Childdance

Imagine there is no one in the world with whom you can communicate. All your attempts to reach out and make sense in the world are thwarted because there is no one who understands your language. This is a normal event in child development. Yet the child with disabilities has less adaptive skills than other children her age. Attempts are more frustrating. To make matters worse, the whole circle of communication between adult and child becomes thwarted as parents and therapists, instead of reading nonverbal cues accurately, misjudge them and send the whole communication circle spiraling downward. The character, the pacing, the whole theatre of our play and movement with young children is extremely important. As we believe children must learn to speak, we adults, parents and therapists, must learn to play. It’s not that adults are not well meaning. Very many are. It’s just that most adults have no idea "how to be" in the child’s preverbal world. It is to this preverbal task that ChildDance is addressed. It describes one therapist’s encounter with six different children with special needs, how child development theory and practice is woven together to form a fabric for preverbal communication.

A unique manual to raising a child—for parents everywhere—using the metaphor of dance to provide expert, comforting advice. Having children and raising a family should be the greatest joy in one’s life, but it is a role that requires tremendous responsibility and patience. As parents, our job is to provide a strong foundation for our children, so that they can eventually grow up to become self-sufficient adults. However, just like everything in life, all children are different, some requiring more support than others and to varying degrees over time. Parenting is like a dance between parent and child. The more seamless the movements, the more graceful the interaction. When a parent takes the lead or decides to share, over time with practice, the dance can be smooth and effortless. Nevertheless, when the child is unintentionally allowed to take the lead, the parent-child dance may appear more rocky and unstable. This often occurs when the parent is unclear and at odds with their role. The ensuing battle for the lead may cause disharmony in the relationship and the dance. Parenting is a lifelong commitment that takes patience, thoughtfulness, and skill. The Parent-Child Dance is designed to explain the concept of the dance and act as a catalyst for encouraging parents to begin their journey in making positive changes in their child’s life. Parents will recognize the scenarios and gain insight through humorous examples and step-by-step strategies to avoid disharmony.

The Parent-Child Dance: A Guide to Help You Understand and Shape Your Child's Behavior, shows you how to help your child improve his behavior and become calmer, happier, and more focused. You'll also learn how to strengthen and enjoy your parent-child relationship--without guilt, shame, or blame. Written by pediatric behavioral specialist, Miriam Manela, OTR/L, this sensitively-illustrated parenting guide contains over eighty creative activities and shows you the proven techniques the author has taught to thousands of parents, kids, teachers, and therapists. Get help for your child for difficulties such as over-sensitivity or irritability; discomfort with touch, sound, smell, and taste; overly rough and rowdy behavior; frequent anger outbursts or temper tantrums; anxiety or nervousness; appearing withdrawn or shutdown; difficulty with peers, problems with teachers; and more issues that the author, a pediatric occupational therapist, has successfully treated in hundreds of patients in her private practice. Table of Contents ForewordNote to Parents, Guardians, and ProfessionalsIntroductionChapter One: Stress and the Dysregulated ChildChapter Two: The Child-on-the-EdgeChapter Three: The Princess and the PeaChapter Four: The Heat-Seeking MissileChapter Five: The Squeaky WheelChapter Six: Taking Care of YouResource GuideAcknowledgmentsIndex Recommendations and Praise for The Parent-Child Dance: "Miriam Manela has the key to help you unlock the mystery of your child's challenging behavior...A compassionate, insightful, user-friendly book." -Pat Carroll, host of "Raising Our Kids," WCBS radio. "This book is like having an occupational therapist living in your attic! Through science, step-by-step instructions, and helpful illustrations, Manela and Zwolinski beautifully reveal the secrets of therapeutic, purposeful connection for the benefit of parents and children alike. Let's dance, let's dance indeed!" -Anthony T. DeBenedet, M.D., Coauthor of the Bestseller, The Art of Roughhousing "The Parent-Child Dance is a wonderful resource book for parents and professionals to help children with the range of sensory processing disorders...This must-have book is full of activities that can be easily integrated into play and everyday routines." -Dr. Georgia DeGangi Clinical Psychologist, Occupational Therapist "In this highly readable and practical book Manela and Zwolinski share hands-on approaches and easy to understand explanations of some of the underlying causes of dysregulated child behavior. The easily understandable recommendations coupled with the wonderful illustrations that clearly describe how to implement the exercises combine to make this a volume that parents will find to be a tool that can help them meet the challenge of raising a child with behavioral difficulties." -Dr. David Pelcovitz, Psychologist, Y.U. "The Parent-Child Dance offers many creative activities parents can do with their children at home to help them with some common behavioral issues." -Howard Glasser is Executive Director of Children's Success Foundation & Creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach(r) "The Parent-Child Dance could only have been written by someone with Miriam Manela's expertise, dedication, and insight. In it, Miriam helps you get in touch with your child's inner world, and gives you the tools you need to strengthen your parent-child relationship without blaming or shaming." -Richard M. Zwolinski, Author of Therapy Revolution: Find Help, Get Better, and Move On

