Music, Art, and Drama Therapy By: Billy Travis

Where Are We Going? Music Therapy Art Therapy Drama Therapy Activity 45Uq9A?t=1m1s

Dear Diary, Hmm, what do I want to say? I can’t think of the right words… It’s like, you know what I’m saying, right? Alright, good talk. -Billy

Art, Music, and Drama Therapy are used to facilitate personal growth and promote mental health.

What does it improve? Communication Movement Empower Reward Inspire How does it work? 5s 5s Music Therapy

The Champion Centre In New Zealand & has been using Music Therapy since 1993 (Wylie and Foster- Cohen, 2013) Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autistic – Students have at least two areas of significant delay Individual lessons bring students and adults together – beat, rhythm, pitch Group lessons encourages collaboration, leadership, communication Structured lessons start with a “hello” song and end with a “good-bye” song Songs about daily routines help students e.g. a song about brushing your teeth Musical instruments designed for kids with different abilities

The Champion Centre 4 year old boy with Down Syndrome with low energy levels and floppy muscle- tone Trouble with motor skills Worked on a song about getting ready, standing up, and sitting down (pop goes the weasel) Saw improved standing and sitting as well as increased energy level Used the song with others and the boy was “delighted” to be the leader

Art Therapy Less talking, and no laying on a couch and explaining Allows students to draw a picture, comic strip, or make a collage Visual responses come more naturally for children than verbal responses Students explain the meaning of their artwork, therapists/teachers refrain from interpreting artwork (Riley, 2001)

Art Therapy and Autism Great for students on the Autism Spectrum because they tend to be visual, concrete thinkers (Epp, 2008) “Acceptable” activity for working on social skills Allows for self-expression and self-soothing Artwork/Comic strips easier to follow than discussions and less threatening than role playing During creation, students gain insight through their own artistic eye

Drama Therapy and Autism More sustained learning from socially competent peers, less dependence on adults (Weiss and Harris, 2001) Practicing new behaviors, learning to play with others Using verbal and facial responses to situations (excited, laughing, sympathy) Use of scripts, leads to increased improvisation and interaction Action! Instead of talking

Art Draw how you got to be here in this classroom. What lead you to be in your seat today? Music Find a song that is a representation for how you got here today. What song, music, lyrics tells a part of your story? Activity

References Clarridge, C. (2009, October 28). Drama-therapy program helps mental patients work toward healing. The Seattle Times. Duffy, B., & Fuller, R. (2000). Role of music therapy in social skills development in children with moderate intellectual disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 13(2), Epp, K. M. (2008). Outcome-based evaluation of a social skills program using art therapy and group therapy for children on the autism spectrum. Children & Schools, 30(1), Judd, R. (2013). How Does Music Therapy Benefit Children with Special Needs? [Video]. Morris, R. V. (2001). Drama and authentic assessment in a social studies classroom. The Social Studies, 92(1). Riley, S. (2001). Art therapy with adolescents. Western Journal of Medicie, Weiss, M., & Harris, S. L. (2001). Teaching social skills to people with autism. Behavior Modification, 25(5), Wylie, J., & Foster-Cohen, S. (2013). Musical play as therapy in an early intervention programme. Approaches, 5(1).