Podcasts
Navigating Adulthood and IDD: Jessica Leza – Neuroqueering, Music Therapy, and Individualized Client-Centered Work (Episode 7, October 26, 2020)
General Informational Handouts available on Patreon:
http://www.patreon.com/jessicaleza
Understanding and Responding to Unsafe Behavior in Autistic Youth
Part 1 of a Music Therapy Toolkit.
Prompt Fading
Whether they are called prompts, cues, tips, or hints, being able to intentionally use a variety of methods of prompting can help music therapists and others in assisting clients towards meeting their goals. This is a pdf with definitions and explanations of common terms.
Singing Tips
Four page .pdf outlining tips for warming up (breathing, posture, vocalizing), practicing, and auditioning. Note: this document uses she/her pronouns.
Angelman Syndrome Fact Sheet for Music Therapists
This .PDF gives a broad overview of AS, including: What is Angelman Syndrome? What are common preferences, skills, interests, and support needs of people with Angelman Syndrome?
Journaling for Mental Health
Structuring journaling experiences for people with mental illness
Assignments / Learning Exercises for Students & Professional Music Therapists
Social Media Assignment
This exercises structures an exploration of self-advocacy on social media
The Transformational Design Model (TDM)
Pre-existing music, even educational children’s music or common music therapy kids songs, are often not specifically tailored to meet IEP goals. Many fun children’s songs have overcomplicated lyrics and fail to use the structural elements of music to cue desired responses as described in IEP goals and objectives.
“The TDM in neurologic music therapy is a practical guide to enable the therapist to compose goal-oriented therapeutic music experiences based on a functional reasoning process that links assessments, goals, and learning and training experiences” (Thaut, 2014, p. 64). This assignment will walk the music therapy learner through the process of creating music experiences that appropriately target IEP goals and objectives by using the TDM.
Presentations
Presentation Index
View and download powerpoint presentations on MT topics such as Neurodiversity and the ABLLS-R.
Essays
On Silence
Neurodivergent reflections on the role of silence in Music Therapy
June 21, 2019
“Doing the Gratitudes”
Dismantling Anglo-centric assumptions of the universal utility of gratitude
September 9, 2019
“Autism and the Iso Principle”
Considering autistic sensory processing and habituation
February 18, 2021
“A Tale of Two March Firsts”
Content note: This article includes discussion of murder/filicide and ableism.
Valorizing music therapists on the Disability Day of Mourning
February 25, 2021
Recommended Reading
Book suggestions for those looking for something new to read that could inform your music therapy practice?