How much stimulation is enough?

[Julie Palmieri]

How much stimulation is enough?

How much stimulation is too much?

[Lydia Westle]

I think finding the right balance of stimulation can take a bit of trial / error and watching very attentively to the cues of people in your group, as the responses will vary. However, overall, for this age group, I generally think enough stimulation and types of experiences, with subtle elements of surprise (as demonstrated in the videos) is important to help foster curiosity to engage / explore. However, as explored in the content from this week, it is also important to be careful not to overwhelm children with drastic varying dynamics / over-exaggerated elements of surprise, or jumping from one thing to the next without repetition, too quickly. For example, if children are crying in response to the experience or exhibiting demeanors / expressions that indicate fear, I would dial everything back a bit / tone it down to be a bit gentler until children (and caregivers) are indicating a readiness to engage in that way.

[Lydia Westle]

Also, for some reason, my post to the other question wasn’t showing up on my screen on that forum. Trying to copy it here:

Five Words to Describe The Music Experiences in Sprouting Melodies 2: Exploratory, Playful, Surprise, Curiosity, Interactive

Five Sentences: 1. Sprouting Melodies 2 provides an opportunity for you and your child to explore the environment together through music. 2. As the ages in this group vary from 6 months – 18 months, you may see a range of different mobility levels and interaction levels, which is totally okay and to be anticipated. 3. You’ll notice that I am including a lot of repetition and elements of surprise to help foster curiosity, as children at this age are really seeking more sensory input then previously. 4. I invite you to follow your child’s lead with how they chose to explore and at times they may even be a bit more independent through turning towards others. 5. These moments of independence are totally okay and allows children opportunities to start to form other social connections, which is great!

Session Plan:

Come and Sit With Me & Hello Song – Gathering Songs

Wiggly Jiggly Car & Tickle Song – Bonding Songs

Just Like Me – Songs About Me

Come and Shake With Me – Instrument Play

I Can Move Around & Row Your Boat A Little Bit Faster with Scarves – Movement Songs

Goodbye Song (with voice / guitar)

[Camryn Gallagher]

This course has definitely given me more perspective on how to follow the child’s lead and watch for cues that they may be under or over-stimulated. I hadn’t considered paying attention to facial expressions. I think typically we tend to look for the smiles and write anything else off as disinterest or boredom, but now I know how to look for signs of focus and relaxation.
Some things we do specifically to prevent overstimulation is reducing the amount of visual “clutter” in the room – making sure every instrument is cleaned up before we move on to an activity scarves, for example. We also dim the lights during our cooldown period. I feel pretty familiar with looking for signs of too much stimulation – restlessness, crying, avoidant responses – but not much experience yet with asking myself if I’m providing ENOUGH stimulation. As Lydia said above, I also love the idea discussed in the content this week of intentionally providing more opportunities for surprises in the music to help provide this stimulation in a way that is developmentally appropriate.

[Amy Calderon]

Thanks for reminding me of reducing visual clutter. This is something I had to do constantly when I worked with neurodiverse children. making sure I only had one item out at a time was so importatn and also dimming the lights was very helpful.

[Lydia Westle]

Camryn, I really like the suggestion of dimming lights for the cool down period – would like to try! The group I run at base-line is already pretty stimulating because the sounds of the medical equipment is incredibly noisy when children move! Anything to try to reduce unnecessary stimulation would be welcomed – thanks for the idea!

[Elmira Abasova]

In my opinion, it’s all individual and depends on the child or the group. I will look for the signs of overstimulation, such as covering ears with hands, significant discomfort or irritability, agitated repetitive movements, etc. If the child looks happy/calm/engaged/busy/surprised/curious – the level of stimulation might be okay.

[Maura Nicholson]

I do believe it takes practice to find the balance between enough vs too much stimulation within a group. Sometimes the cues of too much stimulation are clearer, more direct, and louder than under stimulation would be- though both over and under stimulation could also result in a child shutting down more subtly. I could see how it would be easy to overstimulate a group if the facilitator thought perhaps, they weren’t doing “enough” by truly trying to do too much within a single group’s allotted timeframe and feeling the need to fill every moment.
I am thinking about the play space where I will be facilitating, and the children have a lot of access to toys on the ground and the room is bright. I may have to check in with the owner to see if there is some rearranging we could do to set ourselves up for success beforehand!

[Camryn Gallagher]

I’ve definitely had the experience of feeling like I’m “not doing enough,” when in reality, pulling back and allowing for a break was probably the real solution I needed!

Also, about the toys being in the room… we had a large “busy board” on the wall that was very distracting and often over-stimulating (one of the buttons makes a sound that is very much like a car horn. That’s over-stimulating even for me!) We weren’t able to remove it from the wall but we ended up using Command hooks to cover it with a small, makeshift curtain. The room we use is also a play space with shelves and shelves of toys, so when it’s time for music we flip the shelves around to face the walls. It makes for a lot less visual clutter and distraction. 🙂

[Lydia Westle]

Maura and Camryn, I can really relate with what you brought up in regards to groups being run in a space with toys! At CHOP, our groups take place in a play room and it’s been one of the biggest challenges, as the room is filled with toys everywhere, a fish tank, bright lights, etc!

