In 2022, Developing Melodies was able to work with over 300 patients, students, families and colleagues. Through music therapy, music lessons, curriculum development, co-treatment, evaluation processes, in-services and learning opportunities, we were able to meet the needs of our community while also enjoying the learning opportunities you shared with us!
Our Tiny Melodies program continues (10 years running!), serving our babies, toddlers, preschoolers and families so that they may make memories and continue the bonding and developmental growth with their children.
Our music therapy sessions, both group and individual, have allowed growth in all areas of development and have been an avenue of creativity for so many of our patients as they navigate changes in their lives and strive to a better quality of life, developmental growth and positive change.
Our heartbeat recordings have been providing families with lifetime memories of their loved ones, leaving a lasting legacy to be shared with generations.
Our music lessons have been giving the gift of music, ultimately showing students a variety of ways for music making and creativity as they enter school programs and advanced music-making opportunities.
Our Early Communicators program, in conjunction with Aspire Speech, Language and Listening Therapy, has given families in the early intervention program key takeaways with music and speech activities that can be brought home and used to continue helping their child grow and learn.
Our continued work with school districts in our area allow students an opportunity to experience music and growth in an environment that is accessible and nurturing.
We are always growing and always changing so that we can best meet the needs of the people we work with; from the newborns and families, to our seniors and caregivers. We also work closely to expand programming in all of the facilities that we serve and are eager to increase these services so that more people can have access to needed therapies and change opportunities.
Each of you has played a very important role for our development as a business and our growth as therapists. We are so grateful to each of you for continuing to show up, continuing to talk to us and allowing us to be a part of your story. The impact that each of you has on our lives and life of this business is always seen.
In 2023, we want to grow more and we need your help. Here are a few ways that you can assist us as we grow and serve more of Central Illinois in 2023!
- We are hiring a music specialist. We need more people to do more things and we are looking for someone who can help us. A Music Therapist is preferred, but we do have some programming that would allow for talented musicians and teachers to help us as well.
- We want to meet more people. We are looking to expand our services (especially after having a critical shutdown of some services since the pandemic in 2020) and we would like to talk to more people. Who do you know?
- We want to hear from you! What works, what doesn’t? We know we have holes to patch and we want to know where best to put our efforts in the new year.
Here is what we will be working on, in addition to providing direct services:
- Continuing to update and learn our new registration system (Tiny Melodies, Camps, Special Events, etc.) with hopes of implementing a more streamlined approach to ALL of our services.
- Updating our paperwork for music therapy patients
- Decorating the office (can you believe we have been here 1.5 years and still have little on the walls?!)
- Website updates to assist with streamlining intake paperwork, information gathering and notices of what we have to offer
- Social media presence so that we can actively engage with you and people you know online and grow our circle
- Continuing Education: We are constantly learning and growing ourselves so that we can serve you best. Did you know our therapists must have 100 hours every 5 years in order to keep our certification? And your early intervention specialists need an additional 30 credits every three years.
- Materials: We provide a lot of information when talking with families, but we are working on putting it on paper so we can regularly send materials for you to work at home (this is definitely a work in progress)
- A newsletter: We’ve been saying it for years and just haven’t implemented this. I think 2023 is our year… check back with me in December 2023 and see how we did.
