H’s Case Study
Amelia worked with H at a children’s hospice when he was aged 1. He had cystic hygroma which affects the lymph nodes in his neck and had a tracheostomy to help him to breathe. Having spent the first year of his life in hospital, H missed out on the social interaction that baby groups provide and he could not use his voice to speak. It was hoped that music therapy would help develop his confidence and promote healthy development.
It took a while for the initial therapeutic relationship to develop, H would attend sessions at the hospice with his mother but would often only stay for five minutes.
As the therapy progressed, and H stayed for longer in session she decided to focus specifically on H’s voice in order to help him to speak. To do this they sung a lot of songs, used bubbles, and an instrument called a reed horn which makes an unusual sound when you blow into it. The aim of this was to help H to use his mouth which would later help him develop speech.
Within a few weeks H started to become more confident with his voice and was babbling and amazingly he said his first word ‘mama’ in our music therapy session. His mum was delighted and emotional and she continued to use the songs we sung at home in order to further develop his confidence in using his voice.
After his individual sessions came to an end, H attended the under 5s music therapy group at the hospice where his social skills flourished as he mixed with other children. He is now healthy, full of confidence and able to speak normally.
The case study speaks for itself, the unique client led nature of music therapy enabled H to find his voice and express himself and the family nature of the sessions gave mum a safe space to express herself and also ideas for activities to use at home with H.
If you or someone you know would benefit from music therapy please get in touch and make a referral below!