PUBLIC SCHOOL TOPICS/LINKS
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.
Click the links at the top of the page to continue reading about Music Therapy in the Public Schools, or follow the links on the right to visit other places at Prelude Music Therapy.
