Jazz and Physical Therapy
It is no secret that music can be a powerful component in addressing the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. Admittedly, I am not a music therapist, far from it in fact, but in my role at Jazz St. Louis I am often approached to work in collaboration with people that are experts in areas that I am not (I guess there is a perception that I work well with others). Sometimes, collaborations are less than collaborative and often take the form of and individual or organization wanting something for free. This project was not one of those I just described, but a true joint effort between Dr. David Gutmann (an avid, maybe even rabid jazz fan), his team at Washington University School of Medicine, and Jazz St. Louis. Dr. Gutmann's desire was to create a program for young children dealing with NF1 that addressed developing social, gross, and fine motor skills using jazz as the vehicle. It is truly an amazing program and you can read about it HERE.