Observing a State Schools Music Therapy Program

As a requirement to completing my internship, I need to complete two observations of other music therapy practices. The first of these I completed was in

public schools. While similar to my own internship site there were a-lot of differences. Because public schools are state run institutions any client who receives MT services will need to have MT on their IEP. "The Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services". To receive a service a child has to be assessed and the services requested deemed necessary to that students success in school. Because my site is an early learning/daycare/development center our students are not required to have IEP's for therapy services. They won't receive one until they attend kindergarten, if they are granted an IEP. Also because it is a state run school, the therapists have to report everything to their board or other regulatory higher-ups. While observing the MT and OT's talked about the feeling of being micromanaged. The MT had said that they had been questioned if they could just group some kids together instead of seeing them individually. My guess is because seeing groups is cheaper than seeing only one child at a time. At my site we do document and create progress notes for all individual clients, but a majority of our day is made up of classes and group sessions. Public schools have less opportunity for group sessions because the MT said that there aren't enough 'like' clients to group together. There is usually a wide range of ages and abilities in the special education classrooms. Where as at my site, each class is a small age range, and for the most part kids have similar ability levels. Or at least it's easy to adapt the group activity for our kids who have extra needs than it might be in other facilities. We have access to harness system and multiple type of special seating.

One of the biggest differences between my site and a public school music therapy program is that our kids come to us in our music therapy room. MT's in public schools often spend half the day at one school and then drive to another school for the second half or drive around to multiple schools a day. And they may set up in an OT's office, or an auxiliary classroom or some other room that isn't always a music therapy room. They bring any tools they need with them, guitars, instruments, manipulative. Everything! We have everything we need within reach in a closet attached to our music therapy suite which is very convenient.

The goals work on in Public schools that I observed were receptively identifying objects, numbers and letters. An older client also worked on matching coins and saying the value of the coins, and sounding out 3 letter words. One client worked on reaching or gazing at receptively identified objects. Overall every client we saw that day did fairly similar session interventions with one or two differences and the intervention was changed to best fit that clients goals.

Occasionally there was a nurse or a SLP present to help support a child, but for the most part it was just the individual child and the MT's. I noticed some redirection and disciplinary actions in a session or two. Mainly redirecting to sit back down. There was only one child who was more defiant and there for lost out on the opportunity to play an instrument to the goodbye song to which they said, "Not again". For the most part clients only need one or two prompts to redirect themselves in the session. I think because I was present and they are used to just the MT and her intern they were acting a little more silly, though I'm sure they have days when I'm not there and clients act like that. At my internship site, because we have full classes we have alot of extra support including teachers and paras and nurses. In baby and toddler classes we have parents so for the most part we give verbal cues for redirection and if a child needs more redirection, other support people will take over because they are with them all day where as we see them for 30 min.