12/20/2025
JB is a young man with a zest for life and a wealth of knowledge of rock music, especially heavy metal. He comes to each music therapy session at Ridge Meadows Association for Community Living prepared with his iPad for communicating with the staff, and with ideas for the music he wants to listen to. He never gives up on them when they are slow to understand his signed requests or can’t find the exact recording he desires.
While they watch and listen to JB’s music on YouTube videos, he plays the electric guitar with one hand and imitates the riffs of his heroes, with additional accompaniment on keyboard, drums and vocals. He has spent a lot of time listening to music and going to live concerts since he was a young child. He is the expert who loves to have partners and an audience when it comes to his music, and he shows them when the best moments in a piece are about to be heard.
Sometimes life imitates art, and JB is familiar with the struggles the musicians on the screen have gone through. He shares some of his own family’s difficulties and knows that he can count on being listened to. He is aware of and adept at dealing with his own physical challenges. Together, they read through the lyrics of some of his songs to understand them on a deeper level, especially when JB can make a connection to his own struggles.
