JOINT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND SCIENCE debate -
Thursday, 22 May 2008

Music Therapy: Discussion.

Vice Chairman (Deputy Ruairí Quinn)

I welcome the delegation to the meeting. I convey the apologies of our Chairman, Deputy Paul Gogarty, whose father sadly passed away and who is not with us today so I am afraid the delegation is lumbered with me. We will have a presentation by the Cork School of Music at Cork Institute of Technology and the University of Limerick on the present and future needs of and plans for the third level sector in the provision of music therapy courses.

I welcome the following: Dr. Geoffrey Spratt, director of the Cork School of Music at Cork Institute of Technology; Mr. Jim Cosgrove, lecturer in music therapy; Mr. Brendan Goggin, registrar at Cork Institute of Technology; Professor Micheál Ó Súilleabháin, director of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick; and Professor Jane Edwards, course director of the MA in music therapy at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.

I ask the delegation to begin a short presentation on the present and future needs and plans for the third level sector in the provision of music therapy courses. Following this, members will ask questions. I must also formally draw the delegation's attention to the fact that while elected members of this committee have privilege with regard to hurling abuse at other people, the same privilege does not apply to the delegation.

Mr. Brendan Goggin

I welcome the opportunity to make this presentation. Music therapy sits easily in institutes of technology where we have a range of activities. While we may be more associated with engineering, business and science, we have a legal responsibility in respect of social and cultural development, which finds expression in masters programmes in art therapy, social care programmes and early childhood programmes.

Dr. Geoffrey Spratt

We have provided our submission and I will not repeat any of it. The Cork School of Music was founded in 1878, the first municipal school of music to be founded in Ireland or the UK. Over the past 130 years it has developed into the largest conservatory type institution in the State, providing an education in music and drama. There are more than 120 members of staff working in the school and nearly 4,000 student enrolments. Our level 8 BMus degree was established in the 1990s, the first level 8 programme in the State to include the study of music therapy. The school had plans to launch a level 9 course in music therapy, which it flagged to the Department of Education and Science in the Hardiman report in 1999. There was a delay in providing a new building for the school, which meant we could not proceed as we wished but thankfully the new school of music building has been finished and opened and the €62 million investment by the Government in this major infrastructural development means that a raft of new course developments can be expected, as detailed in the Hardiman and Langford reports. We are now able to deliver these.

We welcome Senator Keaveney's espousal of the value of music therapy. We look forward to being a provider of well-trained and qualified music therapists. The Cork School of Music is part of CIT and the institute can provide a significant and broader based corpus of students to study in an environment with the appropriate musical and clinical placements research ethos required for this study.

Professor Micheál Ó Súilleabháin

I am director of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick. It was established in 1994 and since 1995 music therapy has been part of our vision. When we started there were no full-time positions and people wondered why we would train music therapists for positions that did not exist. It turned out to be a chicken and egg situation and the course generated positions. Of the seven full-time music therapy positions in Ireland, six are held by our graduates. We are proud of that.

At the University of Limerick, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance is committed to facilitating the continued growth of music therapy under Professor Edwards. Those at the highest level of the university — the president and vice president — are interested in this area. Music therapy was the way in the door for several of the other therapies. The announcement of a new medical school for the University of Limerick is highly significant. No longer is music therapy on its own and it has generated a much greater reaction than we thought.

We wish to make a global contribution. The connection to the worldwide university system, through international conferences, and the connection to international research is very important to us. By making a contribution at a global level, the national problem in music therapy will be solved. We must consider the bigger picture for the local aspect to make progress.

Professor Jane Edwards

I thank the committee for the opportunity to present. The MA in music therapy at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance commenced in 1998. In September this year we celebrate ten years of music therapy. We have two full-time staff positions, my post as professor of music therapy and a further contract position. Some 30 music therapists have graduated from the course since it began. The biggest step of faith and development was to make the course annual rather than having an intake every two years. This has significantly increased the number of applications and there may be a number of reasons for this. We have three times the number of applications to places so we can choose the best candidates to take our two-year, full-time MA. Graduates of our programme worked in Ireland, Germany, the UK, Australia and Canada and the qualification we provide has been recognised in those countries. As Professor Micheál Ó Súilleabháin stated, the demand for qualified music therapists is increasing and we have worked with the Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists to have the professional category of music therapist recognised by the HSE. Our understanding is that recognition is imminent.

