Magic moments / case studies

‘Violet, a lady in her 80s, has been coming to the Centre each Thursday afternoon as part of our community outreach and support. She was always a keen dancer and pianist but this had ceased. One afternoon as she got on the bus to go home she said to me “Now that my life has had a revival since coming here, I will start playing the piano again”.’
Robin Howat, Senior Music Therapist

‘Dorothy used to be a teacher and now in her 80s with ill health, she remembers those days fondly. She loves music. In her music therapy group relationships of trust have developed and Dorothy brought in a magnificent photo album spanning over 100 years charting her life story. Formerly rather demanding and dominating in the group, she now spoke with such pride and dignity about her life and achievements.’
Robin Howat, Senior Music Therapist

‘I was working with a middle-aged man who had suffered a stroke. He was able to sing, but not speak, so part of the music therapy was to support his ability to sing as a way through to language, as well as allow him to express his feelings of frustration and anger at being completely cognitive but physically impaired. After some months of music therapy, we finished the session and he turned his head and called to his wife to tell her that the session was finished. The look on his face when he realized that he had actually said something, and that the words had come out the right way, was a joy to behold. A real ‘magic moment’ for me.’
Peta Williams, Registered Music Therapist

As a pre-schooler Matthew ceased speaking completely, his motor skills were poor and he began to gain weight. He was subsequently diagnosed with mild autism and features of Prader-Willi Syndrome (a complex genetic disorder that typically causes low muscle tone, short stature, cognitive disabilities, behavioural problems and weight management issues).
According to his mother Adele, Matthew has always been attracted to music and his special needs teacher recognised that he had "something extra special" to offer during music classes. So when his Nana Heather read a magazine article on music therapy she contacted the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and arranged an assessment. Heather said: "He has not looked back since." Nordoff-Robbins Registered Music Therapist, Eudora Low, designed a program for Matthew to develop his mental processing, speech and physical coordination. It recognises his natural love of music and combines structure for the teaching of listening, expressive language and physical control with improvisation for self-expression and social skills. From his grandfather Malcolm's perspective, Eudora and musical therapy can take the lion's share of the credit for Matthew's development since beginning a weekly program at the Centre: "His speech and ability to listen has come on so much since he came here. He even won a school award at the end of last year for improved literacy skills." Adele confirmed that music therapy has: "Helped him open up to enjoyment and feelings and expression. He chats all the way home [from his sessions]." Heather said: "Our friends and relatives, who don't see him regularly, comment on how much more he talks now and how much easier he is to understand. We believe this is a direct result of his music therapy activities."
During the therapy sessions Eudora sets physical and cognitive challenges for Matthew with exercises to co-ordinate his use of multiple instruments, such as choosing between the drum and cymbal or playing a set of chime bars with a metallophone. Eudora has seen that: "Matthew has developed from echoing me to more independent self-expression. During improvisations on instruments, he has gained confidence and has started to initiate ideas and explore musically. He is also now taking initiative in expressing himself verbally and in movement activities too. He is enjoying discovering himself and interacting with his environment through music." During the observed session, as he finished playing the tone blocks, Matthew stopped to look at the mallets and seemed to be frustrated at not being able to play in the way he wanted. He spontaneously commented on his "time not right". This reflects the cognitive processes of recognition, self-evaluation and verbalisation of ideas: large steps for Matthew. Matthew's enthusiasm for music therapy makes the commitment to the weekly music therapy trip of his mother and grandparents so worthwhile. The family understands the very real difference between music for pleasure and music used therapeutically as a highly successful intervention: "We realised these were not music lessons but life teaching."
Eudora Low, Registered Music Therapist

Feedback from the mother of a client currently attending the centre:

"...I had been meaning to email you earlier in the week - Jordan has been so excited about music this week! He has asked every morning if he can he go to music, then if he can go see Annette! I have had to draw a picture of drums on the calendar so he knows how many sleeps to go! His passion for music has been ignited! He was even singing the hello song the other day! I'm still not allowed to join in, but that's ok :) I just wanted to pass this on to let you know that I truly appreciate the wonderful work you are doing with him, and it's so good to see him so excited about the next session!"

"...Jordan sang all of the Hello song last night, spontaneously, on his own, clearly and beautifully...so much so it brought tears to my eyes! His dad just got a drum kit, and one of the cymbal stands has black foam on it, so it looked a bit like a microphone on a stand - he walked up to it and started singing! He was very excited about the drums too!!! I thought I would share that with you!"

Annette Delvecchio, Registered Music Therapist