Neurological music therapy finds success through program at Colorado State

From The Coloradoan:

Simon Nelson (pictured) is excited. But he doesn’t express his excitement like most 9-year-old boys. Instead of shouting, jumping or grinning, Simon has a seizure.

Simon’s frail frame rattles in his specially modified wheelchair from the tiny seizure. His head, supported by two restraints, pulls to the left as his eyes and mouth gape. It’s not the first seizure he’s has had, and it won’t be his last, but it is the first time he has had one during a music therapy session.

Simon was born with a knot in his umbilical cord causing anoxia, a condition where the organ’s tissues suffer oxygen deprivation affecting the central nervous system.
As a result, he suffers from cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, seizure disorders, respiratory and eating issues, and cortical and speech impairment.

Music therapy, a rapidly growing industry, is one in a series of therapies that Simon undergoes to improve his vocalization, muscle movements and communication skills.

Doctors only gave Simon a couple of years to live, but defying the odds, he continues to carry on as normal a life as possible by attending Pioneer Ridge Elementary School in Johnstown, swimming with his siblings and riding roller coasters.

Nelson must travel to Johnstown to attend school because it is the closest Board of Cooperative Education Services, or BOCES, school equipped to meet his special needs.

Experts and Simon’s family agree music has helped him grow in the five years he has been attending the sessions.

Cheryl Nelson, Simon’s mother, attributes her son’s success to a team of nine different therapists and the love of his family. She said he has a good sense of humor and is able to relay what he is feeling and thinking to those closest to him.

While Simon may appear unresponsive because of his condition, his cognitive state is such that he is able to recognize people and communicate with them primarily through his eye movement, although he will occasionally make noises and move his limbs.

That interaction shines when Simon is in his weekly therapy session.

“He is so cognitively aware of what is happening with his surroundings. We want to make sure that is maintained and improved,” said Aileen Ravalo-Voyles, board certified neurological music therapist with Fort Collins-based Neuro Song Music Therapy Services Inc., who meets with Simon in his home in east Fort Collins.

Jan. 18, Ravalo-Voyles, along with Colorado State University intern Lindsay Marsh, who is pursuing a master’s degree in neurological music therapy, went through an array of exercises during Simon’s hour-long session.

The duo took turns communicating with him via sign language while stretching out his muscles. At one point, after his seizure, Ravalo-Voyles played the piano to help Simon relax. The highlight of the session came when the restraints were removed from his head and he was able to support himself for a full minute, which is twice as long as he had been able to do in prior sessions.

Such improvements are a testament to the effectiveness of music therapy, said Ravalo-Voyles, who has seen Simon’s vocalization, decision-making and muscle movement improve since working with him for nearly a year.

Music therapy is a rapidly expanding profession in Northern Colorado due, in large part, to CSU’s musical therapy program, which is the only one of its kind in the country.

CSU is the only school that offers neurologic music therapy, and its popularity is growing.

Professors report that more students than ever are inquiring about the profession and entering the program focused on a career in music therapy.

The program had more than 95 students enrolled last semester.

Music therapy combines music and science to help patients from children, such as Simon, to Alzheimer’s patients. Yet, there is still little awareness about the field. Experts admit music therapy is still relatively new compared to other forms of therapy.

Since 1994, music therapy has been identified as a reimbursable service under benefits for Partial Hospitalization Programs. The therapy must be considered an active treatment by meeting certain criteria. The AMTA estimates that at least 20 percent of music therapists receive third-party reimbursement for the services they provide. This number is expected to increase as music therapy occupies a position in the health care industry.

Kimberly Sena Moore is a board-certified music therapist and neurologic music therapist who owns Neuro Song Music Therapy Services Inc.

“Music is a very powerful medium and it is also a very versatile medium, Moore said. “I sing every day in my job and that’s just a beautiful thing.”

Sena Moore, who has 15 contracts with individuals or facilities throughout the region, said that increasingly people are discovering music therapy and inquiring about its benefits.

“Everybody is really interested in music therapy and what it has to offer,” said Sena Moore.

The types of music therapy vary with each client.

She uses music therapy with stroke victims to help them relearn how to talk and walk, and with traumatized children who have to learn basic social skills.

William Davis, director of CSU’s undergraduate department of music therapy and the music graduate program, said, whether they are aware of it or not, everyone uses music therapy in some form.

“I think the general population uses music therapy, but they don’t realize they are doing that,” he said. “Music has that power.”

CSU is unique because of its Center for Biomedical Research in Music, which has produced a substantial amount of original research in the field since its inception in 1990.

Historically, music therapists have worked with people who are mentally ill.

There is a misconception that playing music is magic and patients automatically feel better, Davis said.

“We changed from the early days of a kind of a shotgun approach where we apply music and hope they get better … to very pinpoint therapy that aims for a specific goal,” Davis said. “We really try to be very much client-centered and (focus on) what the client needs, not this global approach.”

While using music as a healing method has been around since the days of Aristotle and Plato, music therapy is a younger profession that really began in the 1950s.
In today’s economy, music therapists are still in demand around the country, particularly in major metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles.

A music therapist’s salary can range from $20,000 to $135,000, but the average pay is $48,000, according to the AMTA. Sena Moore’s services range from $60 to 495 an hour, and she works with private clients to those at Larimer Center Mental Health, McKee Medical Center, Crossroads SafeHouse and Namaqua Center in Loveland.
However, Davis notes many of his students are more altruistic, less concerned about money than helping people.

“It is a different breed of student that comes into the program,” he said. “Delightful students who are centered, enjoy being around a strong value system.”

Blythe LaGasse, assistant professor of music therapy at CSU, who also owns a private music therapy practice Summit Music Therapy Services, agrees with Davis’ assessment.

“I had always wanted to help people, and this field allows me to help people achieve goals using music objectives,” said LaGasse, whose primary instrument is the flute.
“I think as people learn about music therapy, it becomes a career option for musicians. It is unique in that you have to be a musician coming onto the program,” LaGasse said. “It appeals to a person who has that interest in music and science.”

Chase, 19, is a sophomore in CSU’s music therapy program.

Having played the piano for 14 years, Chase discovered CSU’s music therapy school when visiting the campus while still in high school.

She found the fusion of music and biology attractive, and decided to pursue the vocation.

Chase said, inevitably, even with her own family, it takes a 10-minute conversation to explain what exactly her major is because few truly understand it.

“Some people get it; others, you can just see their eyes glaze,” Chase said. “I haven’t been out there looking for a job. I think people might assume it might just be as simple as playing music for somebody and they are better.”

Marsh is on the doorstep of entering the profession when she completes her master’s degree this year. She always had a passion for music and helping others. While she is hoping to find a job in Seattle, she is willing to go where the jobs are — New York, California, Arizona and Virginia.

According to the AMTA, the future of music therapy is promising because of state of the art music therapy research in rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s disease and psychoneuroimmunology documenting its effectiveness.

However, for mothers such as Cheryl Nelson, music therapy is a way to see their children communicate through non-conventional medium.

“He tries so hard to communicate. It’s very subtle reactions and responses,” Nelson said. “He has taught us how to forgive and love and be patient like no one else.”