Music Therapy and the IEP: Requesting Services
by • September 20, 2016 • Autism, School-Aged • 0 Comments
A while ago, we wrote a blog post with information about how music therapy can be a related service on the IEP. You can find that overview here! With this blog post, we wanted to revisit this topic again. We get lots of questions about music therapy on the IEP. In this post, we will focus on things to consider and tasks to complete before making a request.
Responses to Music
How the student responds to the music is important when considering music therapy. If the student seems to not enjoy music, music therapy is probably not going to be the most helpful to them in attaining their goals. However, it goes deeper than simply enjoying music. Does the student respond differently when you use music? Does he or she have increased attention, follow more directions, or vocalize/speak more? Is the student more motivated to complete tasks? If any of these are true, a music therapy assessment might be appropriate.
The Goals
Music therapists working in the school system often address existing IEP goals during therapy. When thinking about the responses to music above, also consider their current goals. If the student has a goal to focus on a task for a certain period of time, and you have noticed that the student is most focused or on task during a music activity (such as circle time), this could be a reason to request an assessment.
Know the Research
You don’t have to be an expert in music therapy to request an assessment, but it does help to have some research and resources available for others on the IEP team to learn more. Think about the reasons why you are requesting the music therapy assessment and do a quick Google search for articles. Maybe you want the student to be better at following multi-step directions or to increase purposeful communication. Try searching “music therapy and (insert your specific goal area here)” as a starting point. Another great way to find supporting information is by searching for music therapy research on a particular diagnosis. A few resources about music therapy and specific populations (including special education, autism, and early childhood) can be found here, to help get your search started. These resources are helpful in educating yourself and the team, as well as further supporting your request.
Music Education Vs. Music Therapy
Music education is something that your child (should) already has access to at school. Usually this class teaches basic music concepts and provides an opportunity to explore a variety of instruments. Since music therapists may use a variety of different instruments and may use basic music concepts to support clients in reaching their goals, a music therapy session may be mistaken for a music education lesson – more on that here. If you want the student to learn more about music, have a place to interact with music, or to gain an appreciation for music, these areas of need alone are not grounds for requesting music therapy on the IEP. The focus needs to remain on the educational goals and outcomes.
