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My first conference presentation!

I am so excited about this! The first fall of the day treatment program in my school district, through a series of events, I began collaborating with our school psychologist (at the alternative school I work at part time) on a social skills group using music therapy. I was very excited about the work I would get to do in this group, as it is a type of music therapy that I find interesting and fulfilling, and I was hopeful for positive results. It paid off! Students have attended the group willingly, participated actively in the variety of interventions we developed together, and I hope that I have shown how effective music therapy can be with a challenging population to the administration of my school. I suggested submitting our work to the Midwest Region of the AMTA for their regional conference, and we just received word that we have been approved! It is my first conference-level presentation, and I cannot wait to dig in and start preparing in earnest. Here are some highlights from our proposal.

Using Music Therapy and Collaboration to Build Social Skills in Adolescents with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Social skill deficits are common among adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders. The goal of public school day treatment is to help students develop the skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to be successful at school and in life by teaching positive prosocial behaviors. The addition of a music therapy component to social skill lessons has been successful in mediating adolescent resistance, increasing developmental appropriateness, and decreasing social and emotional triggers. In addition, collaboration among a multidisciplinary staff has resulted in increased attendance and participation as well as allowing for more meaningful integration of the social skill curriculum in all areas of the adolescents’ school day, leading to increased understanding and application of prosocial behaviors.
In this presentation, the attendee will:
  • Learn about successful music therapy interventions to teach social skills to adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders
  • Identify strategies for creating successful music therapy groups when working with adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders
  • Identify characteristics that make music therapy interventions developmentally appropriate for adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders
  • Identify characteristics that make music therapy interventions age appropriate for adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders
  • Identify strategies to integrate music therapy interventions with existing social skill curriculums
  • Identify strategies for supporting collaboration and a team approach during group facilitation
  • Identify essential components of effective research based interventions for adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders
Can't wait! Are you going? Or presenting? Share it here!

Comments

  1. Anonymous5:01 PM

    Congrats Anne Marie! I didn’t realize you had an MT blog, so glad to of found it, and pleased to be adding it to my google reader :)

    Caylyn

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ann Marie5:02 PM

    Thanks so much, Caylyn! :-D

    ReplyDelete

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