior in between activities so it is also important to have all materials in order and easily accessible to minimize dead time.

5. Focus on the positive behaviors. It is too easy to become preoccupied with the unwanted inappropriate behaviors and forget about any good moments that might occur. Positive verbal praise should be a given for anything the student does correctly or well. The reinforcement should be immediately after the good behavior and varied in content. Specific and creative verbal praise is much better than a redundant, “good job!”