The future of music therapy at third level in Ireland is bright. The main challenge is to ensure that the appointments in our programme are secure. Our second position is a full-time contract one and our goal is to make the position permanent. We also seek to develop greater security of supervised fieldwork placements, which is one of the greatest challenges music therapy programmes face, not just in Ireland but in other countries. Developing this secure base for clinical training is essential in considering expansion. It is also important that the research base for music therapy continues to be developed and promoted. The HSE is correct in requiring professions in therapy to be evidence-based. Our commitment to research is a major part of the programme we offer and, for example, one of the PhD students in music therapy has been awarded a health services fellowship by the health research board. Dr. Simon Gilbertson — the second appointment — and I have received research funding, which is important in developing a quality music research programme where research informs how we teach and how future practitioners practise in an evidence-based context.

Deputy Frank Feighan

I welcome the delegation and thank it for an informative and brief presentation. The delegation is pushing an open door. I know many people who had no formal training in music therapy and went to the University of Limerick. They have confidence and are using their talent in rural areas such as the one I come from, Roscommon.

I am anxious to endorse the recommendations of Senator Keaveney in the report. For too long we have not valued music in our schools. I could never understand why we learn various languages and courses but not music. I wish I could play an instrument. The delegation has my full support and the support of the committee.

Senator Cecilia Keaveney

I welcome the fact that the most eminent people involved in this area are before us. Great practitioners and those who have received music therapy in schools will speak to us later. I was interested by an article in The Irish Examiner suggesting that the research moneys provided to the CIT were to be for the subjects one would expect, such as science and technology, but music therapy crept into that press release as well. Will the delegation address why some of the fourth level research moneys allocated to CIT were earmarked for music therapy? Why did music therapy crop up in the prioritisation for CIT? I do not know whether this is an easy question. I was extremely impressed to see it among the other funding directions. It might be of value to the committee to differentiate between community music and music therapy and the difference between the goals of each. I am too close to the subject and feel I know many of the answers. It is important to differentiate between the role of teaching the BMus and teaching the music therapy course. I congratulate UL on the amount of work done to achieve its annual intake.

Many people leave their jobs to do the two-year masters course. This is no different to many other people leaving their jobs to do a masters. It is not available part time. Is there an intention to move towards making it available part time? The committee will be considering the Student Support Bill and I am interested in the issues of part-time study, fees and having to make up the loss of two years' income while studying full time. Because the course is professionally recognised in the North and students can earn the same money as occupational and speech therapists and physiotherapists, how easy is it to keep people in the Irish system where it is not recognised?

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

I apologise for missing the bulk of the presentation, mea culpa. What efforts have been made to have music therapy knitted into the three year BEd course at pre-service level? I do not know whether this question was addressed. We have had long discussions about moving to a four year BEd. Have negotiations taken place to have components built in?

My background is in this area. However, I am not a specialist in music. I know many subjects are offered as electives or options and this is not the same as built-in components if we are considering the comprehensive pre-service education of young teachers. I know of the benefits of music therapy, particularly in the area of special education and how it can bring on children in leaps and bounds. Has the delegation regular input into this or made efforts in this regard?

Deputy Margaret Conlon

I also welcome the delegation and I thank its members for their presentations. My questions follow on from what Senator Keaveney stated. People may have certain talents, skills and aptitudes in music but if they are in employment, a full-time course is not an option for them because they cannot deprive themselves of an income for two years. Part-time study is worthy of consideration.

The delegations' commitment to research is to be commended. Often, people go down a particular road and do not see the bigger picture or anything other than the one road they are on. I agree with the HSE, which the delegation's statement echoes, that it must be evidence-based. The commitment shown to research furthers and fosters this.

Professor Jane Edwards

If the Cork group responds to the first question from Senator Keaveney we will respond to the others.

Dr. Geoffrey Spratt

I can certainly set the context. Community music and music therapy are complementary disciplines and we offer both in the School of Music. They are not mutually exclusive by any means. They have a great deal of interaction but they are two disciplines. The strength is that we have a mandatory component in both community music studies and music therapy in the second year of our BMus degree course for all students. The aim of this is to ensure that every student making choices on specialisation at the end of year two for years three and four, which are aligned to career choices, does so having experienced mandatory study in community music and music therapy as well as in performance, harmony and history.

