A workshop on music therapy, organised by the Department of Music in collaboration with the Department of Psychology at Martin Luther Christian University and Mary Rice Centre for Special Education was conducted on March 21-25 here.
The workshop was facilitated by Laxmi Mohan, founder of Sowmanasya, Centre for Music Therapy for People with Autism, Chennai. Attendees included music and psychology students of MLCU, students and teachers of MRCSE.
Session included an introduction into the neuroscientific basis of music and its therapeutic effects on children with autism.
The second, third and fourth day included therapeutic practice sessions of music therapy with the children in the first session for observation, discussion followed by a theoretical session on special children, autism, music as a form of therapy for autistic children, its effectiveness, role of music therapists and different forms of music that can be modified using various musical instruments.
The therapeutic session was practised daily to help the children adjust and adapt to the new environment. During these sessions the students from Music and Psychology Departments were required to compose songs and sing with different musical instruments to understand how music provides a unique variety of experiences in an intentional and developmentally appropriate manner to effect changes in behaviour and facilitate development of skills.
Students and parents provided valuable feedback on the workshop expressing interest for future programmes.
