Monday Music & Movement: {Executive Functioning and Functional Life Skills}

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Since the MN Music Therapy conference last weekend, I’ve had brains on the mind (pardon the pun!). Using music to engage all areas of the brain in order to maximize where memories or facts are recalled from is so exciting to me. This week, my personal goal was to use music interventions to improve executive functioning in everyday life. For example,  learning addresses, birthdays, phone numbers, and calendar days! In the meantime, I was still addressing gross and fine motor, academic, socialization, and musical knowledge skills that were in individual treatment plans.

For each client this week, I chose a goal that could be addressed and improved by using an executive functioning exercise to recall a sequence of numbers. For some, I chose 4 numbers and for others up to 10 numbers to sequence learning of their phone number.

First, I laid out seven instruments in a pile and he laid seven numbered mats that were all in his phone number around the room in various places. He sorted through the instruments and chose one to put by each mat. Then, I wrote his phone number on a white board, we started by playing the assigned instrument the first number. For example (not the actual client’s phone number), I wrote 2-1-8-3-1-6-0-5-2-0. Starting at the mat with the #2 on it, he played the instrument for the duration of a song that I played on the guitar (at least one minute), and then moved on to the mat with #1 on it.

After playing that instrument for the duration of a song, we erased the first *2* and *1* from the white board and started over. After each new number we added, we went back to the board, erased that number, and started from the beginning. After we made it through all 10 numbers, I took away the mats, and he recited the numbers as he went through the instrument course. After that, we took away the instruments, and he followed the course where the mats previously were. Finally, he recited his phone number without any instruments or numbered mats and he was able to remember it!

This is an example of an activity that would also be able to transfer to the home environment. Numbers or letters can be put on pieces of paper, and any number or instrument, or body actions can be combined with the items on the paper and slowly sequenced and then taken away. In the meantime, you’re still improving other goal areas, and it’s a fun way to improve functional living skills!