The Sharp Sound of the School Bell Hurts a 9 Year Old

Katherine is a 9 year old who is very sensitive to sound – especially certain tones.  There are many case accounts of students having a unique sensitivity to sounds and music (the actual tone, or sound of a particular instrument). For Katherine, the sound of the school bell is particularly painful.

GOAL – To decrease Katherine’s sensitivity to the pitch of the school bell, and increase her learning time while at school (it often takes her several minutes to calm down after the bell goes off).

WHAT A MUSIC THERAPIST KNOWS – That certain sounds can actually harm a person and  that certain population groups are more susceptible to sounds than others (ie. FASD, Autism)

STRATEGIES FOR CONSIDERATION – The music therapist will explore several MT interventions to assist Katherine – recognizing that not all interventions work for all persons.  These may include (but are not limited to) – identifying the actual frequency of the school bell, and finding music that actually covers/blocks/diminishes that frequency, decreasing Katherine’s sensitivity of certain tones through weeks of music therapy treatment,   finding music that soothes Katherine that she can listen to at a comfortable volume (using earphones) at the time the school bell is set to go off, work with the school to use something different than a bell to transition students (bells are not necessarily the most effective for all students).