[nabs-l] Accomodating in experiential learning courses

Kaiti Shelton crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com
Sun May 4 05:49:05 UTC 2014


Hello all,

I'm in a pretty sticky situation, so I would appreciate any feedback
that can be provided.

I am a music therapy student who this semester started practicum
coursework.  For those who don't know, practicum courses involve
interacting with potential clients, and are used to develop clinical
skills in young human services professionals.  They're very common in
psychology coursework, and in other therapeutic diciplins.  Anyway, I
had a practicum working with some geriatric residents at a local
assisted living/nursing facility.  I truly loved the experience, and
developed my skills in terms of interpersonal interaction, meeting
residents where they are in the moment, and using music to engage
them.  In these respects, I've managed to learn a lot, and have come a
long way since I started practicum in mid February.

However, there were a few problems I encountered related to my vision.
 The first problem was just knowing who was in the room.  We typically
had 15 to 20 residents at a time, and while some were regular
participants we had others who would come and go between sessions.
Sometimes, residents would even leave in the middle of the session.
It was difficult for me to know who was in the room and where they
were sitting so I could know where to go to address them, and even
know who was present so I could say, "Okay, I know so and so has a
hard time staying engaged.  I need to stay on X side of the room more
so they can hear me."

Another problem I encountered was knowing what the residents were
doing.  One of the types of experiences I had opportunities to olead
was movement to music.  This typically involved instructing the
residents in moving to pre-recorded music, often using scarves as a
manipulative.  Usually, the leader of the movement experience would
sit in a chair at the front of the room, so all residents in the
semi-circle around the area would be able to see the movement.
However, this made it really difficult for me to know what they were
doing.  Where they following my directions?  Where they not doing
exactly what I wanted them to, but were still on the beat or doing
something which demonstrated musical awareness?  Was their range of
motion improving?  I really was not able to get the answers to these
questions from where I was sitting, and totally relied on conversation
with my partners and the debriefings after the sessions to get any
information about it.

Unfortunately, these issues showed in my documentation.  I was not
able to be as specific as my instructors would have liked me to be,
and did not know how to be so.  I did start documenting things I
picked up auditorally, such as, "Client C vigorously clapped along
with the rhythm of the melody," or "Client M made several comments
with positive vocal infletion."  However, these did nothing for the
problem regarding my ability to not see their movement.  I got to my
wits end later in the semester, and asked my instructor if I could
lead the movement while moving around the room so I would be closer to
the residents.  She said this was okay to do, however I was concerned
that I might inadvertently turn my back on some residents while
observing another, particularly on the edges of the semicircle, and
they would not be able to see me.  It worked then and there, but it is
clear to me now that that method was only a temporary fix, and
something which would not be effective in the settings I want to work
in.  I grew more comfortable asking residents what their names were,
but I think a few thought it was odd that I seemingly couldn't
remember their names from Tuesday to Thursday.  I learned voices of
some of the regulars too, which helped a lot.

What frustrates me is that because I failed to document properly, I
have to retake the course next year and could be as much as a year
behind in my studies.  It frustrates me because from day one, before I
even went out into the field, I told my instructors that I know a
music therapist who is totally blind, and she would be more than happy
to offer suggestions and consult on best practices for accommodation.
I truly thought that this MT-BC could be a great resource for us, and
having seen her work on numerous occasions, I knew she would be very
qualified to offer suggestions.  I found myself even thinking of how
she does her work to try to accommodate myself throughout the course.
About 2 weeks in to the course one of my instructors asked for her
phone number, and I thought we were moving along.  Then a week or so
later I asked the instructor in charge of my class if she had managed
to have a conversation with the music therapist I referred to her.
She said I needed to sign confidentiality forms so that the woman
based out of an agency of which I was a client as a child could speak
to the professors in regards to my accomodations.  I complied quickly,
and thought everything was ready to go.  Then, on the last day of the
term I was sent the ferpa form in my email, and was instructed to turn
it in during finals week.  I was floored that this had not been taken
care of when I signed the other form so that communication could
easily go both ways.  All along the music therapist had been able to
speak to my professors about me, but they were not allowed by law to
speak to her.  A meeting was called to discuss my lack of progress,
and I was told that there was difficulty in reconciling my
accomodations with the professional competencies of my field, and even
though I had provided my professors with a great resource and asked
repeatedly if they had contacted the one person who could have
instrumental in helping all of us at my university through this course
work, they said I failed to adequately make my needs known.  My
professor in charge of the course knew the issues I was struggling
with, and also knew that in spite of these issues I was developing
musically and establishing rappore with residents.  I was not totally
making progress, but I was struggling in the areas where vision is
obviously a factor.

It isn't a question of whether or not I can perform this job.  I know
of several music therapists who successfully meet the professional
standards while compensating for their lack of sight.  I feel though,
that in terms of advocating myself I am stuck between a rock and a
hard place.  I feel that if I were uch more relentless than I was this
semester that I would just annoy the professors who I need to help me,
and I frankly expected them to do as they said they would by making
contact where it needed to be made.  On the other hand, even though
every time I did say something this semester and was told, "I'm going
to talk to her," I obviously was not advocating hard enough.  I don'
want to be a thorn in their sides since I need these people to help
me, but I need certain things to happen on their parts in order for me
to be successful.  And part of the issue is also that this is a new
experience for me.  I told the professors the information I had which
could be helpful for all involved to know, but this is not like an
English or Math class where I know the specific accomodations I need,
and the ways that work best from years of experience.  I feel like in
some circumstances, because this is new to me, that I don't know what
exactly to ask, or I don't know what I don't know, and I think that
goes for every student in my major because the point of practicums is
to learn from the supervising professor.  In my case, however, there
was a disconnect with some harsh consequences.  I also understand that
this is a new experience for the professors as well, but I feel like
more could have been done on their part by making a simple phone call,
and that they are using my blindness (not advocating well enough) as
justification.

What strikes me as odd is that I don't have any of these problems with
professors I see for one semester.  I have developed good, working
relationships with professors around the university.  Even when I
struggled in a math course, the professor and I were both diligent
about meeting in office hours, talking to learning services, and
trying to find our own ways to problem-solve.  I don't think I'm
getting the same sort of team effort here, and it is in the classes
that are part of my major.  And I feel stuck because I've provided all
the resources I can to the professors, and said everything I know to
say, but the result is that I have to take this course again and will
likely have to tack on at least an extra semester to my time in school
since the courses can not be doubled up, or taken out of sequence, or
in different semesters from which they are offered.  And it is
difficult to involve learning services, because they are the first to
admit they know very little about music therapy or music in general,
and the music department has assumed responsibility for my
accomodations in those classes.  I can't financially afford to spend
an extra year at school, nor do I want to keep taking classes over
again.  And I feel like this should be a team effort, but not knowing
anything else to suggest I'm not sure of how to make it more that way.

If anyone has done a practicum experience and had success with it,
please let me know some strategies which were helpful for you.  Also,
if there are any advocacy strategies I can try I would appreciate
hearing about them as well.

-- 
Kaiti




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