Sixteen-year-old Trae Caster of North Texas is a typical teenage boy; he plays drums in his high-school band, loves video games and sports. One thing that sets him apart from his fellow students: He’s still recovering from a traumatic brain injury he endured as an infant. Shaken violently by a babysitter at just 11 weeks old, even sixteen years later, he has visual problems, trouble walking and difficulty using his left arm, but one popular therapy has had a transformational affect on Trae, noticeably improving his motor and language skills.
The therapy is as simple as beating a drum.
Therapeutic Tunes
Board-certified therapist Joe Pinson, co-author of Music Therapy in Principle & Practice and former director of music at Denton State School, describes music therapy as a planned treatment of the whole person with interaction in a musical environment. The concept can be traced back to Aristotle and Plato, according to the American Music Therapy Association, but it was after the World Wars that the idea of music therapy found its modern adaptation, when physicians noticed the positive responses of injured veterans to music.
In a similar fashion, mom Melonie Caster discovered her 2-year-old son responding positively to music, so she enrolled him in home music therapy sessions with an expert from Early Childhood Intervention. Caster tells us that, among all of Trae’s therapies—and there were many—music therapy was one he actually enjoyed—and, of course, enjoyment leads to participation, participation produces results.
A typical music therapy session opens with a song, followed by dance and sing-along activities as well as percussion improvisation, details Pinson. “Playing by rote,” he says, is an often-used therapeutic technique. It’s a method in which the therapist plays something on an instrument and the individual (or group) plays back what he just heard. Listening games are another often-used method—hearing and naming a particular song or artist. And to bring the session full circle, a closing song is played, signifying the session is over. But each treatment plan is adapted to the needs of the individual, and therapists are trained to notice responses and make the changes and adjustments necessary to produce a positive outcome.
Trae’s particular therapy was designed to help with his speech and language disorders and gross/fine-motor difficulties.
Kasye Palmer, a board-certified music therapist who worked with Trae during his elementary school years, tells us, “Our sessions always started with a hello song where Trae played with me on an electronic autoharp called a Q Chord. Trae would light up when we turned it on, strum as best as he could and sing the entire song with me.” Palmer, who now works as a music therapist at Richardson ISD, adds, “[Each session] we worked on two to three academic strategies with and without the Q Chord.” And, “Trae almost always picked the drum to play. He was very successful at holding it with one hand and striking it with the other.”
“Even after his lessons, he was inspired to pick up his [drum] sticks and mimic the movements he’d learned. And because drummers need to use both arms to play, Trae’s motor skills improved significantly and he increased the coordination of his left arm,” Caster explains. In fact, increased range of motion was one of Trae’s first noticeable improvements, she says.
Singing a New Song
Band director Mario Casanova, who’s known Trae since his ninth-grade year, has also noticed his pupil’s continued physical development, but he says he’s observed Trae becoming more outgoing; so not only has music therapy improved his physical dexterity, his cognitive and communication skills, it’s engaged him socially and encouraged a love for music, as well.
Among the many additional benefits of music therapy are stress management, improved communication skills and promotion of physical rehabilitation, says Palmer.
By the seventh grade, Trae was confident enough to begin taking private drum lessons and, by the time he reached high school, he was inspired to join the North Texas school’s band—an amazing feat for a young man who experienced such a traumatic injury as an infant. And Casanova has been so impressed with Trae’s improvements that he’s advised his own sister to begin music therapy for his nephew (who also has limited use of his left hand) once he’s old enough.
And the beat goes on; while Trae might still be far from a full recovery, his mother tells us, “His determination is stronger than anyone could have ever imagined.” And he continues to develop his physical strength and coordination … with every rat tat tat of his drum.
