Music For Kiddos Podcast
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Stitcher
During the past few weeks, we have had some very special guests on the Music For Kiddos Podcast. We have been interviewing each and every one of the speakers that will be presenting at the Music For Kiddos Stmposium leading up to the event on November 12th, 2021. If you missed the previous interviews, so far we’ve had the opportunity to talk with Franklin Willis, Kaiti Shelton & Rich Abante Moats, Lorrie Kubicek and Kimberly Khare.
This week, we’ve had the pleasure to interview Hakeem Leonard and Kerry Devlin, two music therapists who I respect and admire. You might know them from Instagram and if you don’t, I recommend you follow their accounts: Hakeem @musicallman and Kerry @liberatedlearning.
Kerry Devlin, MMT, MT-BC (she/her) is senior music therapist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Music & Medicine. She is a current PhD student at Aalborg University and adjunct faculty in music therapy at Shenandoah University. As a disabled clinician, Kerry understands the unique experience of moving through the health care system as both a patient and a provider. She is passionate about disability justice, believes in affirming the lived experience of therapy participants through co-constructed music experiences, and loves connecting with students and colleagues on her Instagram (@liberatedlearning).
Hakeem Leonard (he/him/his), PhD, MT-BC, is Associate Professor of Music Therapy and Assistant Provost for Inclusive, Diversity, and Equity at Shenandoah University. His current work centers around ideas of how lived experience and lifespan development shape music therapy knowledge and practice. Three quotes that are shaping some of his current thinking are "How does it feel to be a problem?', "Who Gonna Share My Love for Me With Me?", and "How do I see you and what does that mean for us?". These are from W.E.B. DuBois, Jamila Woods (reflecting on Eartha Kitt), and Kerry Devlin.
Hakeem Leonard and Kerry Devlin will be presenting at the Music For Kiddos Symposium on November 12th. Their presentation entitled: “Goals are Derived from Your World: Your World is Not Derived from Goals.”
We interviewed Hakeem Leonard and Kerry Devlin on the Music For Kiddos Podcast, and here are some of the highlights:
“As a clinician, I've grappled with this idea of ‘how do you distill someone down into a sentence or a phrase?’ And I always, it was something I was constantly questioning and exploring and sort of pushing the boundaries of how can I write this in a way that would reflect how I understand this person and in a way that's really rich and in a way that affirms who they are and that values their personhood, that is a co-constructive process where they are writing this goal with me so that it's meaningful in their life.”
“Goal writing is not a strategy and that's not the end goal that we're going to be taking in this presentation for Symposium. We see goal writing as co-creation, as something that is fundamental to being human. It's not something you do. It's a way of being and that way of being reflects your positionality and challenges and unsettles these ideas of therapist as goal creator.”
“It's not about ‘How do I write this goal?’ It's like ‘Why do I write this goal?’ ‘Can I write this goal?’ ‘ What does this goal say about how I understand someone and the way that they are in the world?”
Tune in to episode 40 of the Music For Kiddos Podcast to listen to the full interview with Hakeem Leonard and Kerry Devlin.
Mark your calendars on November 12th, 2021 for the Music For Kiddos Symposium!
We have partnered with West Music to offer free shipping on orders above $59.95 to Music For Kiddos Podcast’s listeners. Check out their incredible instruments and their incredible offerings at WestMusic.com or you can place your order at their customer service hotline at (800) 397-9378.
The code for free shipping is KIDDOS24. Make sure to check them out!
LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Song-of-the-Month Club (FREE!)
THANKS FOR TUNING IN TO THE MUSIC FOR KIDDOS PODCAST!
Thanks for joining us on the Music for Kiddos podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts and tell us what you think by leaving a review! Don’t forget to sign up for the Song-of-the-Month-Club to receive a free, high-quality original song every month, or hang out with us on Instagram to stay connected.
