This month, I’ll address a topic that was brought up by one of the “Today I Ate a Rainbow” blog readers. The question was, “How can music therapy get kids to eat fruits and veggies?”
Love this question and thank you for inquiring! First things first, let’s talk about the basics – what a music therapist is, where we work, our education, etc.!
Without going into ALL of the details, (but if you are interested in more information, which is AWESOME, I recommend visiting www.musictherapy.org, the website for the American Music Therapy Association) a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) uses music to address non-musical goals with a variety of ages, diagnoses, and populations.
As a music therapist, I use a variety of music interventions (instrument playing, songwriting, singing, etc.) to address an array of needs and goals on which the client is working – these can include IEP (Individualized Education Plan) goals in school, behavioral, communication, cognitive, social/emotional, physical, or other goals, such as ADLs, or Activities of Daily Living.
One such ADL may involve encouraging the client to eat a variety of foods. I have several clients who eat limited amounts or kinds of food due to poor oral motor skills, texture sensitivity, or issues related to a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (many of my clients with ASD are encouraged to be on a gluten-free diet, which may be a difficult transition for them). Other needs of my clients might include helping them learn how to create snacks or meals independently or helping them learn the oral-motor control and internal rhythm skills necessary to be able to participate in the actual act of eating. Dinnertime can be a stressful, confusing, and overwhelming time for both the parents and the child with these needs.
Here’s where the music therapist can come in (and we can collaborate and co-treat with other therapists, dieticians, and professionals in that child’s life, too!). We use songs and instruments that are engaging, motivating, and address the above-mentioned areas of need. These songs can be ones we wrote independently with the child in mind, or, even better, co-wrote with the child.
Rachel
In our music therapy sessions we can discuss, play, and sing about:
1. Trying different foods
2. The physical act of eating (the rhythm of the music is great for helping with the internal rhythm required for the act of chewing)
3. Appropriate ways to eat (for those who are on the autism spectrum, social “rules” can be quite difficult to grasp)
4. Overall wellness skills
Audio files and videos can be made so the parent can use them in the home environment, or while the child is sitting at the dinner table!
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, as I’d love to hear them!
Rachel See Smith, MA, MT-BC
Board-Certified Music Therapist
Music Therapy Services of Austin
E-songbooks:
“Children’s Songs for Therapy”
“Listen, Sing, Speak!”
