I have had the opportunity to lead several music assisted relaxation groups in public school special education classrooms. These groups have included a range of ages and types of disabilities including Down Syndrome, autism, mental retardation and Cerebral Palsy. One of the key points I like to emphasize with my clients and their instructors is that learning to relax can become a conditioned response. This means that relaxing can be practiced so that it is more effective and useful in the future.
Generally the clients that I work with in the special education classrooms do not have typical life stressors that would induce anxiety and require relaxation, but there are other reasons that relaxation can be an important tool for them and their teachers. I have found that many of the special education students are easily overwhelmed with environmental stimuli in their daily environment. Most teachers recognize this situation and have created quiet areas of their room that have been somewhat sectioned off and made comfortable for students to experience some quiet time without so much of the distractions of the classroom.
In other situations, students sometimes become agitated or emotionally upset without apparent cause. When this happens, it has been helpful to have a familiar music relaxation or music listening strategy already in place as part of the behavior intervention plan. In addition, the students may also benefit from social interaction, gross motor movement, stretching and opportunities to become peer models or leaders as they participate in small group relaxation activities.
I have used various music assisted relaxation activities with school-age students. There is not a specific protocol that must be followed, but rather some general suggestions and ideas to reference as you implement relaxation activities into your classroom:
1. Music choice – Music for relaxation should be chosen according to several criteria. The most important quality of the music is a slow tempo with a predictable underlying rhythmic pulse. I recommend a tempo of about 60 – 80 beats per minute. Music without lyrics is recommended, but there may be some singing if it does not distract too much attention from the experience. The melody should be pleasant and part of traditional music and not atonal or experimental. Try to use songs that do not have sudden changes in tempo, dynamics or unexpected starts or stops. The melody should also stay in the mid-range and not sound extremely low or high. There are some very good songs by Enya, Keving Kern, and Daniel Kobialka that I have used in my groups.
2. Facilitator – The person doing the relaxation facilitating, either a teacher or student, should use a calm, steady voice. Practice speaking slowly and clearly, pausing often to listen to the music. The music should be loud enough to mask unwanted environmental sounds, but not so loud that the facilitator has to speak any louder than he or she would in a normal conversation. The facilitator should sit in a chair and demonstrate the breathing or stretching movements.
3. Breathing – Breathing is the foundation for these relaxation groups. Start out the group with several deep cleansing breaths by breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Continue the relaxation by practicing some deep breathing in and out using slow eight or ten count intervals. Breathing can be verbally reinforced by describing the “revitalizing,” “fresh,” “relaxing,” air going in and the “discomfort,” “anxiety,” and “stress,” leaving the body. After a few minutes of breathing, the facilitator should encourage the group to get more comfortable in their chairs, close their eyes if desired, and breathe normally. Breathing should fall into a steady, relaxed rhythm.
4. Stretching – I encourage breathing and “stretching” as the main components of the relaxation sessions for these groups with students who have disabilities. Simple gross motor movements demonstrated by the facilitator provide “concrete” actions for the group to follow. I usually do shoulder rolls forward and backward, reaching for the ceiling and the floor and slowly tilting the head from side to side and forward as the basic movements. Other stretches can be done by reaching forward or sweeping the arms up and down as if doing very slow jumping jacks. Combine some breathing in and out on selected motions for added effect.
5. Imagery – For groups that do not have people with disabilities it is very effective to use some kind of imagery to facilitate the relaxation. Suggestions include imagining a warm light that slowly warms and relaxes each part of the body or being guided to a restful place in nature where comforting sounds and worry free relaxation can take place. Most of my clients in special education do not respond well to abstract imaginations and descriptions, but music that has environmental sounds or large pictures with client preferred settings may be possible applications after a relaxation routine is familiar and established.
The relaxation experience should begin and end with similar breathing and gross motor movements. Between these times the facilitator is free to try different stretches or breathing as they wish. This allows for leadership and choice-making opportunities for the students. Picture cards that illustrate the gross motor movements can be made so that students can make a choice between pictures and then present their choice to the group. The facilitator may also pass out supportive instruments such as an ocean drum to add to the atmosphere of the experience. An 6′-10′ parachute shared by the group is a wonderful way to practice slow breathing and movements!
