Good For Your Brain

My Students

I am a speech language pathologist working with teens with autism and other developmental delays. Music and movement are integral pieces of our group times, insanely effective ways to strengthen development of communication (and many other) skills. They're good for your brain! Elastablast covers both.

I work at a public high school, with various classes of teens with a variety of special needs, including many with autism.

Over the years I have searched for ways to really strengthen systems at foundational levels, growing neurons and bolstering connections. With a solid foundation, learning occurs more easily across all areas - not just communication, but thinking skills, motor skills, sensory processing abilities, social skills, and more. Research shows that music is an amazing tool for the brain in many, many ways - from emotional centers deep in the brain, to coordination of movement in the cerebellum, to higher level thinking in the cortex. Music brings together both hemispheres to work together, as they must for skills like math and reading. Organized, rhythmic movement adds yet another learning modality, as well as strengthening the mind-body connection for improved regulation of emotion and attention. Elastablast brings the elements of music and movement together, and it's fun!

My Project

Students and teachers come together in one big community circle, with all hands on the Elastablast. From there, so much begins to happen! Adults can guide students to find the beat, whether a slow one to calm and organize, or something quick to get kids ready and alert for learning. We can raise and lower it to follow the pitch in a scale or favorite song, providing controlled auditory input to support attention. We can pass it along and around in a big circle, working as a community in synchrony. The idea of community and shared social interaction is a huge piece for all my kids, but especially important for my students with autism. The elastic band itself can be stretched up, back, or around, to provide important sensory input to inform body awareness in space, and a feeling of safety. The cloth cover has a variety of textures and colors for tactile and visual stimulation. And, of course, communication! Concepts, following directions, vocabulary, turn-taking, and more, all while having fun!

Elastablast has everything my students need - community, music, movement, language, social interaction, and fun (don't shortchange fun - besides its obvious good points, it changes brain chemistry to support growth of neurons for learning).

Why address just communication when you can strengthen the whole system? I like to think of it as brain therapy, not just speech therapy. Students love it when you bust out the Elastablast; I have a feeling they just know - it's good for your brain!