Joshua
Joshua was born with a rare genetic syndrome. In addition to many symptoms such as heart problems and reduced muscle tone, Joshua didn’t develop mentally or physically as he should. By 16 months, when he started music therapy, he was still the size of a three month old baby, unable to roll, let alone crawl. He formed very few sounds, and showed limited emotions.
From the very first moment when Joshua’s music therapist played a ‘hello song’ on the flute, Joshua was captivated. His mum was amazed and inspired at how well he responded to music. Within a few weeks he was tapping the drum, shaking the tambourine and playing the wind chimes, eager to explore anything new. But the biggest change was his developing vocal sounds. Before music therapy he made little noise other than a bit of gurgling and cooing. But he started to have ‘music conversations’ with the therapist as they each made sounds in turn. Before long he could say ‘mama’, ‘dada’, ‘baba’, ‘gaga’, as well as a whole range of new noises.
Joshua’s mum said: “music therapy has given Joshua his voice. Nordoff Robbins has made such a difference to our lives.”
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