Social Distancing

Music Therapy hygiene/safety video & song for special needs individuals.
Goal: Client will practice safe social distancing.
Domains: Behavior, Social

Apparently the term “social distancing” was used back in 2003, during the SARS epidemic, but I think it has a good chance of winning the 2020 American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year. Because the phrase is relatively new, there is not a wide consensus on what it actually means. The Centers for Disease Control defines it as maintaining a distance of six feet between yourself and others. Other sources say it encompasses everything from hand washing to mask wearing to quarantining. I’m sticking with the CDC version.

To get kids to remember how many feet apart to stay from others, counting is used in the song. To get kids (or adults for that matter) to stay 6 feet apart, they have to understand how far 6 feet is. 6 footprints are used in the video to illustrate the 6 feet (or 6 step) distance. When my Dad measures things with his feet he uses a heel-to-toe straight line step. For kids (with smaller feet) the footprints are shown in a normal walking gait pattern.

Restricted activities (that include touching) are also addressed by the lyrics and pictures. Some common greetings (handshakes, hugs, high fives) are now prohibited. Some forms of play (wrestling, tag, capture the flag) are also unacceptable at this time. The phrase “personal space” is commonly used in special education social skills classes, so this term is also included in the lyrics to help kids grasp this new term – social distancing.

Download includes:

  • Video – Social Distancing [mp4 video file]
  • Song – Social Distancing [mp3 audio file]
  • Lyrics – Social Distancing [PDF]
  • Lyrics & Chords – Social Distancing [PDF]

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