Donnell’s Story
Donnell is an affectionate and lively 16-year-old young man who is fun to be around. Following a premature and complicated birth, Donnell was diagnosed with early development delay and autism at 3.5 years of age. As he grew older, Donnell demonstrated severe and complex needs across various areas, including language, communication, attention, concentration, social interaction, play and learning.
In July 2020, Donnell became ill with a serious bowel condition, the pain and discomfort led to escalating anxiety and behaviours of concern.. It became difficult to support Donnell in the family home environment, so he moved into residential care in September 2020 with input from a special school. However, as his behaviours became increasingly concerning and difficult to support within the environments he was in, these arrangements broke down. It became clear that a permanent and consistent residential and educational placement was required where his needs could be met.
In December 2020, Donnell commenced a 52-week residential placement at Kisimul’s Acacia Hall School. On arriving at Acacia Hall, Donnell was struggling with high levels of anxiety, expressed through behaviours of concern rather than communication. Donnell found it extremely difficult to regulate his emotions and required a lot of verbal reassurance from the people supporting him. Donnell’s anxiety increased when perceived demands were placed on him, and although Donnell began to form positive relationships with some of the staff who supported him, he often rejected support from others, and paid little attention to the peers living in the home.
As Donnell was experiencing particular difficulty in coping with the school setting, steps were taken to develop a bespoke therapy-led timetable that reflected Donnell’s needs. It was felt that Donnell would benefit from music therapy by encouraging spontaneous play and self-expression and stimulating language development and social skills. As Donnell was more at ease in the children’s home, Music Therapist Andrei Celik began to work with Donnell on a weekly, one-to-one basis in the lounge of his home.
The Music Therapist worked closely with Donnell using a relational approach whereby the therapist would lead the interaction through singing or playing an instrument, creating a motivating learning environment in which Donnell’s interests were built upon and promoted, while offering an emotionally regulating experience.
Gradually, Donnell began to respond to Andrei and developed a shared focus and attention. As the sessions continued Donnell was able to maintain interaction with the therapist for extended periods. It became apparent through his enthusiastic participation that Donnell enjoyed and was motivated by their joint improvisations. Andrei commented, “We have video recordings of our more recent sessions, and they clearly depict a sense of fun. Donnell can be seen smiling, laughing, and making eye contact with me throughout, and he loves singing into the microphone, which promotes his spoken language.”
The trusting relationship that has developed with Andrei allows Donnell to feel safe, a condition in which the nervous system becomes soothed, promoting regulation of his emotions and behaviour. When regulated and calm, Donnell can participate in more sophisticated interactions and maintain focus and attention for longer.
Donnell’s progress has meant that music therapy can now take place at school. Practitioners who also support Donnell in the home environment also attend the sessions, which deepens his feelings of security and improves the session outcomes.
The bespoke therapeutic timetable is working extremely well for Donnell. He is accessing more of the school environment, demonstrating improved tolerance and adaptability, and is much better at following instructions.
In the home environment Donnell has developed positive relationships with more Practitioners and with his peers too, which is a huge achievement!
Progress is also reflected in respect of the time he spends with his family both his mum and extended family have had some very positive visits to see Donnell in his home, and they have even been able to enjoy trips out with him away from the home environment.
The improvement in Donnell’s wellbeing has been significant. His sense of humour is much more apparent in his everyday interactions and his prevailing mood often appears happy and relaxed. The number of occasions when he seems emotionally dysregulated and unhappy have significantly reduced, and he has formed trusting attachments with the individuals who support him including his Music Therapist Andrei.
Not only is Donnell now managing his own emotions much better and communicating his needs and wants much more effectively, but he has also been seen modelling these techniques to other pupils in their moments of dysregulation.
The positive changes in Donnell’s behaviour were evident when he returned home for Christmas without any issues, and returned back to his care home without any difficulties. When Donnell’s mother Sharon saw a video clip of Donnell’s music therapy sessions, she said, “What amazing work so overwhelming to watch.”
Donnell continues to love attending his weekly music therapy sessions with Andrei and gets excited in anticipation of them. Andrei commented, “It’s so satisfying to see how much Donnell enjoys the sessions and, most importantly, how they are contributing to his progress and supporting him to lead a more meaningful life.”