People can choose to specialise in community music, music therapy or a combination of the two throughout years three and four. They can then make their choices for post-graduate work. Some choose community music, some choose music therapy and the many who are going into teaching, whether class, instrumental or vocal teaching, have been informed by the mandatory contact in year two and the electives they can choose in years three and four. The applications for research funding to support ongoing work in community music and the interest of members of staff in music therapy research are driven on two fronts.

Mr. Brendan Goggin

The research strategy of the institute is to grow in areas where we can make unique contributions, where we have particular expertise or where we have significant resources. The Cork School of Music is an enormous resource, regionally and nationally. Dr. Spratt referred to a number of reports on which we have been building the academic programmes within the school. We are still in the first year of the new building and significant opportunities exist to continue to develop them.

We also see the possibility for synergies with other areas of the institute, such as music technology which has implications for music therapy. The level of technology within the school is of the highest possible standard. We see music therapy fitting into an overall institutional research strategy of building areas of expertise where we can make unique contributions.

Professor Jane Edwards

I appreciate people love their work and that taking a break from full-time work for two years is an enormous commitment. The students we have had who chose to do so are to be commended. It says something for the way the music therapy course seems to attract people who have compassion for other people and who are willing to make sacrifices to work with them in the future.

Following the report of the committee formerly chaired by Senator Keaveney, we have not taken any further the recommendations to make it more accessible by making the music therapy course available part time and to have better geographical mapping of music therapy training. However, we are open to the opportunities available. I refer to an Oireachtas report from 2006 on defining music therapy.

We must think about what we are asking people to do with regard to music therapy training. We are asking them to relinquish their professional identity and role, whether as a teacher or psychologist, and come into a new role as a qualified music therapist. We do not want them to be a music therapist and something else but to immerse themselves in the course for two years to move into a different way of relating to people through music which is extremely effective in working with people with additional needs.

I am open to part-time programming but I endorse the need for people to make an occupational shift from their work into the role of therapy. For some music therapy trainees, this is a process issue.

Students on the music therapy course have included the principal of a national school and a musician from the national orchestra. Those people found funding and job release time to complete the programme. Many of the students use the vocational education committee system for financial support. We have also had a social worker, a speech and language therapist, a member of the Garda Síochána and a psychologist on the music therapy course. We received an application recently from a health worker from the Health Service Executive who was originally a nurse but had gone on to train as an allied health professional. She now wants to train as a music therapist.

I agree that part-time options and better geographical choices are important in music therapy but our commitment has been to providing the highest quality graduates and the full-time, two-year programme acknowledges the amount of study required to qualify.

The question of music therapy being embedded in the BEd programme was raised. I take up invitations regularly to speak to music educators and those completing postgraduate studies in special education. We could provide more effective training for special educators. The media has highlighted the needs of children who have been abused, who have dyslexia and so on. Services for such children must be provided in a meaningful and comprehensive way — not necessarily within a therapeutic service, but within a school service. That is a bigger question which goes beyond the MA at the Irish Royal Academy, but an important one none the less.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

Are consultations taking place with the Department of Education and Science or the teacher education colleges?

Professor Jane Edwards

No, not at present.

Senator Cecilia Keaveney

I think I might have scared the representatives from Cork when I mentioned the Irish Examiner. I was not referring to the article published yesterday. I am sure that no money will be taken away from the music department of the Cork Institute of Technology. I was referring to an article published some time ago. Music is as important as any other subject in CIT.

Vice Chairman

We will deal with music when we see the Estimates.

Senator Cecilia Keaveney

We will see major harmony. I have met students of the music therapy course and know of their strong commitment. Given that there is no professional recognition, is there scope for a regional mechanism to be put in place by the HSE? In the north west, for example, we have grave difficulties maintaining professionals in the region, including speech therapists, physiotherapists and so forth. This is even true of areas such as dentistry and orthodontics. I was often asked in the past why the former health boards did not provide a number of grants annually that would cover the cost of professional training and, in return, those who qualified would be expected to work in the region for two years or more. Some people would have a problem with such a system but if the system were more open, people might volunteer for that option. Have there been any talks with the HSE in this regard? If a formal structure were set up, other medical professionals who might not be aware of music therapy would be challenged and music therapists could be included in multidisciplinary teams.

