Professional Child Development Associates (PCDA) will host a benefit concert in support of its Creative Arts Team’s upcoming Teaching Tour in Japan and Taiwan; the concert will be on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Norris Auditorium of Flintridge Preparatory School, 4543 Crown Avenue, La Canada Flintridge. The concert will feature PCDA’s music therapies – all accomplished musicians – and friends playing classical, pop and jazz selections as well as Taiko drumming. Select PCDA clients who are advanced musicians will also participate, and a reception will be held after the concert where guests can meet the musicians.
PCDA’s Creative Arts Team has been invited to teach this summer in Japan and Taiwan about the life-transforming effect of our innovative music therapy using the DIR philosophy (D=developmental, I=individual differences, R=relationship-based). This Teaching Tour, where the team of music therapists will be joined by PCDA’s Executive Director, Dr. Diane Cullinane, is an important opportunity because in Japan and Taiwan today, there are very limited services and support for families dealing with autism, and few of those employ PCDA’s child and family-centered approach.
According to Dr. Cullinane, a developmental pediatrician and expert in DIR, there is a demand to learn more about DIR-based therapies, and we are honored and eager to share our expertise with parents and colleagues, particularly because providing training in our model is an important part of PCDA’s mission.
On the three-week Teaching Tour, PCDA will present at the 15th World Congress of Music Therapy in Tsukuba, Japan; produce seminars in Tokyo, Japan and Taipei, Taiwan for clinicians, teachers, and other professionals about DIR philosophy and music therapy for helping children with developmental disabilities; teach parents in Tokyo and Taipei about why a DIR approach is so beneficial for their families, and provide support and resources for adapting DIR methods and establishing services in their communities.
For twenty years, PCDA has worked to improve the quality of life for children with autism and other developmental disabilities and their families in greater Pasadena, Los Angeles, and the San Gabriel Valley by providing therapies and services grounded in DIR philosophy. Using this play-based therapeutic approach, PCDA clinicians annually help over 1,000 children, teens and young adults reach developmental milestones, live more fulfilling lives, and enjoy warm and loving relationships.
All proceeds from the concert will support PCDA’s Creative Arts Teaching Tour. Tickets are now on sale on the website, https://pcdateam.ejoinme.org/CreativeArts2017 or by contacting Robert Bain: [email protected] or (626) 793-7350 x 281. To make a donation, visit crowdfunding site www.generosity.com and search for “PCDA.”
To learn more about PCDA or the DIR approach, please see our website, www.pcdateam.org.
