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"Make Mine
Music" – Music Therapy with a Teenager with Severe and Profound
Disabilities.
Author:
May
Gaertner
Abstract:
This presentation follows the influence of music on the development of a
boy with severe and profound disabilities. As a newborn baby, he spent
the first two months of his life in Intensive Care, on every possible
life support. Finally, with great sadness, the decision was made to
disconnect, to discontinue, these supports. But little Jocelyn wanted to
live. To the amazement of all, he survived without any life support.
With music therapy, communication channels, as described by R. Benenzon,
were opened up and slowly developed. By listening to music, by imitating
sounds and rhythms, by playing musical games, he moved into elementary
free non-verbal vocal expression and improvisation using little
percussion instruments. He gladly embraced and absorbed anything and
everything to do with music, learning little skills along his
developmental path.
Now, a young teenager, he continues to derive much pleasure from his
music therapy sessions, communicating and dialoguing with sounds, songs,
rhythm and laughter.
Key words:
Communication channels, listening, imitating, expression, improvisation.
Biographical details:
May Gaertner trained in South Africa and taught for many years in
nursery and primary schools in Cape Town. After teaching English in
France for 10 years, she studied Remedial Education at the University of
Cape Town. She worked in schools in both countries, using music,
movement, drama and art to help children with learning disabilities,
psychological, emotional and developmental problems. She studied Music
Therapy in France and has worked with many different client groups in
France and in South Africa. At present, she is working as a music
therapist and teacher for the Association MTA (Emthea).
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