(Thank you to Justin and his parents for allowing me to share his journey!)
Justin has multiple disabilities including Cerebral Palsy and Dual Sensory Impairment, has always been drawn to the piano, and is in Adaptive Piano Lessons.
He plays very well by ear, but has been improving his music reading skills to expand his piano repertoire, increasing his self-esteem and overall quality of life as shown by his enthusiasm and pride in his playing. Over the months that I have worked with Justin, he has also increased his fine motor skills by improving use of all ten fingers on the piano.
This is a great example of Music Therapy as educational enrichment.
December 2011- Justin begins playing piano with assistance of letters on the keyboard and reading letters across the page.
December 2011- Here we are working on pre-note reading and rhythm with pictures of hands, feet and a musical rest sign. Justin had been working on this for three lessons.
December 2011- During this lesson we introduced a quarter note and using the drum to play the rhythms! Justin seemed to enjoy using the drum as seen by his smile at the end.