BEFORE YOU REQUEST A MUSIC THERAPY ASSESSMENT ...
These questions may help members of a student's IEP committee determine the appropriateness of a music therapy assessment. Before contacting a music therapist to perform an assessment, the following questions should be discussed and answered by the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student, the teacher of the student and at least one other district representative (i.e. the diagnostician). A "no" response to one or more questions does not necessarily mean that a student is inappropriate for a music therapy assessment. If disagreements or questions arise, a music therapist should be contacted.
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Can the student be motivated to attempt tasks through the use of music?
Can the student by motivated to complete tasks through the use of music?
Could the student benefit from the use of additional communication modalities?
Does the student initiate interaction with music or musical instruments in the classroom or in the home?
Does the student retain information conveyed in songs more easily than information conveyed in spoken interchanges?
Benefits of the Educational Enrichment Model of Music Therapy (provided "by decision of the school district"):
The amount of time and resources used to assess and serve one or two students could just as effectively be used to serve the whole classroom. The cost is then spread across a larger number of students.
Teachers gain skills that they can use on a regular basis to effectively and consistently intervene with students. The abilities of the teachers and other staff personnel are strengthened and enhanced.
When only one or two students have music therapy in their IEPs, few teachers have contact with the music therapist because he or she comes to only a few classrooms, and may even pull students out to a separate room for the sessions. Teachers lose the opportunity to learn effective intervention techniques that could lessen their frustration in working with their most challenging students. Providing teachers with innovative ideas and stimulating their own creativity can be a way to motivate them and reduce turnover.
When music therapy is provided to just a few, designated students, the district misses an opportunity for positive public relations. A school district can benefit from the public's knowledge that it utilizes a cost effective, innovative strategy in meeting the needs of its students.
While parents still have the right to request that the IEP committee evaluate music therapy's role in their child's IEP, music therapy's involvement in a greater number of classrooms usually means that the frequency of high cost evaluations and direct service will decrease significantly.
Most students with disabilities have social and language deficits that are best addressed within a group setting. "Pull-out" therapy does not give the student the advantage of learning and working within a peer group - and the teacher does not benefit from observing if the student is pulled out of the classroom for therapy.
Music therapy is particularly effective in addressing several different levels of skill in a single group. Teachers who have learned through the consult to program model may find that music therapy gives them an opportunity to work with their entire class while at the same time giving particular students chances to work on specific goals.