Example Check-Ins
"I think that for both neurotypical and neurodiverse people, controlling emotions is important. However, when you have apraxia, it becomes much more difficult because your body shows what it doesn't actually feel. It's very hard to be in situations where you want to cry, but your body shows the opposite. It's something that feels very bad, but we have to learn to live with it, hoping that at some point in out lives, our mind and body can synchronize, and we can truly show what we feel."
- Nicolas Segrera
As shared above, every person benefits from learning how to express their emotions, and individuals with apraxia are no different. Taking the time to explore emotions is an important goal and one that music therapists are well situated to address, both through music itself and through asking introspective reflection questions. Below, find considerations for how to phrase questions in a session and example check-in questions that Whitney Perry or I have used in sessions with clients to address emotional goals.
CONSIDERATIONS
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When asked "What would you like music therapists to keep in mind when phrasing questions in a session?" these were the responses of spellers and their families.
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"Least dangerous assumption is to believe you are always understood and everyone is smart." - Kari
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"Even if we are looking the other way while being spoken to, we are paying attention, so it's good that they look at our face and not at our companion." - Nicolas Segrera
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"I want guidance and their opinions" - Abbey Gore
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Use open-ended prompts if possible to promote autonomy and provide maximum opportunity for expression if the client is able to spell sentences or phrases.
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Some clients may be at a point in learning how to spell when they benefit from being given three to four options instead of a completely open-ended question. Avoid options that are numbers or single words, as this potentially promotes looping in the response. Instead provide options that are in the form of phrases or complete sentences.
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Do not assume you know how a client is feeling. These clients' bodies do not accurately portray how they are feeling and may portray the opposite. Ask questions from a standpoint unbiased by what you see and completely trusting what they share with you in their words.
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Apraxia is not a cognitive disorder, so use abstract thought and imagery to engage the client and push them to explore their emotions in a new way.
Colors
What color do you feel like today?
Answer 1: I feel like the color _____
What makes you feel like that color?
Answer 2: I feel like the color ___ because __________
Music #1
What song do you feel like today?
Answer 1: I feel like ______
What makes you feel like that song?
Answer 2: I feel like _____ because __________
One could replace "song" with "song lyric" and "artist or musician."
Music #2
What instrument sounds the most like the emotions you are feeling right now?
Answer 1: I feel like ______
What emotions does that instrument sound like?
Answer 2: ______ feels like _______
Highs and Lows
What was a high from your week?
Answer 1: A high from my week was _______.
What was a low from your week?
Answer 2: A low from my week was _______.
Weather #1
What type of weather do you feel like? (Options can include sunshine, rain, breeze, cloud)
Answer 1: I feel like _____
What makes you feel like that weather?
Answer 2: I feel like _____ because __________
Weather #2
What was a moment from your week that felt like sunshine?
Answer 1: A moment that felt like sunshine was _________.
What was a moment from your week that felt like rain?
Answer 2: A moment that felt like rain was _________.
Nature
If you were something in nature, what would you be?
(Potential options: tree, river, or animal)
Answer 1: I feel like _____
What makes you feel like that weather?
Answer 2: I feel like _____ because __________
Emotion Wheel
What emotion are you feeling most right now?
Answer 1: I am feeling ______
Present an emotion wheel. Explain its structure and how feelings move from less detailed to more detailed from inward to outward. Provide options of more detailed ways to express a similar feeling as well as the client’s initial answer, and ask:
Which phrase most accurately describes how you are feeling?
Answer 2:
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I am feeling _______
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Today, I feel _______
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I am ______
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Right now, I feel _______