For seven-year-old Kailani Hubbard, music has become much more than something to listen to. It has become a way for her to express herself, manage her emotions and connect with the people around her, with Michael Jackson playing a very special role in her journey.
Kailani, who lives in Grand Junction, Colorado, was adopted by Julie Hubbard and her husband in 2019. Julie first met Kailani when she was just nine days old, at a time when the young girl was experiencing withdrawal symptoms following prenatal alcohol exposure.
As Kailani grew older, her family began looking for ways to help her with the behavioural challenges she was experiencing. At the age of five, she was diagnosed with conditions associated with her prenatal alcohol exposure.
Her family eventually discovered music therapy after it was recommended by a doctor.
At first, however, Kailani was not particularly interested in participating.
That changed when her music therapist, Bridgett, discovered something that immediately caught Kailani’s attention: her love of Michael Jackson.
“Kailani knows everything about Michael Jackson,” her mother told KKCO/KJCT.
Michael’s music was incorporated into Kailani’s therapy sessions, providing something familiar and exciting that could help her engage with the activities.
The sessions are carried out virtually through Harmonie House, which provides music therapy services to children in Colorado.
Kailani’s musical interests have changed over time. At one point, she was particularly interested in the music from K-Pop Demon Hunters, which was also incorporated into her sessions. But Michael Jackson has become a major part of her musical world.
Among her favourite Michael Jackson songs are Human Nature, Beat It, Billie Jean and Dirty Diana.
And according to her mother, the difference has been remarkable.
Julie explained that singing has helped replace some of the tantrums Kailani previously experienced, while music has also helped her work on regulating her emotions and developing patience.
For Kailani, music provides a way of communicating and expressing feelings that can sometimes be difficult to put into words.
“It reaches her in a way that words often can’t,” Julie explained.
The benefits of music therapy are not simply about singing along to favourite songs. Dr. Blythe LaGasse, Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Therapy at Colorado State University, explained that therapists can use a child’s existing interests as a starting point for developing other skills.
In Kailani’s case, Michael Jackson’s music provides something she already loves, which can then be used to encourage participation and work towards other therapeutic goals, including social and emotional skills.
Rather than trying to make a child interested in something unfamiliar, music therapy can begin with something that already matters to them.
For Kailani, that something is Michael Jackson.
Her mother says that the family noticed an extraordinary difference within the first month of beginning music therapy.
“It doesn’t define who she is, but it really just gave us a roadmap on how to help her,” Julie said.
The story is a beautiful reminder of the different ways Michael Jackson’s music continues to connect with people around the world.
For millions of fans, his music has provided happiness, comfort, inspiration and a way to express emotions. For Kailani, at just seven years old, songs such as Human Nature, Beat It, Billie Jean and Dirty Diana have become part of a much more personal journey.
Music therapy is not about one particular artist or song being a treatment in itself. Instead, therapists can use music that is meaningful to an individual to help them participate, communicate and develop skills.
And when that music happens to come from Michael Jackson, it can create an extraordinary connection.
For Kailani, Michael Jackson isn’t simply her favourite artist.
His music has helped open a door.
And through that door, she is finding her own voice.