The relaxation session should last about 5-10 minutes depending on the attention span of the participants. If this group relaxation is practiced on a regular basis, you will notice that the students will tone down their activity simply in anticipation of the experience and even more when the music begins playing. Teachers will find that just by playing the music that they regularly use for relaxation they may be able to aid a student who is upset or agitated and help them regain some self-control. The relaxation protocol may also be helpful to use on days when an unplanned change of the school schedule has disrupted the regular routine and the students are unusually off-task.
There are many applications for the use of music assisted relaxation activity in relation to objectives in a student’s Individual Education Plan. Following directions, making choices, gross motor movement, counting skills, focus of attention, gesturing and verbalizing are all specific objectives that can be tracked for progress during music facilitated group relaxation.
Now…take a deep breath….exhale…
By: Daniel Tague
Posts Tagged ‘Gross Motor’
Educational Evaluation For Special Education Student With Autism
November 25th, 2009
All students in special education are required by law to have a complete evaluation every three years to determine eligibility for special education services. The following case study is about a student named “Adam”. Adam is seven years old and has autism. He is in a Special Day Class setting in a public school. The case study includes details of Adam’s three-year educational evaluation.
The student in this case study has autism. His name is Adam. Adam is seven years old. He is in a Special Day Class for Severely Handicapped students. Adam’s 3-year evaluation needed to be completed to determine eligibility for his special education services. Adam has an advocate and parents who are intensely involved with his education. When the assessment plan was presented to the parents, they requested additional assessments including a functional analysis, occupational therapy and an assistive technology assessment. A copy of the signed assessment plan was given to the appropriate specialists: psychologist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, speech therapist, nurse and special education teacher.
The school psychologist observed Adam on several occasions before administering the psycho-educational profile revised (PEP-R). The PEP-R covers a variety of developmental areas. The test items are presented with simple, concrete instructions and most of the expected responses are nonverbal. The PEP-R provides information on developmental functioning in imitation, perception, fine motor, gross motor, eye-hand integration, cognitive performance and cognitive verbal areas. The PEP-R consists of a set of toys and learning materials that were presented to Adam within structured play activities. The psychologist recorded Adam’s responses to the test. His scores were then distributed among seven developmental and four behavioral areas. The resulting profile revealed Adam’s strengths and weaknesses in the different areas of development and behavior.
Adam’s portfolio was used as an assessment tool. Included in his portfolio were work samples, progress reports, behavior reports, notes from parents and daily reports. The teacher sent home daily reports that included performance, compliance and prompt levels on Adam’s tasks and goals/benchmarks. His parents signed and returned the daily reports and became part of his portfolio. The daily reports were used to assist in the assessment of Adam.
The school psychologist also conducted the functional analysis to determine why Adam was exhibiting disruptive behaviors. Questionnaires were sent home for the parents to complete. Screaming and biting were behaviors his parents and teacher were concerned about. The classroom teacher was responsible for collecting data on the behaviors. The psychologist and the teacher created a data collection form. The teacher recorded the occurrence of the undesired behaviors. The information from the parents, psychologist observations and teacher were compiled by the psychologist and the report was written.
The occupational therapist observed Adam, assessed him and wrote a report. The school nurse tested Adam with a special device. She was able to determine that his hearing appeared to be normal. Adam’s parents reported no problems with his vision and hearing. The speech therapist, who worked with him over the past year, also assessed him.
Other tests that can be used to diagnose and assess students with autism are the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Pre-Linguistic Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (PL-ADOS). These tests are individual autism assessment instruments that have been specifically designed to assess children with autism. Furthermore, these tests rely on either historical information about the child’s behavior (usually provided by a parent), direct observation of the child by a professional or a combination of these methods.
Adam’s assessment for his 3-year evaluation was extensive and comprehensive. This assessment gave the team information on Adam’s development, behavior, communication, health, coordination and cognitive levels. With this information, the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team determined that his placement was appropriate. Occupational Therapy (OT) services were recommended. The occupational therapist wrote several goals and will provide services for Adam. The functional analysis concluded that Adam’s undesired behaviors occurred during transitions. The assistive technology assessment revealed that Adam excelled in this area. No recommendations were needed. Although Adam’s assessment was extensive and required hard work for the IEP team, valuable information was provided that assisted the team in making recommendations for Adam’s education. The assessment also revealed that Adam was making great progress in his special day class setting.
By: Vivek Chaturvedi
