John D. Hartman MT-BC NMT Fellow - Imagine They Are Lonely Children: A Neuroscience Perspective on Development

Imagine
They Are Lonely Children

A Neuroscience Perspective on Development

John D. Hartman, MT-BC, NMT Fellow

Copyright 2020 John D. Hartman, MT-BC, NMT Fellow.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery Getty Images.

Interior Image Credit: Andrew Neary, MT-BC, NMT

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6820-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6821-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019911379

WestBow Press rev. date: 8/25/2020

Contents

To my God, my family and to the least of these, this is for you. This is my attempt to clear the fog and allow the bright rays of truth, hope and faith to shine in every life. Several simple but forgotten principles seem to have been lost and I hope to reinspire society with their glowing embers. All people are created equal. All people are created in Gods image and He wants all of us to come to the knowledge of truth. What is truth? Is truth relevant or individually defined? Are there timeless principles that are undeniable? How has multiculturalism destroyed our melting pot and how do we refine that melting pot and begin the transformation that produces fruit radiant like gold? Does our great nation still offer this truth and hope to all, or do we just say so, not believing, promoting, and supporting every citizen? Is the answer because we dont know how or that we dont want to? If you are equipped with the tools to do so, will you use them in the face of great opposition? Will you join me in walking down this good and right path?

First and foremost, I thank God Almighty. You have guided me through dark valleys and blessed me beyond measure in countless ways. You allowed my sight to be taken from me at a young age, and have guided me on the narrow path, and given me the ability to pursue my dreams, the power to believe in my passion, and special vision for sharing the gifts you have blessed me with to serve others. I could never have completed this book without our relationship and the faith I have in you.

To my beautiful wife, Sherry, and my incredible children, you are the greatest blessing in my life. I am eternally grateful for your love and daily support. All the good that comes from this book, I look forward to sharing with you. Your sacrifices of our time together so that others may benefit, and for Gods kingdom, is very appreciated. I love you always and forever!

To my educational and professional colleagues, your contributions to the fields of Music Therapy and Neurologic Music Therapy have provided a firm foundation to build upon. It has been my pleasure to learn from and work alongside so many of you. I am especially grateful to my friends and colleagues with Across the Way Community Resource Center, Inc. Our philosophy of independence promotes both functional and financial self-sustaining freedom. Our developmental and reimbursement reduction plan and model is an excellent example of operational values based on Gods word. Thank you for your dedication to transform the systems that perpetuate dependence, and for supporting professionals and programs that share these values. Your encouragement and support has helped make this book possible. It is my pleasure to pray with you and serve as God guides as we respect the dignity, uniqueness, and intrinsic value of every person. May God richly bless each of you and ATW-CRC in this journey.

I also need to offer special thanks and blessing to the individuals and their families who allowed me to use their personal stories in this book to offer hope and opportunity to many others who are struggling to reach their own potential and God-given purposes. It is on your behalf and for your futures I pray. I dream about outcomes and fulfillment for you while tirelessly working. It is your futures I aim to secure with joy, love and opportunity. For the privacy and protection of these consumers, their names have been changed, and the setting of their treatment concealed.

Finally, special thanks to Linda and Leanne for offering their time and talent to edit and review my manuscript. My chicken scratches and finger fumbles certainly were a challenge, but you persevered. Also thank you, Rob, for hosting me for a weekend of fun, memories and dedication, while applying final edits with the track changes. I pray that all of you are blessed in special ways for your love and support.

Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

The King will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers
and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Two years ago, after almost 15 years of treating adults with developmental disabilities, I was asked to consider working with children. Childrens programming represented a new division at my facility in the Midwest, and I said yes. After scrubbing my hands, I walked through the door of the childcare facility designed to serve the most severely impaired infants, toddlers, and children. Each child was unique, impaired from birth or gut-wrenching child abuse and trauma. Each child lay in a kid cart, or a beanbag sort of bed, or a prison barred safety crib. Buzzers blared warning beeps asserting urgency and need. The children cried out in reflexive utterances responding to the invasive lifesaving medical treatment. Why the need for such a program? Honestly, if the children werent at this facility, they would be confined to a hospital or nursing facility.

As a music therapist, I wondered what to do next? Should I pull out my guitar and sing hello? Could I pass out the instruments to allow the children to play along with me? Sadly, I tried that, but unfortunately, it wasnt effective.

What does the special educator do? Would repetition and reinforcement work to teach basic cognitive concepts?

What does the traditional therapy team do? Well in this case, they completed the assessment to determine if the children qualify for reimbursable authorization. Unfortunately, these children do not generally progress quickly enough to warrant 8, 10 or 14 sessions to teach feeding, language, range of motion, or strength training therapy. In other words, prior authorization probably will not be approved.

Most clinicians have experienced these types of challenges from clients or children at some point in their careers, leaving them to continue to ask: What to do next?