Vice Chairman

Deputy Feighan would like to ask a brief question.

Deputy Frank Feighan

What is the actual timetable for the full-time course? Is it full-time in the sense of running five days a week?

Professor Jane Edwards

We have noticed that now that the health service in Northern Ireland is required to provide funding for the training of music therapists — and our programme is eligible to receive such funding — applications from the North have increased. We may find that with that type of funding support, we will have the opportunity to support more students to study music therapy.

The current discussions we are having with the HSE are about the recognition of the title of music therapist. They are not about how that will play out. However, given that recognition of other occupational titles has led to support for study, for example, in clinical psychology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and so forth, the future looks bright.

Professor Micheál Ó Súilleabháin

Our discussion today has focused on the needs and plans for the third level sector in the provision of music therapy courses. The Royal Irish Academy is essentially a postgraduate centre. It has 12 degree programmes. Of those, only two are undergraduate degrees and the remainder are taught masters courses comprising approximately 30 to 35 research students, two of whom are doing music therapy. In fact, they are the first PhD music therapy students in Ireland. We sometimes joke that of all of these degrees, music therapy is the only one where our graduates can go out and do real damage. I am not sure my colleagues would fully agree because damage can be done in the other areas as well.

We have taken the approach that the way to solve the problems of undergraduate modules, part-time access and so forth is to begin from the top down. It is a top-down model rather than the other way around. That is the best way to do it. One starts at international level, PhD level and masters level and then one has the resources, knowledge and skills to progress and develop the area further, as we have been discussing. Furthermore, one's graduates will be the very people who will teach and design the modules to which the Senator referred. Courses must be designed carefully and if one is starting at doctoral and masters level, as the academy is, one is linked internationally with music therapy programmes. Beginning from the top down and then spreading out into part-time provision and so forth is essential.

I support Professor Jane Edwards's assertion that this is a very serious business. It is a medical degree. Everyone who qualifies as a music therapist will spend the rest of his or her life doing that work. It is not a part-time thing, a hobby or an interest. It is not like playing the piano every Saturday morning. It is a serious business and as Professor Edwards will attest, we have many people who have a romantic view of music therapy but we quickly disabuse them of that. We point out that they will be dealing with severely physically and mentally handicapped clients in many cases. Students need a heart, passion, compassion as well as a scientific approach. We take our programme very seriously indeed.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

The fact that the academy is focusing on the top-down model means that there will be quality in the system. As much as I would love to see it embedded at undergraduate level now, Professor Ó Súilleabháin has just pointed out that the personnel are not available yet and will not be until they are trained, from the top down, as it were. This is consistent with international research which asserts that quality must be the key.

Mr. Jim Cosgrove

The programme in the Cork School of Music has been running for approximately ten years. Originally the idea was to have an undergraduate training programme in music therapy but, as the representatives of the Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapies at that time, our advice was that it was really a postgraduate degree. Professor Ó Súilleabháin is correct that it is very much serious, postgraduate, clinical training. However, music therapy is made up of two components: music and therapy. In the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which was the first to offer music therapy training in the United Kingdom, the course grew out of the music conservatory, which is an important creative distinction to make. As Professor Ó Súilleabháin has said, it is a medical, therapeutic pursuit but it is very much grounded in the creative art of music making. Essentially, that is what makes it different to many other therapies and what creates its richness.

The value in the undergraduate programme in Cork is that BMus. students who may not continue on to train as full music therapists can enrich themselves in many special ways which allow them to deal with any music situation or client, whether as a music teacher, community music adviser or music educator. The foundation programme which has been in place for the past ten years is unique in the number of hours and the spectrum of training involved. Our hope with this proposal is to augment it with a two year masters programme at some point in the near future. While the matter may be top-down in a research and medical context, it must be bottom-up from a creative arts and music point of view.

Vice Chairman

On behalf of the committee, I thank the witnesses for taking the time to help us to understand this very important topic.

We will now discuss the benefits of music therapy in special eduation. I welcome from Scoil Íosagáin, County Donegal: Ms Sinéad McLoughlin, principal; Ms Louise Kelly, music therapist; Ms Doreen Friel; and Ms Angela Tourish. While the witnesses are taking their seats, I offer them the usual health warning. We can abuse other people but they cannot unless they want to take the legal hit.

