|
Services
 |
|
News & Articles
|
|
Special Needs Research and News
Gainesville Music Therapy parents receive frequent e-mails with the articles of interest to the special needs community, including research on Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, etc.; conferences and trainings being offered in the local area; and information on music therapy practice. If you would like to receive these articles, and/or our monthly newsletter by e-mail, please e-mail us to join the mailing list.
Thursday, June 28, 2007Music Therapy Helps "Soul Sisters" Cope With Speech LossJune 13, 2007They suffer from debilitating health conditions that severely restrict speech and movement. But a Staff at the Beth Abraham Family of Health Services in The Bronx call a group of ladies there the "Soul Sisters.” One might say the meaning of that name probably goes beyond the songs they sing. They're dealing with serious medical conditions from emphysema, to Parkinson's, and complications from strokes. But the tunes they belt out in their therapy program could be helping them work beyond some of the most debilitating effects each of their conditions creates. “We see the effects of music therapy every day on a great variety of patients,” says Dr. Concetta Tomaino of Beth Abraham. “So, it's our hope in doing programs like the Soul Sisters and engaging people through music therapy to really advance not only their quality of life, but really their ability to recover function and to use the function that they still have in more effective ways.” Music therapist Marah Bobilin, who works closely with the group, says one of the key areas of improvement is with speech. “They can really communicate with each other in real time,” says Bobilin. “Sometimes with aphasia and other speech problems it takes a very long time just to say one word, to get something out.” Jane Kirby is living with advanced Parkinson's. Once an actress and classically-trained pianist, she says working on becoming more verbal has a lot of meaning for her. “I have a lot of people in my life remarkably and I communicate with them,” says Kirby. The people here at Beth Abraham say what's amazing the Soul Sisters is not only how music is helping them with some of their physical disabilities, but also the fact that before joining the group, many of them have never even picked up an instrument before. “One of the interesting things we're finding and it's unusual because people thing you have to be musically-talented to be musically-creative and what we're finding in the years of engaging people in music therapy is that people in general are very creative and music can be available to almost anybody who has the time and the encouragement to use it,” says Tomaino. For more information on the program, contact: Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (718) 519-5840 www.imnf.org info@bethabe.org – Kafi Drexel |