Founded by Sally Murphy in 1996, Kiddleydivey has developed a way of using music as a type of therapy to support children, the elderly, those in care and vulnerable members of society with dementia and other conditions which involve memory function.
Sally started Kiddleydivey when she couldn’t find a music class suitable for her three year old daughter. She had experience of working as a music specialist in psychiatry and started some classes at home for children with special needs. The classes proved so popular that the venue quickly changed to village halls and the classes for the elderly followed, designed to invigorate bodies and stimulate memories.
The programme combines props with music specially chosen or composed for the purpose of encouraging child development, speech, co-ordination and movement, social interaction and memory function. It has seen some incredible results – with elderly people, it has encouraged those who don’t usually communicate to sing and interact, it has seen withdrawn people becoming animated and those not very mobile deciding to dance. In children, speech and language is enhanced and the rhythmical music helps develop co-ordination, speech and language and motor control.
Run from a head office in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, Kiddleydivey’s music programme is now running across the UK, reaching children, the elderly and adults with special needs, helping to stimulate bodies and minds.
