Anne Green Gilbert – Big Sky Music Therapy

Group music is a great setting to create opportunities for developing social connections. Moving together in synchronicity, which in this case is everyone participating in the same rhythmic movement, encourages social cooperation and creates a sense of purpose and togetherness. Singing in unison can also have the same effect. Examples of a couple songs we use are Tap Your Knees inspired by Anne Green Gilbert of Creative Arts Center‘s BrainDance concepts) and Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.

Our full example for the week is We’ve Got Rhythm. Try this song every day as a family until you’ve mastered it and are ready to move on to a new song! Here are the lyrics to help you:

Here to share a rhythm. To sing a song on a sunny day. We’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands. Yes we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands.

Here to share a rhythm. To sing a song on a sunny day. We’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. And we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands. Yes we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands.

Here to share a rhythm. To sing a song on a sunny day. We’ve got rhythm in our arms. Squeeze your arms. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our arms. Squeeze your arms. And we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. And we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands.

Here to share a rhythm. To sing a song on a sunny day. We’ve got rhythm in our hearts. Tap your chest. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our hearts. Tap your chest. And we’ve got rhythm in our arms. Squeeze your arms. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our arms. Squeeze your arms. And we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. And we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands.

Group music also provides the opportunity for children to learn social skills such as imitation, turn taking, joint attention, shared affect, and empathy. We often incorporate several facilitations that involve passing instruments such as Pass the Squishy Ball, Saturday Band, and The Drum Song. Passing instruments provides a structured activity for engaging with the person on either side and helps create awareness of others.

Music Therapy Services of Portland is directed by board-certified music therapist, Angie Kopshy. Upon completion of her Master’s in Music from Boise State University, Angie returned to Portland to study music therapy at Marylhurst University. Music Therapy Services of Portland specializes on working with children on the autism spectrum. Angie is also a singer/songwriter with the band, Stoneface Honey.

autism, movement, music therapy, music therapy for autism, neurologic music therapy, singing, special needs

Music Therapy Outreach Program Video #2: Rhythmic Based Movements

January 21, 2015January 21, 2015 Angie Kopshy

Music Therapy Outreach Program Video #2: Rhythmic Based Movements

Local music therapists, Angie Kopshy & Marie Miller, teamed together to create a music therapy outreach program in Portland, Oregon. Partially funded by a generous donation from Autism Speaks, this program focuses primarily on serving children diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Upon completion of our weekly groups, we share a video that focuses upon one of the rationale behind one of our interventions. Our hope is to provide families with inspiration and coaching so that they can incorporate these concepts into their everyday lives.

Video #2 gives examples of rhythmic based movements based on BrainDance as developed by Anne Green Gilbert. Gilbert’s website elaborates upon the primary patterns of breath, tactile, core-distal, head-tail, upper-lower, body side, cross lateral, and vestibular.

Marie showed the song, Tap Your Knees, for the 5-8 year old group and Angie shared, Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands, for the 2-4 year old group.

These are just two of many, many examples. Here is another song I created specifically for a little girl who had trouble waking up in the morning. The family and I decided that her love for music should be incorporated into her morning as soon as possible. We will also be presenting a more upbeat version of this song for the more active child.

Music Therapy Services of Portland is directed by board-certified music therapist, Angie Kopshy. Upon completion of her Master’s in Music from Boise State University, Angie returned to Portland to study music therapy at Marylhurst University. Angie opened Music Therapy Services of Portland in January of 2009 and incorporated additional training in both neurologic music therapy and autism in order to create a practice that focuses specifically on children with autism. Angie is also a singer/songwriter with the band, Stoneface Honey.

autism, movement, music therapy, music therapy for autism, neurologic music therapy, singing, special needs, Uncategorized

Summer Series III: Music therapy for two children with autism: BrainDance

August 21, 2014August 21, 2014 Angie Kopshy

For those of you who haven’t heard of BrainDance, I encourage you to check it out. BrainDance is a series of eight developmental movement patterns that healthy human beings naturally move through in the first year of life. Anne Green Gilbert, the developer of BrainDance, suggests that “cycling through these patterns at any age, daily or weekly while sitting or standing, has been found to be beneficial in reorganizing our central nervous system. Repeating these patterns over time may help us fill in any missing gaps in our neurological system due to birth trauma, illness, environment, head injury or not enough floor time as a baby.”

Music Therapy Services of Portland had a child with autism who needed help getting up in the morning. I created this song and video to help from the moment she awakened. The video is power packed with Anne Green Gilbert’s concepts but put to music in a way that helps create predictability and structure. Give it a try with your child and do it alongside them. If they need assistance, I encourage you to help them out the first few times. Recruit the entire family, sing along as much as possible, and try this every morning for at least a week. You’ll have a structured group activity and fantastic modeling for your child.

Angie Kopshy, MM, MT-BC

Music Therapy Services of Portland

Check out more videos created specifically for children with autism.