Music Therapy and PDA

Hi everyone!

I work with a group of kiddos with PDA and was wondering if anyone else here does too? Any tips or tricks you’ve found helpful?

I try to give lots of choices and use descriptive language, since their nervous system can jump into fight-or-flight with even small demands. It’s that amygdala kicking in and overriding the frontal lobe’s ability to regulate. Reinforcement systems don’t work well- they often just feel like another demand and can make kids more overwhelmed and frustrated. I’ve mostly been using music for self-expression and peer cooperation to keep things low-demand and supportive.