Sound Connections: Music Therapy Program

Sound Connections is designed to improve the physical, mental, social and intellectual well-being and quality of life within children with special needs at 4 different schools in St. Johns County through music therapy and is funded through CCPVB. This program improves the lives of children and their families, and saves schools and taxpayers out-of-pocket expenses. We need your help to keep this beautiful program alive. 

Sound Connections: Music Therapy for Children with Special Needs was designed and facilitated by the Cultural Center in 2006. Music therapy is a well-established professional health discipline that uses music as the therapeutic stimulus to achieve non-musical treatment goals. The Cultural Center's board certified music therapists, Minda Gordon and Candice Sirak, utilize music as an educational related service to promote learning and skill acquisition at four public schools in St. Johns County.  Music therapy, an evidence-based practice, shows a correlation between speech and singing, rhythm and motor behavior, memory for song and memory for academic material, and overall ability of preferred music to enhance mood, attention, and behavior to optimize the student's ability to learn and interact. Sound Connections serve approximately 600 children with varied disabilities. Both of the Cultural Center's therapists work 32 hours a week during the school year at Cunningham Creek Elementary, PVPV/Rawlings, Valley Ridge Academy and Ocean Palms. 

Both therapists are evaluated twice a year by the staff in the school system and by the Director of Programs for the Cultural Center. Both therapists follow the AMTA Best Practices to include:

• Before providing music therapy services to a child for an identified clinical or developmental need, the music therapist reviews the medical history for the client's diagnosis, treatment needs, and treatment plan. 
• Our music therapist (MT) conducts a music therapy assessment of a client to determine if treatment is indicated. If treatment is indicated, the MT collects systematic, comprehensive, and accurate information to determine the appropriateness and type of music therapy services to provide for the child.
• The MT develops an individualized music therapy treatment plan for the child that is based upon the results of the music therapy assessment. The music therapy treatment plan includes individualized goals and objectives that focus on the assessed needs and strengths of the child and specify music therapy approaches and interventions to be used to address these goals and objectives.
• The MT also develops a plan for family members of the child and any other appropriate person upon whom the child relies for support.
• The MT collaborates with and educating the client and the family, caregiver of the client, or any other appropriate person regarding the needs of the child that are being addressed in music therapy and the manner in which the music therapy treatment addresses those needs.
• The MT utilizes appropriate knowledge and skills including use of research, reasoning, and problem solving skills to determine appropriate actions in the context of each specific clinical setting.  
• The MT evaluates the child’s response to music therapy and the music therapy treatment plan, documenting change and progress, and suggesting modifications, as appropriate.

Mission: Bring the arts into the life of our community.