<div dir="ltr">This is really very interesting.<div><br></div><div>I think you have tumbled into territory that's just been waiting for exploration.</div><div><br></div><div>What about building a webpage with a blog, to talk about it? Create a Facebook group, too?</div><div><br></div><div>Have you talked about this with other professionals working with the Blind?</div><div><br></div><div>I'm gonna cc this to a few people back east in the USA, my natal home, and some in BC, Canada, where I am right now, to see who might have some ideas.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks, Kaiti.</div><div><br></div><div>RC also called Claire who is excited and relieved to have music back in her life again </div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Nov 9, 2014 at 8:54 PM, Kaiti Shelton via Social-sciences-list <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:social-sciences-list@nfbnet.org" target="_blank">social-sciences-list@nfbnet.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Hi all,<br>
<br>
Some of you may have seen me around on other lists; I'm a junior music<br>
therapy major, and the president of the Ohio Association of Blind<br>
Students. In case you're wondering what music therapy is, it is the<br>
evidence-based use of music to address individualized goals through<br>
music and therapeutic relationships, carried out by a professional who<br>
has completed an approved music therapy training program and earned<br>
board-certification by passing an exam for accreditation. To simplify<br>
that, in my field I will use music to address musical and nonmusical<br>
goals, including gait regulation, memory recall, enforcing positive<br>
behavior in children, improving social skills, improving/maintaining<br>
quality of life, increasing fine and gross motor skills, improving<br>
appropriate communication, etc. I'm a lot more like a physical or<br>
occupational therapist than a music teacher or performer, because I do<br>
keep track of data and evidence to back up research and keep track of<br>
progress. End plug, but if you have any questions about what music<br>
therapy is, feel free to ask. I'm really looking forward to<br>
interacting on this list. I have been on the human services list for<br>
quite a while, but I'm wondering if social science might be a little<br>
more in-line with what I'm going to talk about in the next paragraph.<br>
I'm also working towards a minor in psychology, so that's another<br>
reason why I joined.<br>
<br>
Anyway, the serious stuff that I mentioned. I just returned home from<br>
the national conference for AMTA, the American Music Therapy<br>
Association. I had a great time overall, and learned a lot, but it is<br>
one of the things I've learned that has me really worried about some<br>
ethical concerns I see. I went to a session on Friday night called<br>
Musical skills and competencies: essential or not? The AMTA has<br>
established competencies which all music therapy students must meet in<br>
order to earn certification, but there is no standard protocol or<br>
guidelines for accommodating when students with disabilities have to<br>
make modifications.<br>
<br>
The presenter used a student who is currently a senior in her program<br>
as an example (with the student's permission). This student lost her<br>
left hand due to cancer when she was a kid, and is now looking for<br>
music therapy internships. It was apparent when she came to the<br>
school for music therapy that guitar just wouldn't be an option for<br>
her, since one hand needs to play chords and the other strums. The<br>
professor, having no idea what to do for this situation, called AMTA.<br>
They told her, "You'll have to decide how to accommodate her." They<br>
offered this professor no guidance, no suggestions, not a single clue<br>
about what should be done to make sure this student can get the<br>
competency. So, the professor accommodated by letting the student use<br>
an IPad app to create the sound of a guitar in her sessions.<br>
Otherwise, she's a really good music therapist in the making, and can<br>
apparently play piano very well. Aside from one hand being missing<br>
and guitar in the traditional sense being a problem, there is nothing<br>
that suggests to this professor that this student wouldn't be an<br>
exceptional therapist. However, she has had to have conversations<br>
with the student, in which she has had to explain that the<br>
accommodation process for music therapy students is completely<br>
subjective. The professor sees the IPad as an accommodation to meet<br>
the guitar competency, but an internship director might see that the<br>
competency is unmet and not take this student into their program<br>
because of it. The professor expressed worry, because on one hand she<br>
wants this girl to succeed and knows her skills, but doesn't want to<br>
