Brookvale music therapist Anita Connell has witnessed profound changes in her students since opening Tuned in Music Therapy three years ago.
With a focus on live music-making for children and adults with disabilities including autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy and dementia, participants have developed language where there was none, others have gained confidence to interact socially. Many have also enhanced their motor planning to improve their everyday life.
Music therapy isn’t a new age gimmick, she asserts, it has been in Australia for half a century, has countless peer-reviewed studies supporting it and is fully backed by the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme).
From tomorrow (Tuesday 12 January) through to Thursday (13 January), her school is open to students with a disability, from ages three to young adult, to try music therapy as part of their holiday workshops.
While the younger children will experiment with instruments and shared play, teenagers will form a band, and young adults will write and perform their own song by the end of the third day.
There are a few spots left in all three classes, just email or call Anita before kick-off tomorrow afternoon, or make contact if it might be something for your child to try in 2021.
The Brookvale business facilitates music therapy programs for children and adults who are autistic, have an intellectual disability or are otherwise neurodivergent, but they also facilitate music therapy programs for those with a physical disability and offer programs to support neurorehabilitation after a stroke or brain injury.
“The overall aim of the music therapy programs is to develop an individual’s capacity to use music in their everyday life to support their health and well-being and achieve their life goals with funding provided by the NDIS,” she said.
Anita says all classes are COVID-safe and held in Brookvale, and can be privately or NDIS funded. Interested parties contact anita@tunedinmusictherapy.com or 0416 102 393
