Ryan & Daniel

You might think that a garage band is practising inside our Auckland centre each Monday afternoon, but instead it is Ryan, his best mate Daniel and their music therapist Olly. Ryan’s grandmother Julie says, “When he started, he was globally delayed and nonverbal as a result of being shaken and thrown as a baby.” But Ryan’s love of music was apparent and through his early music therapy sessions he learned to talk and sing as well as to connect with others. His therapist at Raukatauri suggested that he might enjoy paired sessions with another child, and introduced ­­him to Daniel, a young man with cerebral palsy.

The two boys have been together for weekly sessions for over 10 years and both Julie and Daniel’s mum Paulette agree that the session is the highlight of their boys’ week. Julie says, “Ryan is now an accomplished drummer and percussion player and even after all these years he still loves his music session and has always adored his therapists. Raukatauri is family to us.”