Quality of Life Grants Spotlight: The Michigan State University Community Music School
Music can lift spirits and bring people back to specific times in their lives. Whether a person is singing, clapping, or playing an instrument, the feeling of being a part of something creates community and inclusion. The Michigan State University Community Music School (CMS) recognized the need for a program that provides an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to express themselves through music.
The founders of the Music Therapy Clinical Services program at the Community Music School is an inclusive music program. People with physical, cognitive, social, self-expression, or mobility issues receive individual and group sessions at CMS. Each individual has a treatment plan that reflects their unique needs. Participants soon realize that anyone, regardless of their disability/ability, can be a part of the program.
The Reeve Foundation’s $25,000 COVID-19 grant helped the CMS provide music therapy to help people with living with paralysis and other special needs and medical conditions build communication skills, socialization, fine/gross motor skills, self-expression, and wellness.
With the Reeve Foundation’s grant, the program could expand its services through the use of music stations. The program bought two music stations that increased sound quality and supported hybrid stations. However, these stations also endorsed the use of technology that decreased accessibility issues. The equipment has been used to provide music therapy services to 111 individuals, 55 of whom are individuals living with paralysis.
The Music Therapy Clinical Services program could afford to increase accessibility through iPads. In addition, the various apps on the iPad opened up opportunities to the participants in the CMS program.
COVID-19 changed how music therapists and instructors instructed their participants. Because of the funding from the Reeve Foundation, they quickly moved to Zoom and successfully provided sessions virtually. Using Zoom to bring music therapy services to people who lived far from the CMS, were bedridden, in the hospital, or lacked transportation. Additionally, individuals who don’t feel comfortable participating in onsite sessions can join classes through Zoom.
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Before accessibility to music therapy sessions increased, Don played his electric guitar with lots of support before the CMS program had iPads and apps. Playing his guitar was challenging. But, Don didn’t give up and could play a few notes in a song. After he began using an iPad, he used the guitar app and played the electric guitar as much as he wanted in the music sessions. He could play the guitar without anyone’s help.
His mother said, “Don lost all of his programming and services because of COVID-19, but continued to participate in his music services because of CMS’s virtual sessions. Also, Don rejoined his peers in music therapy camp. He attended in person in the early years of the camp’s existence. Unfortunately, he could no longer participate after a dog was introduced to the camp. Now, because of the funding, he can once again be a part of the camp as he attends music therapy classes virtually.”
Post-COVID-19 social isolation regulations, the CMS continues to offer music therapy sessions virtually. Participants in the program love to have the option to have sessions at home. The staff at CMS report, “We see some individuals play, sing, talk, or laugh more than they did when they attended sessions in person.” Everyone is a part of making music because no one is muted.
The future of the CMS program is bright. The goal is to continue using virtual sessions to build a sense of community and belonging thanks to the stations provided by the Reeve Foundation’s grant.
To learn more about the Reeve Foundation’s Quality of Life Grants Program, please see: www.ChristopherReeve.org/QOL.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Reeve Foundation’s National Paralysis Resource Center created a special grants category (COVID-19: Addressing Social Isolation) for non-profit organizations to address social isolation by providing programs and projects to support the physical and mental health of people living with paralysis.
Christina Sisti, DPS, MPH, MS is a bioethicist and health care policy advocate. She works to create awareness and improve health care policy for those with long-term health issues.