autism | Upstate Music Therapy Center LLC

Music Therapy Opportunities for Age 21 and Beyond

by Erin Triola | Jan 15, 2013

While we are fortunate in the greater Rochester area to have many opportunities for our school age students with disabilities to receive music therapy services, once students graduate high school those opportunities are greatly diminished. Many older students and adults can still benefit tremendously from music therapy and other creative arts therapies. The need for services for this population is growing, as is the awareness of that need. There are a few local organizations that provide various creative arts therapy services for adults with disabilities, including individual and group therapy, modified music lessons, drama performance opportunities, and day habilitation. Click on the links below to learn more about each of these organizations and the programs they offer.

Trinity Assistance/Blue Ridge Music Therapy Center
Trinity Assistance/Blue Ridge Music Therapy Center is located in the Cross Creek Church at 3527 Vienna Street, Palmyra. The Therapeutic Arts Program is an innovative and comprehensive program for special needs individuals ages 21-30.

Studio 440
Studio 440 is located at 3 Railroad Street, Fairport and offers a unique educational experience in music and theatre arts. The focus of this studio is to instruct, include and inspire the creative instincts of EVERYONE who seeks to discover their performance abilities. Offering opportunities to: Vocalists, Instrumentalists and Actors

Cobblestone Arts Center
Cobblestone Arts and Educational Center is located at 1622 Rt. 332, Farmington and is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals with disabilities through Art, Education, and Participation. Our classes in Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Public Speaking, and Media Studies are aimed to help students achieve a higher potential while developing a sense of involvement in the community.

Hochstein School of Music & Dance
Hochstein School of Music & Dance has two locations, 50 North Plymouth Ave, Rochester and 435 East Street, Canandaigua; and offers individual and group music therapy sessions, as well as other various programming, to individuals with special needs.

A Season of Thanks: MATT

by Erin Triola | Nov 20, 2012

This is the time of year when we look at our lives and evaluate what we are thankful for. At Upstate, I know we as music therapists are thankful for the opportunity to be in this profession. We can always rely on each other to be supportive and offer guidance and help when it is needed. However, we know that this is not the case for everyone. Many parents and families feel alone in navigating life with a child with a disability. Here in Rochester there are a lot of unique support systems for families and we were fortunate to have come across a very special organization, MATT, this year. Managing Autism Together Today (MATT) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit charitable organization that was founded in 2010 by Connie and Kevin Schoenl and named after their son, Matthew, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This volunteer organization focuses on supporting parents by creating a local network of people that truly understand the unique nature of having children with ASD and to use this network to help each other at every stage of our children’s lives. MATT’s Mission is to make it easier for families to locate, obtain, and use the community resources available to their special needs children in the Rochester, New York area so that these children will be able to live happy, healthy, and productive lives. We hope that spreading the word of this wonderful organization will promote connectivity between families in Rochester and assure them that they are not alone. We are so fortunate to do the work we do and come into contact with organizations such as MATT. Happy Thanksgiving to all our families!

Matt Website: http://managingautism.org/