Music Therapy at Building Bridges Therapy!

Therabeat, Inc. is proud to offer services at Building Bridges Therapy in Cumming, GA on Monday's! Check us out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Therabeat-Inc/206414486044116 or online at www.therabeat.com! Call 770-345-2084 for more information or to schedule therapy!

Jennifer Puckett MT-BC, Owner, Therabeat, Inc.

What is Music Therapy?

According to the American Music Therapy Association, "Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program."

So what does that really mean?

Music therapy uses music to achieve non-musical goals.

How is this accomplished?

Singing supports speech production, rhythm supports gross motor skills, and playing instruments supports fine motor skills. Live music is engaging and can be utilized to help peers interact with one another, working on social skills at age-appropriate levels. Memory for song lyrics can aid memory for academic materials, helping children learn colors, shapes, even multiplication and division. While singing songs and playing instruments can help increase overall attention span to activities, it can also be used to decrease agitation and calm children.

Examples of outcomes that can be provided through music therapy sessions:

• Increased Attention
• Increased Self-Expression
• Improved Verbal Skills
• Enhanced Sensory-Motor Skills
• Increased Cognitive Functioning
• Decreased Self-Stimulation
• Improved Behavior

And all of this happens while children are having fun engaging in music!

Why did I chose music therapy?

In high school I had the incredible opportunity to work with a group of pre-schoolers with special needs in my community. I was battling between the decision of becoming a special education teacher or a music educator and was hoping that my volunteer work would lead me to the right decision. My amazing experience in the classroom actually led me to decide on not one or the other, but to combine my love for both special needs children and music. By the end of my year volunteering in the classroom, I had decided to become a music therapist.

I had only been volunteering for a few weeks when I overheard a boy with autism sing. This was astounding to me because this young boy did not talk or use any means of adaptive communication. As I waslked closer to the child I realized that I was definitely hearing the voice of this littler four-year-old singing "Home on the Range." I walked over to the boy and began to sing with him and for the first time in my three weeks in the classroom, he made eye contact with me and smiled. From then on, I sang with this sweet boy and used music to teach him the alphabet, colors, and farm animals, as well as using music as a way for him to engage with other children in the classroom.

Whenever people ask me what music therapy is or why I decided to become a music therapist, I think of this sweet boy and smile, silently thanking him for his influence on me and showing me the beauty of music. I grew up around music and have always loved music for its lovely melody and harmonies, its comfort when I'm sad, its excitement when I'm happy, or the memory the hearing of a certain song brings. But seeing a boy communicate for the first time or bonding with a child through music is what makes it truly beautiful and demonstrates music's greatest blessing.

Hanna Ivey Bush, MT-BC

Speech Sounds

Many times speech-language pathologists and other therapists will hear questions including “My child has a hard time saying certain sounds, while other children his/her age say these sounds fine” or “I can understand my child, but others can’t.”

Articulation, or the process of making sounds in words, is a complex motor skill involving multiple articulators including the jaw, tongue, teeth, lips, and cheeks. According to Super Duper Publications, an analogy that helps understand articulation and the process of developing sounds is similar to riding a bicycle. Some children will take months to coordinate the steps to riding a bike while others will get on the bike, possibly wobble a little bit, and then take right off! The children that get it right away quickly learned how to peddle, steer, balance, and brake simultaneously. The same goes with our mouth and learning how to speak. The teeth, lips and tongue are the pedals, handlebars, and brakes that need to work together to carry out the speech sounds needed to communicate. Sometimes it takes a little extra work or explicit instruction to achieve this skill.

Early or first sounds (mastered around 2 years old) usually include p (pup), b (ball), m (mom), w (what), h (high chair), & n (nuts). Around 3 years old, the following sounds are achieved: t (top), d (dog), k (kite), g (go). The following sounds are mastered around 4-5 years old: f (fun), v (vase), y (yes). The later developing sounds mastered around 5-7 years old are s (sun), z (zebra), j (jar), l (laugh), r (run), sh (shoe), ch (chain), th (thumb), ng (ring), and blends including sk as in Skittles, sp as in spot, bl as in black, and br as in break, etc.

If your child does not have these sounds by the specified age, consider seeing a speech-language pathologist who will evaluate your child’s speech and language skills and provide further recommendations.

Below is a chart that will help you identify which sounds your child should have at what age:

As always, we'd love to hear your comments or questions! Respond below or email us at bbtherapyinc@gmail.com

NEW Building Bridges Online Bookstore!