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

Thar ceann múinteoirí agus tuismitheoirí Scoil Íosagáin, ach go hárithe thar ceann páistí Scoil Íosagáin, táimid an-buíoch díobh as an cuireadh chun labhairt leis an coiste inniu.

We are delighted to have the opportunity to speak to the joint committee about our experience in the delivery of music therapy and special education at our school. Ms Kelly, our music therapist, will give the committee an overview of the practice, Ms. Friel, who is a teacher, will share her experience of the benefits of music therapy for one of her students and Ms Tourish will speak about her daughter, Orla.

Scoil Íosagáin is a primary school in Buncrana, County Donegal, with an enrolment of 690 pupils. The staff comprise 43 teachers, 32 special needs assistants, a music therapist and a school librarian, who manages school completion programme activities. Scoil Íosagáin is unique in the model of education it provides to pupils. It was the first mainstream primary school in the country to establish a class for pupils with severe and profound general learning disabilities in 1997. Since then, the school has continued to push the boundaries in terms of the provision of special education. We now have a mission to provide an educational model where all children can learn, play and grow together in a school setting that celebrates difference and promotes inclusion. This has been made possible largely because of the vision of the board of management, the commitment of school staff and the support of parents and the school community.

As well as 25 mainstream classes for pupils ranging from junior infants to sixth class, we have eight classes for pupils with special educational needs, including four classes for pupils with autism, two classes for pupils with moderate general learning disability, one class for pupils with severe and profound general learning disability and one class for pupils with specific learning disability or dyslexia.

On a visit to Scoil Íosagáin in June 1998, the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Martin, described the school as a model of best practice and a unique educational experience. In February 2005, the former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, paid tribute to the school's philosophy of inclusion. These sentiments were echoed in April 2006 when we had the privilege of welcoming the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, to Scoil Íosagáin.

Our school motto, "mol an óige", reflects the centrality of the holistic development of the child in the philosophy of the school. We recognise that each child is unique and our clearly stated aims foster the personal development and fulfilment of every child entrusted to our care. We will facilitate the right of every child to access and participate in the education system according to his or her ability and needs. Our pupils will spend most of their compulsory schooling at Scoil Íosagáin, so it is our duty to offer them the best possible education in an all-encompassing educational environment. Our aim is to ensure that school days are happy and that learning is an enjoyable experience for all.

We hope our pupils' experience with us at primary level will encourage them to continue their education beyond the compulsory school attendance age by laying the foundation for life long learning and that the aims of primary education as outlined in the revised primary school curriculum will be fulfilled for our pupils in a meaningful way. The aims of primary education are enshrined in our vision for Scoil Íosagáin. We see the school not only as a centre of excellence in terms of academic provision but also as a nurturing centre.

Our vision for the pupils entrusted to our care defines our role as educating hearts and minds. This vision has grown from the unique needs of our pupil population and out of a number of circumstances, including critical incidents, experienced by the school community in recent years. We serve urban and rural pupils of the Buncrana area. Our special classes serve the Inisowen peninsula, an area larger than County Louth and a population greater than counties Leitrim and Longford. In addition to the pupils enrolled in special classes, a relatively large number of pupils with special educational needs are in mainstream classes. Many pupils come from a background in which one or both parents are unemployed due to the demise of the textile industry in the area and the recent downturn in the building sector. We participate in the south Inishowen school completion programme, a Department of Education and Science funded scheme to support pupils who may be at risk of leaving school early. Interventions which take place in or after school and during summer holidays include peer learning and support; communication and presentation skills programme; information technology support for literacy and numeracy; personal development programmes including social skills and independent living skills; gardening and environmental awareness programme; after school fun club; and team building and co-operative learning projects.

Among the school population are pupils who have been bereaved or who experienced separation and divorce in their families. In 1998 two of our pupils were killed in the Omagh bombing. The school community was devastated by that tragedy and has since suffered the deaths of two more pupils in tragic circumstances and two parents by suicide. Consequently, the school endeavours to support pupils, staff and parents at times of loss through interventions such as rainbows, arts education and, more recently, music therapy.

A nurture class was established in 2007 to support pupils with educational deficits resulting from a specific learning difficulty or emotional and behavioural difficulties. This class is facilitated through the Department of Education and Science's general allocation system of special education teachers. Included in the group are pupils for whom full-time mainstream education was challenging and pupils who had a poor record of school attendance. Self-esteem and confidence were found to be at a very low level among the pupils.