Thinking Through the Arts draws together a number of different approaches to teaching young children that combine the experience of thinking with the act of expression through art. Developed as an inclusive, broad-ranging and user-friendly text, Thinking Through the Arts presents the unique insight of teachers as researchers, and counters the view that art is emotionally-based and therefore irrelevant to thinking and learning. The areas covered include drama, dance, music, arts environments, technologies, museums and galleries, literacy, cognition, international influences, curriculum development, research and practice. Early childhood and primary teachers and students alike will find this book is an invaluable source of new insights for their own teaching.

Personal Poetic Perspectives presents a compilation of poems analyzing a variety of topics, including family, addiction, sexual abuse, and Black history. Each poem is presented in a rhythmic format that inspires you to examine your personal opinions. Taking both humorous and serious approaches, these verses seek to spur you to reflect on your past, present, and future and prompt you to question your feelings regarding personal, social, and current events. Some of the poems depict author Montrelle Jackson-Sinegar’s personal experiences, while others explore the lives and stories of other individuals—and all of them invite you to think carefully about life and your place in it. Appealing to a broad audience, this collection of poetry considers a wide range of subjects and perspectives, opening the door for reflection and self-examination. “Personal Poetic Perspectives is an informative read that puts a spin on poetry by adding taboo counseling components, which draws in the novice and experienced alike.” —Natasha L. Ballard, LPC “I really enjoyed Montrelle Sinegar’s book. Her poetry is both humorous and serious. Thus, it motivates individuals to think and laugh at the same time.” —Timothy Smith, Dean of Workforce Development and CTE, Arizona Western College

Evaluation is crucial to the development and sustainability of Arts Therapy and Arts & Health practices. This guide supports practitioners in their quest to integrate thorough evaluation procedures in their everyday practices by providing practical guidance for designing, planning and implementing bespoke evaluation projects. Based on the authors' experience of designing and realising evaluation projects and running training workshops, a range of suggestions are offered for developing appropriate timelines and collection tools, ensuring organisational diplomacy, and managing what can be a delicate balance of truth, fact and perception. This guide will help practitioners to evaluate their services and projects by taking into consideration the unique profile of the practice, the workplace, clients, project participants, and sectors.

The leading textbook in jazz improvisation, Creative Jazz Improvisation, Fifth Edition represents a compendium of knowledge and practice resources for the university classroom, suitable for all musicians looking to develop and sharpen their soloing skills. Logically organized and guided by a philosophy that encourages creativity, this book presents practical advice beyond the theoretical, featuring exercises in twelve keys, ear training and keyboard drills, a comprehensive catalog of relevant songs to learn, and a wide range of solo transcriptions, each transposed for C, Bb, Eb, and bass clef instruments. Chapters highlight discussions of jazz theory - covering topics such as major scale modes, forms, chord substitutions, melodic minor modes, diminished and whole-tone modes, pentatonic scales, intervallic improvisation, free improvisation, and more - while featuring updated content throughout on the nuts and bolts of learning to improvise. New to the Fifth Edition: Co-author Tom Walsh Additional solo transcriptions featuring the work of female and Latino jazz artists A new chapter, “Odd Meters” A robust companion website featuring additional exercises, ear training, play-along tracks, tunes, call and response tracks, keyboard voicings, and transcriptions, alongside Spotify and YouTube links to many of the featured solos Rooted in an understanding that there is no one right way to learn jazz, Creative Jazz Improvisation, Fifth Edition explores the means and methods for developing one’s jazz vocabulary and improvisational techniques.