Sensory Concert Coming to Melbourne!

                                                                                                      
                                                                                                 Grace Kim (David Hill, Deep Hill Media)
                                                                                                   

SENSORY CONCERT COMING TO MELBOURNE!

The benefits of music education have been extensively researched. Some of these benefits include

- improved language

- increased emotional resilience

- increased attention span and concentration

- increased empathy

A very interesting article that I read provides an over view of the neuroscience behind the benefits of music was published by the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada can be found here https://www.rcmusic.com/sites/default/files/files/RCM_MusicEducationBenefits.pdf

For children on the autistic spectrum, music education can also be particularly therapeutic. Last year an old friend of mine Grace Kim, who is a professional musician living in the Blue Mountains developed and produced a series of ‘Sensory Concerts’, particularly designed for children/adults with sensory needs. It seemed like such a wonderful initiative that I have been eager to bring the concept to Melbourne and Grace has kindly agreed to assist with this project. Our plan is to run two concerts in Melbourne on July 15th. (More details to follow.)

I recently asked Grace some questions to explain the project.

1) What is a sensory concert and what is the philosophy behind them?

Sensory Concerts is a series of high quality classical music concerts for families with sensory needs. People with sensory needs are easily overwhelmed by crowds, noise, light, smell, and touch. Everyone has some sort of sensitivity to a degree - some people can’t stand others chewing loudly, or their eyes hurt when it’s too bright. For most people, it doesn’t impact their everyday functioning. But for some, they feel everything so intensely and find it too overwhelming - so much so that they cannot attend public events such as concerts. Many people on the Autism spectrum, for instance, experience this. Young children are especially sensitive to their surroundings, and tend to react in certain ways (eg. moving, making noise) to cope. That’s why families with children tend to shy away from traditional concerts in fear of disrupting others. We all know that music is one of the best things for the brain development, and these families miss out on the crucial time when their brain are developing.  In many cases, with their heightened sensory perception, they may even appreciate the experience more intensely than their peers, if given the right environment! 

2) How is it different from a normal classical music concert?

Sensory Concerts differs from the traditional concert expectations, a more relaxed atmosphere, giving the audience opportunities to self regulate - with small numbers, various seating options, retreat space, and on-site Occupational Therapist/ Psychologist support.

3) What was your motivation behind starting these concerts?

As a classical pianist, I have performed around the world, for various people of all ages culture. All my performing life, I have derived great joy from sharing the wonders of classical music with as many people as possible.  

I’m also a mother of two young children, one of whom has Asperger’s Syndrome, I am a passionate advocate for high quality music education and am constantly creating and presenting family-friendly performances for diverse audiences. I wanted to create something I could take my own children to, without compromising on the quality.

4) What sort of feedback have you had from families who have attended your concerts?

We’ve had such positive response from those who attended, including our Federal MP Susan Templeman. This project has also been endorsed by Tony Attwood, the leading expert in Asperger’s Syndrome. Below are some of their testimonials.

From Susan Templeman MP:

"I’m the daughter of a high school music teacher who also did a lot of work in the disability

sector, so I strongly believe that everyone deserves access to quality classical music.

It’s hard enough keeping young children without special needs settled during

performances, so what was really impressive about the concert was to see an environment

where parents were able to relax and their children were able to respond to the music in

their own way. It was an inclusive environment, with beautiful violin, cello and piano performances. I would certainly love to see more of this happen in the Mountains.”

From Dr. Tony Attwood, a leading expert in Aspergers Syndrome:

"Your Sensory Concert project is an excellent idea and may be extraordinarily well

received by those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Certainly, I would like to endorse

your project as I think it is based on sound clinical experience and new research in this

area, in terms of sensory sensitivity and sensory overload."

From the general public:

Absolutely fantastic! Thank you for organising this for our special kids and sharing your

considerable talents! The calibre if the performance was well noted thank you. The

sensory seating was also wonderful for our kids

"Thank you for putting on such an enjoyable concert for not only the little ones, but the

adults as well. It was fantastic having the crash mats all around, and a relaxing non judgemental

atmosphere where our kids could just be themselves and enjoy it in their own

way. I also absolutely enjoyed it myself, was just magical to listen to. Will definitely be there for

the next one.”

"I am so grateful for this experience I normally wouldn't take my kids to a classical concert

for the fear of them being disruptive. But the music was so beautiful that they were

amazing and transfixed by the music. It was absolutely beautiful, thank you.”