Vice Chairman

If I could interrupt, we are under time pressures and Ms McLaughlin has circulated her submission to members. I ask her to share her time with her colleagues.

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

I ask Ms Kelly to speak about the introduction of music therapy to the school.

Ms Louise Kelly

I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to address it. One of the most difficult parts of my job, after the therapeutic work, is raising awareness of my profession.

I work full-time at Scoil Íosagáin, which to my knowledge is the only school in Ireland with a full-time music therapy post. Sixty students from both mainstream classes and the special needs department receive music therapy on a weekly basis. These children have physical and emotional disabilities, as well as social and behavioural issues.

There is no such thing as a typical music therapy session. The benefits of music therapy may be as varied as the needs of the child using the service. Music therapy is essentially a social activity involving communication, listening and sharing. These skills may be developed within the musical relationship between therapist and child. As a result, the child may develop a greater awareness of himself or herself in relation to others. This can include greater confidence in his or her ability to make relationships and find positive ways of making needs known. For example, a child whom we will name Brett could not stay seated for more than approximately ten seconds and if he was forced to sit, would display very challenging behaviours which were a danger to himself and others. During sessions with him we began using instruments and sounds he initially made which I would imitate. We would play turn-taking games which involved him waiting, listening, following instruction and having fun. Without realising it, he was acquiring social skills which moved from the therapy room to his everyday life. Now he is able to sit at a family meal and go out to restaurants, something he could never do before. To families with such children, these moments are invaluable.

Music therapy can convey feelings without words. For a person who has difficulty emotionally, it can provide a safe setting where difficult or repressed feelings might be expressed. By offering support and acceptance, I can help the child work towards emotional release and self-acceptance. Our booklet includes a case study of the nurturing class, where participants achieved emotional catharsis through making a CD of their own music which they believed best expressed their feelings.

Music can be a great motivator and used to promote developmental work. For example, some of our children have physical as well as learning disabilities. Involvement in music therapy can assist physical awareness and to develop attention, memory and concentration. Emer and David both use wheelchairs. They have limited physical ability and few vocal sounds. At the beginning of therapy, sessions were therapist-led and they needed much physical assistance from me and the special needs assistants. Now they choose what they want to play, either by eye contact or reaching out and choosing an instrument. Their vocal sounds have increased and all three of us interact together. Sometimes they completely ignore me and play together, which is fantastic for me.

I could have picked any of the children who attend music therapy sessions at the school because they have all benefitted from the service. I commend those in charge for having the vision and belief to allow music therapy to flourish. We argue that all children with special educational needs should have access to music therapy as part of their curriculum and that it should be included full-time. I hope committee members are in no doubt of our ardent determination to see music therapy included in the special education curriculum and thank them again for this excellent opportunity to talk to them about a subject in which I passionately believe.

Ms Doreen Friel

I thank the committee for giving us this opportunity. As a teacher, I have seen a major difference between somebody coming into the classroom to do music and engage in music therapy. It has to be seen to be believed. Many of our students' needs are hidden. Autism is often described as a "hidden disability" because there is nothing to see. That does not mean we do not have to address their needs but that we have to be very creative and look harder to find vehicles through which their very complex and often hidden needs can be addressed. Music therapy is one of these vehicles. Its benefits are impossible for me to quantify but they are enormous for our students.

With one particular student who has autism in mind, I was very interested to hear Professor Edwards say her students needed to come and immerse themselves in a different way of relating to people. That is the essence of autism. It is recognised that children with autism learn in a different way which can be addressed very effectively through music therapy. Our school and all schools and teachers see the value in programmes such as SPHE and RSE. For me, music therapy is comparable with SPHE in its value for my students. For a student with autism, in particular, social and communication needs and the SPHE programme can be accessed through music therapy. I appeal to the committee to guide us towards funding in order that we can retain the services of a full-time music therapist in Scoil Íosagán. As professionals, we see the benefit in action. We have no other agenda than meeting the needs of the students we teach.

Vice Chairman

Before Ms Tourish begins, as I have to take an item on the Order of Business in the Dáil, I ask Deputy O'Mahony to take the Chair for the remainder of the session.