We are thrilled to announce that we now have our very own online bookstore! You can order books, toys and other activities that our therapists recommend--all from the comfort of your home! More items will be added in the coming days, but in the meantime, check it out at the link below:

http://astore.amazon.com/builbridther-20

PS. If you have any suggestions for other items we should add, please feel free to email us at BBTherapyInc@gmail.com

Have fun shopping!!

Sensory Issues & Learning

Article by Sarah Norris, MS, OTR/L

Sensory integration, or sensory processing, refers to an individual's ability to organize internal and external sensations (touch, body position, movement, sight, sound, taste, and smell) and to react appropriately. Most individuals exhibit mature sensory integration by 7 or 8 years of age. Unfortunately, not every child automatically develops mature sensory integration abilities. When a child experiences difficulties with sensory integration, he or she may experience stress during daily life because processes that should be automatic or accurate are not.

Although sensory issues can take a variety of forms, they are considered to be a significant problem when a child is having difficulty participating in and succeeding in every day childhood occupations (such as playing, learning, and socializing). When sensory issues impact learning, a child is at risk of suffering in life-long consequences from missed opportunities. So how can you tell if your child or a child you know is struggling with learning due to sensory issues?

Red Flags

Here are some red flags to look for that may indicate a child has sensory issues that are interfering with his or her learning. This is not a comprehensive list, and some of these indicators can be due to other developmental, emotional or physical issues. When in doubt, seek input from a medical professional.

• Child seems overly sensitive, has multiple fears or anxieties, or overreacts, withdraws from or avoids certain sensations or situations.
• Child seems under aware of his or her environment and sensations, lacks safety awareness, misses details that are obvious to others, or seems to get bored or lose interest more easily than others.
• Child prefers to observe others for a long time before he or she will attempt a new task, has difficulty with problem solving, is resistant to change, seems more rigid or inflexible than others, or has difficulty coping when things do not go as he or she expects.
• Child is unable to complete work independently and is overly dependent on others despite demonstrating adequate capability to complete his or her work (may seem like an attention or behavior problem)

When to Seek Help

If your child displays any of the above behaviors and you are concerned that he or she is struggling with school, it is time to seek help. Start by talking with your child's teacher to get a better picture of how your child is functioning at school. ask what kinds of supports or services might be helpful to your child. You may be surprised at how much your child's teacher is already doing to try to help your child.

Your next step should be to discuss your concerns with your child's pediatrician. Some pediatricians are very  familiar with sensory issues, while others are not. However, it is important to involve your child's doctor in the process of seeking help for your child, as they may be aware of resources that will help you and your child.

Finally, seek an occupational therapy evaluation. Occupational therapists are uniquely qualified to identify and address sensory issues. Most privately practicing pediatric occupational therapists are very familiar with sensory issues and will be able to help you and your child.

How Sensory Issues are Evaluated

Most occupational therapists use a combination of parent interviews, sensory checklists or questionnaires, and clinical observations of your child to assess a child's sensory issues. Many therapists will also look at your child's motor skills in order to determine if there are any motor issues that may be impacting your child's learning as well.

References
Parham, L. D. and Mailloux, Z. (2005). Sensory Integration. In J. Case-Smith (Ed.), Occupational Therapy for Children, Fifth Edition (pp. 356-409). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Anxiety: Treatments and Techniques that Work

The therapists of Building Bridges Therapy are constantly seeking out new therapy research, ideas, and techniques. Ongoing education allows our therapists to provide the most up to date therapy techniques. We are excited to have the blog to share what they are learning.

Jill Feldman, one of the occupational therapists at Building Bridges Therapy, has just completed the continuing education course "Anxiety: Treatment Techniques that Work." Jill sought out this course due to the increase in the number of children being referred to occupational therapy due to anxiety disorders.Trends have shown over the last few years that there is a steady increase in children being diagnosed with anxiety, either as a primary or secondary diagnosis. When children are referred for occupational therapy, the reasons they are evaluated are usually for Sensory Processing Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Low Muscle Tone, etc. Occupational therapists may chose to view these symptoms as sensory processing and motor planning delays that result in anxiety or the anxiety causes the child to struggle with maneuvering in his/her own environment. Completing this course has provided Jill with new techniques to help children who are having trouble coping and other avenues for help have been unsuccessful.

The most helpful suggestions that were applicable in the pediatric setting were as follows:

1. Understand what the triggers of the anxiety producing behaviors are, if possible.

2. Ask the right questions, i.e. "What would make school more bearable for you," and "Now that we have a plan, what is your willingness to actually follow through with this plan," and "What if your worst case scenario happened?  Let us plan around that and then there is no longer a need to focus on the 'What will I do if...'" 