5) Who are the musicians that play at these concerts?

I have a network of wonderful musician friends and colleagues who perform all around the world. So far, we’ve had Rebecca Chan (Assistant Concertmaster of London Philharmonia Orchestra), Elizabeth Neville (cellist, Sydney Symphony Orchestra), Matthew Ockenden (Associate Principal bassoon, Opera Australia Orchestra), Teije Hylkema (Principal Cellist, Opera Australia Orchestra), and this upcoming concert in April will feature flautist Lisa Osmailowski (currently playing with Sydney Symphony), Melbourne violinist Erica Kennedy (Orchestra Victoria) and myself, at the piano. In Melbourne we will have violinist Yi Wang (Opera Victoria) joining us. These musicians all share the values of this project and keen to contribute their talent and time. You normally have to pay a lot of money to see them at the concert halls.

6) Are these concerts only for children with sensory issues? 

Though the concerts are designed with sensory/special needs in mind, all walks of life: young and old, neurodiverse, physically or intellectually challenged, are welcome to access and enjoy world class live performances! We’ve seen such diversity amongst our audiences, and is very heartening to see how they experience and respond to our concerts.


In the next few weeks I will be holding a raffle fundraiser to try and raise funds to get the first sensory concert in Melbourne underway. More details will follow on both this blog and Facebook page. 

There’s a Hippopotamus on the Hospital Roof Eating Cake!

I love reading books to my boys, and fortunately both seem to really enjoy this special time we have together. Sometimes the books are fun and I really enjoy them myself. Other times the stories are so mundane I feel like ripping my hair out!  My little one is Thomas obsessed and I find these stories so painful! It always makes me giggle when I know the book by heart and can close my eyes and be on autopilot! Trouble is most of the time the kids have also memorised the stories and they know if you ‘accidentally’ skip a part.

I have found that books have been a particularly useful tool for prepping children for events or certain situations. A common scenario that parents need to prepare their children for is medical procedures or visits to medical professionals. If children have good first experiences in these situations it generally sets them up for more positive future appointments. I often take a bit of artistic license when I am reading the stories particularly when they have a medical slant on them.

One of these books, There’s a Hippopotamus on the Hospital Roof Eating Cake, comes from a series of books by Melbourne based writer Hazel Edwards. The story basically describes the hospital experience of a child who has likely appendicitis (they never say what it is but that’s my expert guess ha!) and his imaginary friend the hippopotamus. 

The child has to have an operation and as he is taken into the operating room, he is instructed to ‘breathe slowly’ by the nurse and after that ‘everything goes black’. The illustration accompanying this is a nurse holding a black mask over the child’s face. When I first read this to J, I changed the words to ‘Breathe slowly’ said the anaesthetist! I then explained that mummy’s job was putting the patient to sleep and the nurse also was there to help look after the patient. This book was a favourite for months and each time we would discuss the procedures that would occur if one were ever to have to go to hospital for an operation.

J loved re-enacting the operating room scene and I slowly added embellishments like putting an IV cannula and infusing fluids/analgesia. When it came to that inevitable time when J fell at the park, lacerating his face and needed a general anaesthetic for sutures, he was well prepared. 

Most children and parents find a hospital admission daunting but with J on the spectrum I was pretty worried about how he would react. I played out several scenarios in my head – most of them traumatic but in the end, it turned out to be far better than I could have imagined as he had been well prepped. He came out of the experience wanting to do more play acting – except he wanted to be the anaesthetist! Another positive is he also now understands a bit more what his mum does for work.

It made me realise the importance of books and social stories in the preparation of children for unexpected events particularly ones involving hospitals / doctors. The key is to find a story that your child can relate to, be it because of the actual scenario or the character involved. If you child is a Dora fan then find a Dora themed story and so forth.  Social stories are useful for children with autism who often thrive on routine and familiarity, but they can also be invaluable for any child who has to face an unusual or frightening situation. Suffice to say if a child’s first experience having surgery or seeing a GP is a traumatic one, they are far less likely going to cooperate with you on the next visit.

Some other books/resources that we have found useful include

Elmo goes to the Doctor by Sarah Albee

Dora Goes to the Doctor/Dora Goes to the Dentist by Ellen Rosebrough

The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor by Stan Berenstain

Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne website

Note most children’s hospitals in each capital city have great website resources available to the public and easily accessable.

What other books have been useful for you and your children?