MUSIC has been the inspiration and life’s work for Debbie Wolfsohn.

She is a founder of a ground-breaking charity that helps hundreds of disabled people access music-making - and now music is helping Debbie herself cope with multiple sclerosis.

Music Alive helps disabled people of all ages and from around the area to experience the joy playing and listening to live music, and gathering with others to share their musical interests.

Established in 2002, it is based at Highworth Community Centre, with members aged from three to 90 – all of whom have benefited from the chance to be creative.

Now it is Debbie, 48, after all those years of helping others, who is learning at first hand the challenges but also the enormous benefits of making music when you have a disability.

And while Music Alive offers access to music rather than music therapy, Debbie, who lives in Cricklade, has discovered that for her, music is a powerful medicine.

“I am continuing to play acoustic instruments, and it helps keep my body and mind functional,” she says.

Since childhood Debbie has had a passion for music. As a child she played the recorder, violin, piano, guitar and viola. She gained a grade 8 in viola and went to university at Goldsmith’s in London, where she was awarded a degree in music.

Aged only 17, Debbie decided she wanted to be a music therapist.

“I volunteered to work with disabled children on a summer play scheme and I realised I liked working with disabled people,” she says.

She started volunteering with Drake Music, a national arts charity working in music, disability and technology, and for her undergraduate dissertation wrote on the topic of music education and therapy, how they are different, and their relevance to disabled people.

She believes access is as important as therapy.

“I take a common sense point of view. How can disabled people engage in music making? I wanted to provide access and that is how the idea was born. I was extremely fortunate to have worked with some of the best people in the country and learnt from people doing this in the early 1990s.

“Music is such a great activity – it’s attractive to everyone but it is especially good for disabled people.

“It has rhythm to help you move your body, and music helps you express yourself.

“Communicating and expressing yourself are both extremely important and music makes that possible for people for disabilities, who might otherwise find that difficult.”

And while Debbie, who is married and has a son at university, worked for years to help others access music, the symptoms of what was eventually diagnosed as multiple sclerosis were gradually affecting her own ability to play an instrument and make the music she loves. She believes these symptoms have been appearing for 16 years – gradually bringing new difficulties into her life.

“I put up with the symptoms and kept carrying on,” she says.

A scan in 2007 was not followed up, she explains, and it was not until she started having problems walking that the diagnosis was finally made in 2014.

She had responded to her earlier symptoms, such as fatigue, by adopting a gluten-free diet and starting cycling.

Debbie says collaborating with people with disabilities had also helped her learn ways to accommodate the challenges she was facing. Nonetheless, it was a shock when the diagnosis came.

“I had so many questions – like, am I useless? That’s where my work helped me in many ways. I was still useful. There was a point to me being me.”

Debbie says her ability to carry on working and contributing had been vital. The Government’s Access to Work scheme, an employment support scheme, has been a great help in supporting her continuing professional life.

Concerns about her capabilities prompted her to stop driving, and as she cannot walk very well she uses taxis to get to her workplace.

“I can continue with Music Alive because of Access to Work, and I can fulfil my chance to work,” she says.

Debbie has an equally resilient and positive attitude to her own music-making, despite the losses the MS has brought.

“My right hand is becoming more and more dysfunctional, and my fine motor skills and strength are degenerating,” she says.

She is still playing her viola but this demanding instrument is becoming more of a challenge.

“Every so often I have to put down my bow. If I play too much I become tired.”

She continues to play in the Monday Evening Session Society, which performs at the Beehive in Swindon and the Red Lion in Cricklade, playing her viola as long as she can and then turning to playing the bass on an iPad when she gets tired.

For someone so passionate and skilled in music making, the loss of her capability must be hard – but Debbie is determined to make the best of her talent and to face down the difficulties.

“Life is too short to regret things. I would rather not get depressed about it. I would rather see the advantages in my situation,” she says. “I have been extremely fortunate in the career I chose.”