Deputy Frank Feighan

I propose that Deputy O'Mahony take the Chair.

Vice Chairman

Is that agreed? Agreed. I apologise. I mean no disrespect but it is a question of trying to be in two places at once.

Deputy John O'Mahony took the Chair.

Acting Chairman (Deputy John O’Mahony)

I call Ms Tourish.

Ms Angela Tourish

I thank the committee for giving us this opportunity. My daughter, Orla, is ten years old and has autism. She started music therapy when she was five. I took her privately. At the time she had no speech, made hardly any eye contact and was very reluctant to let anybody near her. I remember vividly the first day I took her to music therapy sessions. She was clinging to me and I was singing in her ear to try to settle her. The music therapist, Louise, was trying to coax her to participate. Finally, when she was sitting on the floor, something amazing happened. Louise rolled the ocean drum to her and engaged in contact with her. Orla looked at her and rolled it back. What followed made tears run down my face. There was a conversation going on between them with the drum and if I had not seen it, I would not have believed it. People's perception of music therapy is somebody having a good time and a bit of fun singing a song but it is so much more than that. As time passed Orla progressed with Louise and gradually started to use her voice.

Ms Doreen Friel

I will continue to read Ms Tourish's presentation. Orla would make noises and Louise would copy them. As time passed Orla vocalised more and sometimes sang at the top of her lungs. She really loves her time at music therapy sessions.

Louise began to work on other aspects of Orla's problems. Orla could not blow or suck from a straw. Since she began music therapy, she blew out the candles on her birthday cake for the first time when she was eight years old. Just last week she sucked juice from a straw. Other parents take such abilities for granted. A music therapist can work with a speech therapist to encourage children to vocalise and use muscles in their throats. It is very important this vital work continues for our children. As well as giving much enjoyment, it is beneficial for children with mental health issues, behavioural difficulties and attention deficit disorders. We hope our school can continue to provide this beautiful therapy for our children with special needs.

Ms Angela Tourish

This is the only consistent therapy Orla has had. She has few speech or occupational therapy sessions. This has been the most consistent and more successful than any other form of therapy she has had.

Acting Chairman

I thank the four members of the delegation for a very articulate, compelling and passionate presentation. Do committee members have any questions or observations?

Senator Cecilia Keaveney

I asked that representatives of the school be brought before the committee because I knew we would hear a compelling case. I asked, not because it is in my area, but because I know the people involved and have worked to help them get the music therapist. We had to get the music therapist through the children at risk fund. One could say the children are at risk as much as any other child might be, but that should not be the case. The post should be centrally funded from the special education fund. As a result of what we have heard and the original presentation, I advocate the recognition of music therapy, an issue which must come before the Health and Social Care Professionals Council. I ask the committee to write to the National Council for Special Education and the Minister for Education and Science to fully support the work being done in this school. It may be done as a model that can be evaluated. I know this school will stand over any evaluation required to justify the funding. To consider the amount of money involved, Ms Tourish gave an example and we could have easily brought anybody else in to explain where, for example, €50,000 of investment would go. There is no way of equating the difference between a child being able to suck its own juice and the swell of an impact that has not only on the child and its parents but everybody else who has watched the child develop over years.

It is nearly impossible to put a value on the work going on here, yet we can do so. It is the cost of one music therapist. In an area where it is difficult to acquire the therapies, I would like, if we did nothing else today, for us to send a letter to the National Council for Special Education and the Minister for Education and Science to stand over what we have heard here. We should also stand over the fact that there are other advances, which are little for everybody looking on except for the people at the core. Music therapy is about trying to clinically intervene to change the quality of life, be it in terms of mental health or physical action. The one message I was trying to get across was articulated very clearly by Mícheál Ó Suilleabháin. This is not playing a piano on a Saturday morning, although it might involve doing so. The process is using the music to clinically intervene.

I do not have much of a question because I know the topic. I would point out Ms Kelly, with the idea of changing the repetitive behaviour and developing speech with autism, this case is already set up and it is a unique school. The configuration of the people involved and the amount of effort going into celebrating difference, respecting people and educating them together is what all our education is supposed to be about. The case is already made, although I am biased.