set her up for failure if no one else agrees with her on<br>
accommodations in an internship. On the one hand, she wants to<br>
believe that music therapy can be an accessible career to those with<br>
disabilities, but she also feels like she needs to be a gatekeeper for<br>
the competencies so the integrity of the field is maintained, and the<br>
integrity of the college is upheld. She's very worried because she<br>
realizes that as music therapy has grown, more and more students with<br>
disabilities are going to be coming into the field. Competencies just<br>
keep getting added to the litany, but none have been taken away or<br>
modified.<br>
<br>
I had a situation last semester, where my professors didn't know how<br>
to accommodate me in documentation. While this session focused on<br>
accommodating for the music competencies, the problem is still the<br>
same. I question how on Earth a profession which accommodates for<br>
individual client needs on a daily basis around the world doesn't have<br>
policies in place for accommodating students with disabilities who<br>
wish to become professionals? How is it okay that there is no<br>
standard system in place for this? I understand every student is a<br>
case-by-case basis really, but there is nothing at all for professors<br>
to go by, so they don't know what is okay and what is breaching the<br>
competencies. I wonder how many students have been held back for one<br>
reason or another, because they couldn't meet a competency in the<br>
cookie-cutter way due to their disability? But let me tell you the<br>
kicker in all of this; let's say that student X with the hand problem<br>
is hypothetically told by someone that she can't get an internship<br>
because she can't actually play guitar. After the internship and<br>
completion of the college program for music therapy, all students must<br>
take an exam to earn certification. The exam does not test musical<br>
skill at all. To my knowledge it also does not test one's ability to<br>
actively assess clients, which is the issue I ran into last semester<br>
when I was having difficulty providing visual feedback on my group.<br>
<br>
As a student, I understand why we have the competencies. This is a<br>
profession that has had to advocate itself to death for the past 60 or<br>
so years because it is so new and out of a typical person's norm, but<br>
if we keep making it harder by adding competencies and pushing out<br>
potential therapists with disabilities, I think detriment will be done<br>
to the field. The whole reason I learned about music therapy was<br>
because I worked with a blind music therapist as a child. She taught<br>
me to be okay with the fact that I was different from my sighted<br>
classmates, emphasized the importance of using braille and a cane, and<br>
encouraged me to practice music. When I got older, she was a role<br>
model I could talk to about general blindness issues, and was a mentor<br>
once I figured out I wanted to go into music therapy. I remember<br>
being 8 or 9 years old, and worrying about how I would go to the<br>
grocery store by myself when I was older. I think she and I had a<br>
closer therapist-client relationship because she was someone I could<br>
ask questions that others wouldn't understand. I am hoping to do the<br>
same thing for other students with disabilities who may become my<br>
clients, and it would be a shame if others with disabilities can't<br>
serve as role models and mentors to their clients.<br>
<br>
Is it ethical for a profession which strives to accommodate clients to<br>
push those who have disabilities and want to be a part of the striving<br>
away? To me, that says that I as a blind person am good enough to<br>
receive services from a music therapist, but I'm not good enough to be<br>
a provider, and if I modify a competency so that I get the same basic<br>
result but in a different way I'm not actually a complete music<br>
therapist. I personally don't think it is sound, but there are those<br>
who cling to the clinical competencies like ethically, it is the most<br>
important thing to protect them. I'm not saying that protecting the<br>
integrity of the competencies isn't important, but for students with<br>
disabilities there has to be some middle ground.<br>
<br>
I don't quite know what to do about this. I've emailed a bunch of<br>
people to start a think tank, which includes one blind and one sighted<br>
music therapist, a socialworker who is their supervisor, a woman I<br>
know who knows more than I thought there was to know about disability<br>
rights for students, and my state NFB president, but other than that<br>
I'm stumped. This issue really bothers me, but I also want to take it<br>
easy since I still have yet to get through my own training and figure<br>
out my own accommodation issues. Thoughts?<br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br></div>