3. Giving concrete visual cuing is helpful, specifically when discussing what is the child in control of and what is out of his/her control.  This is referred to as the "Circles of Influence."

4. Have the child actually tell a trusted adult or peer (friend), "This type of activity makes me anxious," stating that typically reduced stress.

5. Take the negative thoughts or comments and turn them positive, or talk through them to show the negativity.

These 5 tools alone have greatly improved the knowledge, understanding, and the flow of treatment sessions.  If the children are happier, the more likely the chance of carry over of these skills in other environments, and therefore control over how anxiety impacts the child's day-in day-out life.

Questions? Comments? As always, please feel free to leave a comment below or email us at BBTherapyInc@gmail.com.

A Few Christmas List Suggestions

Still looking for a few last minute gifts? Have we got a list for you. All these toys have been carefully chosen by one of our speech therapists, so if you're still looking for that perfect gift for your young child, look no further.

• Fisher Price Little People Farm, Airport, or any of the Little People toys 

• Fisher Price Play My Way Customizable Play Center (for this, you can add role play bins such as: nursery, food, medical or woodshop)
• Play kitchen and pretend food

• Shopping Cart

• Leap Frog Toys

• Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head (and additional pieces such as, Glamour Spud)

Most of these items can be found at Target or your local Walmart. If you have any questions for us about toys you've already purchased, feel free to comment or send us an email at: BBTherapyInc@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you and wish your family a very safe & happy holiday!

It Takes Two to Blog

One of our Speech-Language Pathologists, Brittany Avera, recently attended a Hanen course in Nashville and became certified in It Takes Two to Talk- the Hanen Program for Parents of Children with Language Delays. This program, particularly created for parents of children with language delays, focuses on ways to build a child’s language skills in a natural environment during everyday routines and activities. It Takes Two To Talk will impact Building Bridges more specifically in the following ways:

1. Video recording parents with their children interacting during a daily routine or play activity. Sounds intimidating, right? Maybe a little at first. However, watching a video of a parent and child interacting is a valuable tool for a Speech-Language-Pathologist (SLP) to observe ways that might be impeding a child’s language development and/or ways that will shape a child’s language development. Building Bridges Therapy can use this tool with the Babies Can’t Wait program for ages birth to three as we are in the child’s natural 

environment, the home.

2. Observe, Wait, and Listen (OWL) during a daily activity or routine to see what your child enjoys about an activity. This can be very difficult for everyone. We all have places to be, grocery shopping to get done, things to check off our to-do lists, and so on. However, when this concept is applied when interacting with your child, the child feels more inclined to communicate first whether that is a word, a sound, or a simple hand gesture. Set aside five minutes and observe the child doing something he/she is interested in, wait for communication (not just verbal language, remember pointing or looking can be communication too), and then listen for ways you can build on that communication.

3. Follow your child’s lead by responding with interest, join in and play, use fun sounds and words, imitate his/her actions/sounds, interpret your child’s message, and make a comment. Try to avoid asking a lot of questions. Of course, you can do this because questions are natural, but avoid making your child feel pressured. For example, when a child is playing with blocks and he/she says “ooo,” the parent or therapist could say “Ooooh, that’s a block” (imitating and interpreting the child’s message) and then wait again for the child to take a turn communicating. If the child does not take a turn, try cueing them with a facial expression or body language and wait. This is a great approach for parents and therapists to use when building language skills.

4. Say less, Stress, go Slow, and Show. When adding language to the interactions, use “The Four S’s.” Have you ever been to a foreign country or talked to someone who does not speak the same language? It can be stressful when you want something or are trying to get somewhere. Finally, that person actually takes the time to interpret what is being communicated by saying the words slowly, repeating, and using hand gestures to help you figure out what it trying to be said. You actually communicated with this person using a language you are not familiar with. The same is true with our children. Use simple language, emphasize important words, slow it down, and use hand gestures.

5. Here are a few routines parents and SLPs can use when using the above strategies:

People games such as Peekaboo, Hide and Seek, Horsie Ride, Tickle, and I’m Gonna-Get-You. All of these games have a high point, or a best moment. Use those best moments to wait and see if the child will take a turn in the routine. Songs and Rhymes such as Row, Row, Row Your Boat, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and The Wheels on the Bus. These are great routines that have actions to go along with them and help your child learn to take turns. Your child will learn these routines and can learn to predict the gestures, words, and sounds. Other routines may include playing with a rubber duck during bath time, checking the mail, snack time, or reading a book such as Brown Bear Brown Bear. These all can help your child learn prediction and routine. Remember to OWL, take the child’s lead, and use “The Four S’s” during a daily routine. 

As always feel free to share with us how it went!