When I sat down and thought about what I wanted Key Changes to become, all I could really think of that I wanted to bring Music Therapy to my area in a way that made everyone know about it. Since that translates into a pretty boring goal on paper, I utilize this blog (and the subsequent newsletters) to try and express my passion and drive to make everyone aware of music therapy and just how wonderful and powerful it is!

As parents, family, and friends of children and adults with special needs, I know that you understand this drive. You probably understand it even better than I do. I hear stories of IEP meetings where concerns are not heard, tales of unthoughtful passerby’s and their comments, and multitudes of situations where it is expected that your loved one change themselves to meet someone else’s needs.

Just hearing these stories makes me hot. I wanted to share a few techniques I’ve used to get my message of music therapy out in the hopes that they can parallel your needs.

Be Persistent: I’ve been called tenacious, I’ve been called stubborn, I’ve been called annoying. All of these adjectives arose out of my never giving up knocking on doors and ringing telephones when I knew that a particular person or organization could help me, or I could help them. Just last week this paid off with two phone calls: One from a group I’d been trying to get in front of for 4 months, another with a company I’d been trying to contact for 6 months.

Drive Home the Points: Once you get that meeting, whether it be with the IEP team, the teacher, a company, or someone standing in line who made a very rude comment, know your points and drive them home. When I get in front of a group to talk about music therapy, I sometimes forget that they haven’t heard it all before. The way I remedy this is to know the main points and make sure I say them several times. I may know my situation like the back of my hand, but they have either never heard what I am saying, or have heard it from others in various forms.

Follow Up: Tenacious, persistent, annoying. Just because I scored that meeting, drove those points, and tried to make sure they remembered me and what I had to say doesn’t mean that they are going to remember it, or even do anything with it. Follow up. Call them back the following week to remind them who you are, what you wanted from them, and to see how they are progressing on their response. If you could see the schedules of some people for the day you came in for that meeting, you’d see just how small of a fraction of time you really took up.

Listen: Sometimes the people that you were so persistent with are unable to help you, but if you give them a chance and show them that you truly care, they might point you in the right direction. This also has the added benefit of giving you a name to mention of someone who is already sold on what you need. Use it!

I’ve used these tips in a variety of orders and modifications for a number of different situations. They weren’t always immediately successful, but they worked to open doors for me.

Do you have any tips for making sure you are heard? Share them in the comments!