Therapy Moment: Summer Treatment Camps!

Some of you may have noticed an absence in the stream of research reviews over the past week and a half.  Although I don’t want to make this blog about me and what I’m doing, experiences from the past week.5 are driving me to do just that. Last week I was at Kris’ Camp and I’d like to tell you about the experience, since my 1st camp changed the way I practice music therapy.

I am a clinician. During the school year I hold one clinic day a week and have a handful of clients that fill my limited clinic spots. There are times that I really miss the clinic. Summer provides a nice opportunity to get more involved.  Over the past few years I have been a MT at Kris’ Camp, an interdisciplinary therapy camp for kids with ASD. My first camp (two years ago) changed how I look at autism, my approach in treatment, and my ability to facilitate client success.

Let me say first that Kris’ Camp is an awesome experience. The founder, Kathy Berger, is an inspiration and an advocate for children with ASD. She is a physical therapist who looks at ASD as a psychomotor regulation disorder (I’ll do a post on that topic soon). Her own research has examined evidence showing differences in the neurological pathways/cortical areas of children with ASD. She has attempted to connect some of the common “behaviors” associated with ASD to these neurological differences (meaning that common “behaviors” aren’t looked at as “behaviors” at all).

The philosophy of camp is also one of empowerment and assuming competence. These concepts weren’t new to me when I first went to camp. However, after watching Michelle Hardy (lead therapist) I realized that my approach in therapy fell short. After one day with Michelle, I could see the impact that really assuming competence and empowering the children had on their ability to achieve their goals.  At Kris’ Camp I learned to believe that great things could happen, set my expectations high, maintain a positive approach, and explain why to the children.

I now walk into the therapy room believing that each child can be their “best” self and that I can be my “best” self.  I not only believe in them, but I tell them that I believe in them. I expect the children to rise above any barriers that they or others have set for them. They can really achieve anything (and they do).

We support the children with positive words- they hear “don’t”, “stop”, “no” often enough. We change this to “I can” and “I will”, permitting the child to learn the best way to regulate themselves in different situations with self-talk language. Furthermore, we don’t make therapy a mystery – I now tell my clients why we are doing an exercise and what part of their brain is involved while they are engaged in the exercise (using scientific and neurological terms as age-appropriate).

This past week I had the privilege of watching 9 campers reach for the stars while the staff watched in awe.  It is amazing what children can accomplish given the right accommodations, support, and encouragement. I am already looking forward to next year’s experience.

Thats enough of that – I have some exciting things planned for MTRB in the near future. You’ll soon see some guest research reviews and articles on topics such as “what is evidence-based practice”. I am also working on “pro music therapy” reference lists for different populations – so stay tuned!

5 thoughts on “Therapy Moment: Summer Treatment Camps!

  1. Kirk Niles

    Hey Blythe,
    I’m taking with me your advice. You have always and will continue to be a phenomenal therapist. I love that you were able to collaborate with, learn from and input that approach into your MT practice at the camp to achieve immediate positive results. I too am loving and learning how-to collaborate with other professionals. Thanks for this blog! Keep great!!
    Kirk (your past MT student, Trinidad)

  2. Kat Fulton

    Loved reading this post! It’s great to check out what your experience is like as a clinician… especially when you are so heavily involved in the research. Thanks for sharing!

    Can’t wait to read your evidence-based post soon, too!

  3. Beth Spear

    I had the opportunity to participate in a Kris Camp a couple years ago here, in Tallahassee. I came away with a lot of insight as well. Thanks for writing about your experiences. Great blog!
    Beth

  4. Roia

    Way back in 1993 I went to a really terrific day long workshop led by Anne Donnellan and Martha Leary on movement differences in people who have ASD. They wrote a book about it called : “Movement Differences and Diversity in Autism/Mental Retardation: Appreciating and Accommodating People with Communication and Behavior Challenges (here’s a link: http://www.amazon.com/Movement-Differences-Diversity-Autism-Mental-Retardation/dp/1886928002). That was one of a number of different presentations I went to during that period of time which fundamentally shifted the way I work with my clients as a music therapist. AUTCOM has a nice article as well: http://www.autcom.org/articles/Movement.html

    Here’s another article that talks about presuming competence that I think you’ll find of interest: http://inclusivelife.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/least-dangerous-assumption.pdf

    How wonderful that you had the opportunity to look at your work in a new way. As therapists we need moments of inspiration to help us grow and to incorporate a deeper level of understanding into our approaches. It truly was life changing for me.

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