Deputy Frank Feighan

I thank the delegates for a very informative and emotional presentation. As somebody who is not familiar with such facilities, I can see it is very worthwhile for parents, teachers and students. It is clear that self-esteem and self-expression among the students has been nurtured. It is a precious and cherished course.

Is there any other school in Donegal like this or is this a unique area which has been pioneered by the delegation? Are there many such courses throughout the country and do many schools offer the same facilities? In talking about value for money, it sounds like, as Senator Keaveney rightly said, this process is nipping future problems in the bud or at an early age. What exactly is the cost? Will it cover the provision of a teacher or is there much more to it? What is the budget for the school? Are there other similar schools throughout the country and what do we have to do to ensure the delegates can secure funding to carry on? It seems to be a great platform for other schools in other areas to look at this very valuable course.

Acting Chairman

Before the delegates respond, I will add a question. They have indicated they have been refused funding.

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

Yes, for 2007-08.

Acting Chairman

How is the full-time post being funded?

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

We originally drew down funding at the end of 2006 from the social inclusion section of the Department of Education and Science. It was the fund for the development of targeted educational responses to certain children at risk. Our funding will run out at the end of July. We have a July programme in school provisions for children with autism and our funding will finish at the end of that. We received a grant of €60,000, which allowed us to set up the music therapy room and buy instruments, such as the non-tune percussion instruments, a keyboard and a guitar. It also allowed us to pay a salary for a year and included a very small administration grant.

We are the only primary school in Ireland with a full-time music therapist. We chose to use our funding for that purpose. We are linked very closely with the pre-school for children with special educational needs in Buncrana and one can see a testimonial from the manager of the pre-school in our presentation. We also offer the service to one of our past pupils in one of the second level schools in Buncrana.

Our funding was refused. It was for a year and when we applied again for 2007-08, the funding was refused on the basis that we applied for a therapy. It appears therapies should be funded by the HSE. We do not mind from where we get the funding but we cannot afford to lose this service. Some 60 children have benefited from it and each one of those has complex needs which are physical, emotional or behavioural. Each is at risk for a range of reasons. Some are at risk of being excluded and some are at risk of being bullied. Others are at risk of becoming depressed, leaving school early or being trapped in a cycle of disadvantage.

Seeing the outcome of Ms Kelly's input in terms of music therapy, one can read in the presentation examples of the words used by the children who can vocalise, such as "trust". They learned to trust and became confident. It is a powerful tool to empower young people to express themselves in a healthy emotional language.

That is what music therapy is doing for our children. It is helping us to aspire to our vision of educating the hearts and minds. The children have been provided with this emotional language, the vocabulary or word bank to express their emotions. We want healthy young people in our schools and communities. I reiterate the request for funding for the service to continue. I appreciate any guidance, help or support that can be provided by the committee.

Deputy Frank Feighan

I thank Senator Keaveney for the work she has done in the area. As it is a pioneering school and apparently the only school providing this service in the country, this committee should send a letter to the Department seeking exceptional funding. I can say this as I am a member of the Opposition. It is easy for me to do so. I would be only too delighted to make that proposal.

Senator Cecilia Keaveney

I accept the concept of setting precedents but it should be a precedent that music therapy is recognised internationally as a very important intervention. This is school-related but I appreciate there is an understanding that the HSE should provide funding for these services. We should write to the Department of Education and Science anyway, as well as the National Council for Special Education. Perhaps we should bring representatives from the council before the committee to evaluate the type of interventions being carried out if this is not the type of intervention that should be done.

Acting Chairman

Does anyone else wish to comment?

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

I reiterate what Ms Friel and Ms Tourish said about the importance of the relationship between the therapist and the child. The benefit for us has been the consistent delivery of the service to children. The children know Ms Kelly in the context of their school. There is a National Educational Psychological Service presence in the school but the psychologist does not work directly with children enrolled in special classes. This is the first time we have had a real service where therapist and child have bonded in a fruitful relationship.

Acting Chairman

I thank Ms McLaughlin. I will take up the proposal that we write to the Minister for Education and Science to endorse fully the work being done at Scoil Íosagáin and help secure funding for the continuation of this post. We will ask that he liaise with his colleague in the Department of Health and Children because, as I said, the delegates do not mind where the funding comes from as long as they receive it. I thank the delegates for their presentation and hope something will happen as a result of this meeting.

The joint committee adjourned at 10.50 a.m. until 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 5 June 2008.