How much stimulation is enough?

[Anonymous]

How much stimulation is enough?

How much stimulation is too much?

[Meghan Hanley]

Finding just enough stimulation varies by child by day. Some children will receive enough stimulation from being held with music in the room. Others enjoy holding instruments while receiving extra movement and sensory input. If most of the children are wandering out of the circle, they may be understimulated. I have found that having multiple instrument and movement activities back-to-back is too much stimulation for my younger children. Remaining flexible and having back-up songs and activities in anticipation and response to these moments is one of the wonderful aspects of music therapy.

[Diandra Doble]

I have learned through my experience so far to have backup songs and interventions just in case something I facilitate doesn’t go as planned! Very good point that in music therapy, we can be spontaneous and flexible when necessary.

[Diandra Doble]

It definitely depends on the child. From my experience, I have noticed at times that my children were most likely understimulated when they began to leave the circle and go find their toys that they were playing with earlier. I have noticed overstimulation when I facilitate too many different movements in a short period of time because I did not give their brains enough time to process each one. In general, I tried too many right off the bat and I should have used more repetition at the start. That was a learning experience for me at the beginning stages of my clinical work.

[Elizabeth Bentz]

Sensory stimulation is a balancing act, I’ve found. Too much, and the child can have a meltdown. Too little, and the child will not be engaged at all. This definitely varies from each child, as we’ve all observed. This can make group dynamics and settings a little more difficult. Some kids will be focused on the music the whole time, where as others may want (or need) to wander around the room, and that’s okay.

Throughout this course, I’ve called on a lot of personal experience with my son to help me make connections. We are currently in a tumbling class for children 18-36 months, and there is a wide variety of attention span and sensory needs. Some kids stick with the teacher and their parent as the teacher goes trough the different activities, and some kids roam around the gym and play on the equipment. I think the group is successful because it is highly structured but yet relaxed. If your child doesn’t want to stay in the circle and do the movements, that’s fine. They can run and play on the balance beam (as long as the parent goes too). If the child needs a break to the lobby, that’s fine too. The teacher keeps going on with the lesson plan, periodically checking in with the families to make sure everyone is okay. This high structure yet relaxed nature I think makes for a good course in this age group.

[Holly Jurca]

I like that you related this course to a personal experience with your own son and a tumbling class. It’s great to see that other fields are also doing the structured but flexible approach. Your comments about too much and too little and the balancing act is very well put!

[Erika Svolos]

Thank you for sharing your valuable insights! So much of what you shared is what we do in Sprouting Melodies Classes to ensure every child enjoys the class.

[Holly Jurca]

As my peers have stated, stimulation is very much dependent on the child. Some need more than others, some cannot handle hardly any depending on their state. This is why it’s important to learn through observation and trial and error. I think it’s important as a music therapist to make sure we are open to switching up an experience, depending on the energy level. Be spontaneous to allowing them to go in and out of the activity – and tell parents that it is fine! As Meredith says, it’s important to use your musical tools to keep them engaged, but also know when they might need to do their own thing.

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