[MacKenzie Lyons]

The appropriate level of stimulation varies between individuals as well as each group. I find that I am constantly evaluating and reevaluating the energy in a room to ensure I am matching what I am receiving from each child. For example, I just started a new session on Sprouting melodies 3, and the energy of the group has changed drastically from the previous session. We are often incorporating more opportunities for movement because the overall group needs that level of stimulation. Finding the right level of stimulation means being willing to change and adapt to fit the group’s needs. Most times this also means being willing to throw out your plan for the sake of the group.

[Courtney McDonald]

Stimulation can be generalized throughout someone’s day but can change minute by minute depending on the situation. Stimulation can also greatly depend on the dynamic of the group. It is never an all or none. A therapist must be on the watch for cues as to where to direct the session. The session may need more stimulation or less stimulation based on the location of the session and also what is happening next. For example, one day I have a session that goes until lunch. I need to make sure the students are awake and ready to eat but not so excited/over stimulated that it is hard to focus on eating. Another day, my session is directly before calm down/get ready to go home. I need to have the kids calm and laying down. Each type of session required a balancing act.

[Olivia Todd]

I agree with those that have posted before this, that the appropriate level of stimulation truly varies between each individual and group. I have sessions in many pre-k classes, each with their own needs. Observing in the NICU has helped me to closely follow stress or calming cues from the babies. What may look like a simple hand movement could be a stress cue that shows they are overstimulated. This course has challenged me to think about providing enough stimulation and following cues from the students or babies. Not only does the appropriate level of stimulation vary between groups, it can vary from session to session in one group. Two weeks ago one of my classes was extremely high energy as it was the day of their costume party. I had to change my session plans on the spot to meet their energy. The next week they did not have as much energy and if I did the same session plan they would have been overstimulated.

[Daniel DeLucia]

I think overstimulation depends upon the context and the individual. In my work with younger children with autism, I sometimes find that playing egg shakers with a group can cause one child in the group to cover their ears or hide their face in the paraprofessionals lap (if they’re in close proximity to them). I’ve also seen instances in which sometimes overstimulation can cause students (particularly non-verbal ones) to cover their ears and vocalize in a loud dynamic level.

[Kate Jihye Choi]

I think it depends on the level of sensitivity. Some kids have high thresholds, so they require more inputs to get their baseline and to be regulated. On the other hand, some kids have lower thresholds, so even slight stimuli can overstimulate them. For example, I have seen some kids not interested in music or activities requiring attention skills. They just explored or moved around the room, seeming not to want to engage in the music. But, once I did some frolic plays with them, running, bouncing, and jumping for a certain amount of time, they became ready to engage in the music and more interactive with me. Meanwhile, for the kids who have lower thresholds, I need to be very careful in deciding which stimulation I would provide them. In that case, I’d start with a little noise with the scarves or hands, then add voice to see how they respond. I add the stimulation slightly until they appear comfortable and are ready to engage in music.

[Amy Calderon]

It depends on the child. It is important to observe a childs cues and to know where they are developmntally to know how much stimulation to provide. It’s too much if a child is crying, turning away, trying to move away. It isn’t enough if a child is not engaged with you, which could also be a sign of overstimulation unfortuneately. It really is about trial and error with each child and changes as they grow and get to know them, but we can use cluee based on where they are developmentally to help decipher how much stimulation to provide.

[Jessica Solimini]

I think this varies from individual to individual, and I would also imagine that it could vary within the same Sprouting Melodies class from week to week! I think as an adult in the room, being aware of each child’s response to the level of noise/stimulation in the room is important and being flexible enough to adapt as needed. For some kids, being in a room full of egg shakers might make them uncomfortable – I know my own daughter couldn’t hear a group singing “Happy Birthday” for years without bursting into tears every time from being overstimulated!

[Billie Junget]

This definitely depends on the individual or the group. I find that there are moments in a group session where some participants may be overstimulated while others may be under stimulated, it’s all a balance to make things comfortable for everyone. Flexibility and adaptability are so important and observing the signs for both within a particular group/individual is always good to look for. Something I do to help prepare for successful stimulation in SM is using instruments of one timbre when I’m playing guitar/singing acapella (all maracas or all drums). I typically try to read the room, if kids aren’t engaged I try to capture attention musically or physically. One of my classes has a few kids who like to run around, so we start with movement after gathering at times to help regulate and get those wiggles out. It definitely varies!

[Erika (TeamRH)]

Insightful responses, thank you. I find this question to be very helpful for every class I run and use it to “take the temperature” of the room from the opening to the closing.

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