Public Story
Photo Story
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Cornelia Waldrum
Photographer
Photo Story
Location: Columbia, MO
Nationality: American
Biography:
Coming soon...
Focus:
Photographer, Photojournalist, Journalist, Writer, Reporter, Health, Travel, Environment, Science, History, Documentary, News, Creative, Photography, Foreign, Events, Culture, International News, Arts & Culture, Journalist Investigative, Student, Freelance, Humanitarian
Skills:
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premier, Photojournalism
Taylor Surprenant, 11, was diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome when he was seven months old when he was injured by a family member. He has lived with his grandparents, Randy and Johnna Carrender, ever since.
Taylor began attending music therapy when he was five years old after Randy and Johnna noticed his response to music at home and thought it could be a motivational tool to address his developmental skills.
Taylor began attending music therapy when he was five years old after Randy and Johnna noticed his response to music at home and thought it could be a motivational tool to address his developmental skills.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Eleven-year-old Taylor Surprenant is awakened by his grandparents, Randy and Johnna Carrender, in their Jefferson City home.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Taylor has trouble moving both his arms and legs, so his grandparents roll him onto his side and lift him into his wheelchair every morning. Since Taylor has grown, getting him out of bed has become a two-person job.
Initially, doctors believed Taylor wouldn’t survive his injury. He was in the hospital for two months struggling with seizures and extreme sensitivity to light and noise.
His nurses discouraged Taylor’s family from touching him, so Johnna found CDs that played quiet, soothing music and kept it playing for most of his hospital stay. The music seemed to relax him.
Initially, doctors believed Taylor wouldn’t survive his injury. He was in the hospital for two months struggling with seizures and extreme sensitivity to light and noise.
His nurses discouraged Taylor’s family from touching him, so Johnna found CDs that played quiet, soothing music and kept it playing for most of his hospital stay. The music seemed to relax him.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Johnna and Randy work together to put a brace on Taylor's curled fingers to stretch them out.
It was trial and error for the Carrenders to find things Taylor enjoyed once he got home, but what pacified him and brought him joy had to do with music in one form or another. When Taylor got a little older, his grandparents turned to music therapy, which proved to be a useful teaching tool.
Music therapy can be a productive treatment because of the way music is processed in the brain. When melody and rhythm are present during the learning process, the information essentially attaches itself to the music and the brain processes it more efficiently.
It was trial and error for the Carrenders to find things Taylor enjoyed once he got home, but what pacified him and brought him joy had to do with music in one form or another. When Taylor got a little older, his grandparents turned to music therapy, which proved to be a useful teaching tool.
Music therapy can be a productive treatment because of the way music is processed in the brain. When melody and rhythm are present during the learning process, the information essentially attaches itself to the music and the brain processes it more efficiently.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Randy brushes Taylor's teeth in the kitchen of their home while singing to soothe him. Since Taylor is unable to speak intelligibly, he and his grandparents tend to communicate with each other in song.
Musical interactions create new methods of communication for people with disabilities and develop social closeness with their loved ones. The Carrenders’ home is almost always filled with some sort of music, and it has created a bond between Taylor and his grandparents.
When Randy walks into the room, Taylor begins to sing a song he associates with his “Papa.” He sings different songs for Johnna.
“Singing back and forth is kind of how we learned to interact with each other since we can’t really carry on what you’d call a meaningful conversation,” Johnna said.
Musical interactions create new methods of communication for people with disabilities and develop social closeness with their loved ones. The Carrenders’ home is almost always filled with some sort of music, and it has created a bond between Taylor and his grandparents.
When Randy walks into the room, Taylor begins to sing a song he associates with his “Papa.” He sings different songs for Johnna.
“Singing back and forth is kind of how we learned to interact with each other since we can’t really carry on what you’d call a meaningful conversation,” Johnna said.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Johnna Carrender takes Taylor for a ride around the house to get fresh air outside their home in Jefferson City. Taylor loves to go outside, but loading his chair onto their van and finding a wheelchair-friendly park nearby is difficult. To make the outdoors more accessible, the Carrenders have poured a wide strip of concrete all around their house, making a circular drive where they can push Taylor’s chair easily.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Taylor's music therapist takes turns playing the tambourine with Taylor during his music therapy session at Giving Song.
Music has taught Taylor how to take turns. When he started therapy at Giving Song, if an instrument was taken away from him, he would throw a fit and cry. Now he understands that if something is taken away from him, it can come back later.
Music has taught Taylor how to take turns. When he started therapy at Giving Song, if an instrument was taken away from him, he would throw a fit and cry. Now he understands that if something is taken away from him, it can come back later.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Taylor naturally keeps his hands and fingers curled inward. One of the goals of his music therapy session is to use instruments that introduce movements that encourage him to flex his wrists and fingers outward. Taylor attends music therapy once a week at Giving Song clinic in Columbia.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Taylor is able to practice making choices directing his eyes toward what he wants when presented with two choices during a music therapy session. Taylor’s injury resulted in cortical blindness, a condition where his eyes work, but the part of the brain that translates what the eyes are seeing has been damaged. Doctors believe he is able to see forms and light.
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© 2024 Cornelia Waldrum
Holly Pering, Taylor Surprenant’s music therapist, plays the guitar during a music therapy session at the Giving Song clinic in Columbia.
When his head hangs to the side, Pering waits in silence. Taylor then lifts his head and is rewarded with music for as long as he can hold it up. The goal of the exercise is to eventually strengthen Taylor’s neck so he can keep his head upright for an extended period of time until the posture becomes natural for him.
Taylor’s grandparents, Randy and Johnna Carrender, appreciate any progress he is able to make at music therapy, but their primary goal is for him to live a happy life. Music seems to bring him the most joy, so they continue to fill his world with song.
When his head hangs to the side, Pering waits in silence. Taylor then lifts his head and is rewarded with music for as long as he can hold it up. The goal of the exercise is to eventually strengthen Taylor’s neck so he can keep his head upright for an extended period of time until the posture becomes natural for him.
Taylor’s grandparents, Randy and Johnna Carrender, appreciate any progress he is able to make at music therapy, but their primary goal is for him to live a happy life. Music seems to bring him the most joy, so they continue to fill his world with song.
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