Man in the Can - The Life of a Dreamer (Autism Awareness)

Well, this got my heart! 

Patrick lost his job and both of his parents, but he never gave up on his dream. Here's a little smackeral of autism awareness and inspiration for ya! (click on the video link below) 

Keep on singing,

Jessica

Musicians with disabilities ... call for entries!

VSA is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts


http://www.vsarts.org/

Music Therapy and Autism webinar

"Where Words Fail, Music Speaks"

Hello everyone! I wanted to share with you something that I am pretty excited about.  You've heard me mention Autism Hangout before in past postings.  Autism Hangout is a website created to provide support and resources for those in the autism community. 

Craig Evans, a fellow musician and host to the Autism Hangout site, invited me to speak (via webinar) on Music Therapy and Autism.  We did the webinar interview this morning, and he already has it posted on the site.  The heading/title of the webinar is "Where Words Fail, Music Speaks".

It is a 10 minute webinar that touches on some introductory points about Music Therapy as it relates to ASD treatment.  Craig and I have discussed plans for expansion of this, and look forward to creating a series of webinars under Music Therapy and Autism.  These future webinars will give a little more in depth look at the use of music therapy techniques to support specific needs of a person on the spectrum (i.e. speech, development, supporting cognitive skill/concepts, sensory input/integration, social skill development, etc).

Thank you, Craig, for Autism Hangout as it is a wonderful resource, and thank you for allowing me to contribute!

Visit http://www.autismhangout.com/default.asp to view the video, along with some other great resources.

Jessica

Down Syndrome spotlight, Colin Gets a Chance

I received a message through LinkedIn regarding a new resource.  I have not yet been able to view this myself, but am anxious to.  The book, Colin Gets a Chance, was written by Brian Beale in honor of his son, Colin, who has Down Syndrome.

Below is a portion of the description of this book.

"It’s a book about a little boy who never gets a chance to play the game he loves (baseball) until the last game of the season when his team steps up to the coach and asks him to let Colin bat as they want to cheer for him as he’s done for them all season long.
This is a truly inspirational book as the book cover and all illustrations were done by individuals with Down syndrome. It just does not get any better than that!!! “Colin Gets a Chance” is a children’s book about acceptance and inclusion of others who appear different on the surface, but are so much more alike than different once given a chance."
-Brian Beale, PHR, Author
Visit http://www.colingetsachance.com to learn more about this book as well as to view a sampling of the illustrations.  You are also able to view a video, and meet 'the real Colin'.

I can't wait to get my hands on this book!

Jessica

Disability Conference

Happy Tuesday.

I just wanted to pass on the word about an upcoming Disability Conference being held at Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant) this Saturday, Sept 12, 9-12am (continental breakfast provided). See below for more information.

"In partnership with Joni and Friends International, Seacoast Church is hosting the area's first Disability Awareness Conference. The conference is open to the public and will benefit anyone wanting to learn more about special needs ministry. The target audiences include families with a special needs child or adult, individuals interested in volunteering with a special needs ministry, as well as local church leaders concerned with meeting the needs of these special families within their own congregations."

On a personal note, I have always been so happy to see the emphasis that my own family church has always placed on children. Within the last few years, we extended this to be sure to meet the needs of EVERY child by starting a special needs ministry. I have enjoyed working with this ministry since it's birth, leading at one of the weekend services. It's because of other area churches (and non area churches as well) that we have been able to bring such a ministry. I am thankful to those churches and persons who were already familiar with this type of ministry for helping and guiding us along the way. Now, we are partnering with Joni and Friends International for more growth and development, and I am so excited about where we are headed. It makes my heart deeply glad to see these sweet children being top priority. It's what they deserve.

Please visit my website (http://jgmusictherapy.com.p11.hostingprod.com/mt_newsletter) to view the copy of the press release for this conference (to get an idea of it's relevancy as it may pertain to you).

Jessica