Subject: Video's and Music Therapy

Hi, I forgot who asked about the video's, but we ordered some in Florida, and they took an extrordinary amount of time...(over a year) I believe these delays were due to production problems or something that has since been (I believe) fixed...

Is there any update on the CD ROM project from last fall's announcement?

Has anyone heard of or experienced "Music Therapy" ? I came across a brief article on it for an autistic s child. In reflection, my daughter learned her name and address at a very early age, through a musical "chant-like" process. I know Matthew is more attentive to music than even video at this point, (he's even discovered the volume on my stereo....ooops, nearly blasted the windows out a few times, he loves the base and floor bouncing vibration .

FINAL THOUGHT/Note..I have an idea for raising funds. It is a patentable idea that I am not quite sure how to go about protecting. There is such a wealth of resource here, that I wanted to :"reach out" and see if there are any Legal Like List partisipants, any one who could discuss this idea with me privately. I have actually found someone who could manufacture my concept. I am also looking for contacts in the major Retail/ food/supermarket fields. I know that there are also many adept (I don't want to say bit heads or propeller tops who can geek speak) I'm throwing that in for my Software engineer neighbor who loves my request for translation...binary to english.... I know I have to market test the concept, I have already received a non disclosure statement signed by my manufacturing source, but want to ensure I take the proper steps towards this concepts development. Thanks for listening I look forward to your reply.

Best to all... Joe

Subject: Re: Video's and Music Therapy

VIDEOS: We are still trying to get some good signing videos for our daughter Hannah (5). This has been a rather depressing exercise bacause as far as we can determine, having called about 5-6 distributor's and publishers across the continent and checked with Gallaudet University-there are only two suitable videos availiable that combine both sound and signs (both videos unfortunately use American Sign Language-there is absolutely nothing availiable in Signed English)-"Sign me a story" and "Beauty and the Beast"-we have yet to the receive "Beauty and the Beast"-ordered from an outfit in Los Angeles. Hannah enjoys "Sign me a story" and has watched it about 20 or so times (she greatly prefers the Lion King-most probably watched over a 100 times)-I recommend it highly.

MUSIC THERAPY

Hannah has been having weekly one half hour music therapy sessions for the past 9 months. She enjoys them tremendously which in itself makes them worth while. We tape the sessions and she listens to them at night in bed (over and over again). We believe that the sessions have been very useful-the benefits have been subtle and did take some time to become apparent-nonetheless we are delighted with the results and ongoing progress. Firstly, the sessions have been very effective in helping Hannah increase her attention span which used to be less than a millisec. The sessions have also been very effective in teaching her how to stop a particular activity and move on to something else, we have seen pronounced improvements in her ability to change the pitch and intonation of certain sounds-Hannah's speech therapist is particularly excited about this. We consider ourselves very lucky in having found a wonderful music therapist-extremely patient, loving and full of energy and ideas.

Nigel and Eleanor

Subject: Re: Video's and Music Therapy

Joe,

Here is the URL for music therapy I found:

http://www.cais.net/namt/

Hope you find it helpful...

-- Julie Hyman

Subject: Re: Music Therapy

I found that putting on a tape (new-age music) after turning off the lights really calmed Susan down and sent her off to sleep. At least for a short while.

Susan is now playing in a "Band". Once a week. A wonderful talented theatre-music-drama teacher (not a music therapist but has a Down's son) started working with groups at our local residential institution (closed as of this year). Recently she was hired by a community group to offer a music program. They also have baseball, tennis etc. Susan loves the band and sits for one hour! About 25 in the group. Of course I sit behind her to keep her in her seat. That long a time is a real feat. She plays various instruments when directed--cymbals, bells, woodblocks, chimes etc. Started in April. First performance, rather demonstration, is Sept. 5. All young adults at different functional levels take part. Any good music therapist could do the same. I almost became a music therapist but marriage/babies intervened.

It is so great. I wish you luck in finding something in your area. When in her special ed school at a much younger age she was the only one that couldn't be in the Holiday play because she wouldn't be still. Imagine as a music teacher how I felt. And that was in a special school. We've come a long way. This current teacher remembers her from those days. I feel it's more attitude by directors than maturity that allow her now to participate.

Anne (mom to Susan 24)

Subject: Re: Music Therapy

I found that putting on a tape (new-age music) after turning off the lights really calmed Susan down and sent her off to sleep. At least for a short while.

Anne (mom to Susan 24)

Subject: therapies

Hello everyone !

Question to all: How much therapy is your angel getting from the county? Daniel, age 3, del- upd- is getting one half hour of pt and ot, and one hour of speech. Our teacher also follows up on his progress in the classroom. Daniel is enrolled in an integrated preschool, four days a week for 3 hours each day. I am paying for the fourth hour each day so that he may eat lunch with the other "ordinary" children. This is how Daniel became suddenly motivated to use a spoon and fork. I have fought with the county to increase therapy but they said "no." Has anyone run into this same situation? I am in the process of consulting with an attorney who has experience with disabled children. Any thoughts?

Nancy Mother of Daniel Glenside, PA

Subject: Re: therapies

Dear Nancy,

Daniel is getting about the same number of therapy hours as Sara (we live in Bucks County and she goes to CB schools). I think at age 3 Sara was getting only three days of preschool per week, but we didn't have a dx then and would perhaps have been more aggressive had we understood better what was going on. Does Daniel get his services direct from the county or through a MH/MR agency? Before age 5, Sara was funded by MH/MR which I guess may have been a county agency. The school district pushed us on getting Medicaid for Sara (via PA's loophole for disabled children) because then the state would pick up the tab for her therapies. Does Daniel have Medicaid? If you can get that, maybe you can get more hours of therapy.

Best wishes in your quest,

Martha (Sara, 10)

Subject: therapies

My son Michael is 3.5. He attends a special ed preschool 41/2 days /wk. There he receives 1 hr each of speech, PT and OT in addition to intermittent adaptive physical education and music therapy (prob about 1/2 hr/wk). I too would like him to have more therapy but have been told that the therapists think that this amount is adequate. This was the same amount of therapy he recevied at his early intervention program too. I just have a problem with the fact that all the kids get this amount - surely some of these kids need more or less in a specific area. But in both the EI program and now, they provide 1 hr of each pretty much across the board. I haven't pushed it too much because the therapists work in the classroom most of the time and involve the teacher and aides in the therapy, so his goals get worked on during the day, even if not always directly by the therapist.

Tracy Atkinson (mom to Michael, 3.5yrs)

Subject: Re: therapies

Nancy,

My daughter is only 10 months old but I was informed that when she turns 3, in the state of California, she can go to school full time (full days, 5 days a week).

Sue