[nabs-l] Accomodating in experiential learning courses

[justin williams]

Did you call the music therapist yourself?  You could just get her method
and employ it.  

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2014 1:49 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: [nabs-l] Accomodating in experiential learning courses

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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