During these past weeks, I have been going to Lorenzo's house 1-2 times a week. During most sessions, I usually spend half the class taking notes and observing Mario with Lorenzo and then the next half of the class I take charge and lead the class on my own while Mario watches me. By doing this, at the end of the class, Mario has observed how I've performed and then will send me an email with feedback on how I can improve my actions while working with Lorenzo. The most often questions that arise when I am completing certain activities with Lorenzo are usually how to perform when he's not in the best mood. When it comes to children or adults with autism and down syndrome, they usually are just as bright and attentive as a 'normal' born child but the problem is that they can't communicate their thoughts, which can sometimes be very frustrating for them when they are trying to say something we can't understand. Therefore, at times, Lorenzo can get frustrated and not want to do any of the activities and sometimes even throw things at the wall. This is what worried me most, and also what made me want to learn how to deal with these problems even more. After spending time with Mario, I realized that it simply takes patience and perseverance to deal with these problems. First of all, you can never say no to Lorenzo or even scream at him because this will just get him more mad. The key is to lay down with him, maybe even play some soft music, because the slow beat with automatically relax him, which is truly fascinating to watch; this shows the amazing effects of music therapy.
Overall, I can say I've truly grown a lot from spending time with Lorenzo because not only have I grown as person because it has taught me commitment, communication and purpose but more importantly, I have been lucky to witness the improvement of someone that doesn't have it as easy as most people. I am confident and ecstatic to say that Lorenzo's motor skills have improved incredibly as he is now able to play the piano with more precision and his communication skills are better than ever, as our conversations seem to be getting longer and longer. I definitely will be keeping in touch with Lorenzo and Mario and continuing with the idea of music therapy in my time with him because it has brought me so many benefits and to Lorenzo as well.
0 Comments
My project started in March and will end in August. My project has already started a while ago due to the fact that I already have a document with pages of research on this topic. My plan is to first learn everything I can about music therapy beforehand, and then I will apply it with Lorenzo. My plan is to go to Lorenzo’s house once a week (Saturdays), which is when he has his class with his teacher, Mario Bressanutti, and during this hour, half of the class I will observe what Mario does with Lorenzo by taking notes and even helping with simple things and then the other half of the class I will take leadership and do my own activities with Lorenzo in which I will lead and Mario will watch and assess me. After every session, Mario has agreed to send me an email with feedback including my strengths and in which areas I can improve. The ultimate goal over these months is that I gain as much experience as I can until about June, and then potentially start my own sessions with Lorenzo afterwards, in which Mario will not be there to guide me, however I will still film parts of the class so Mario can assess my leadership via email.
I decided to do my topic on music therapy with disabled children because I knew I wanted to do something with music, since I play piano, but I also wanted to help people. Therefore, I came across this concept called music therapy, which is using music as a powerful tool to create positive behavior changes. It can enhance development in areas such as social/emotional, cognitive/academic and fine/gross motor skills. Therefore, the rhythms and repetitiveness of music will help a person with Down syndrome remember something more easily than simply telling him. After figuring out my topic, I decided to apply it with a friend’s brother (Lorenzo Lopez-Guerra) who has down syndrome and autism. Since he lives very close to me, I thought this would be the easiest option in terms of being able to see him whenever and I had already had a relationship with him, so he’d be comfortable around me. I also realized I would need an expert in all of this, since I do not know much about applying music therapy in real life, since I had only researched about it via the internet. So, I got in touch with Lorenzo’s music therapist teacher, Mario Bressanutti, and after receiving his consent, he would be the expert guiding me through this process. I will also be working along with Lorenzo’s care keeper, since she knows Lorenzo better than anyone, and she could help me answer certain questions I have specifically regarding Lorenzo and his behavioral progress along the way. I think my project is both creativity, activity and service because I will be using creativity through piano and different instruments in order to apply music therapy activities; as for activity, music therapy requires a lot of movement and action; and as for service, I am potentially helping Lorenzo improve his mental and cognitive skills, which is an act of service. The learning outcomes I will pursue are the following: Demonstrate that challenges undertaken developing new skills in the process, demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience, identify own strengths and develop areas of growth, and show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |