Review What You Heard

[Julie Palmieri]

Reviewing what you heard today, describe a moment in your practice when you saw a child in one of the developmental levels.

[Sean FitzGerald]

I worked with a child in the past who was 3 years old and had down syndrome and, looking back on it, they were definitely in the independence/control stage at the time I was working with them. They loved to imitate what I would play and we would go back and forth playing different instruments while also exploring new ways to play them. They also loved surprise changes in the beat and big glissandos in the music. They reacted well to being given the autonomy to choose what they wanted to do and they would make sure mom was nearby, but they became comfortable with playing songs and engaging in music with me over time. I didn’t think of that at the time but it is interesting to look back and see how the framework applies to work I have completed in the past!

[Kayla Stubblefield]

Sean, how cool is it that you had that experience! It definitely sounds like they were in the independence/control stage at that time.

[Kayla Stubblefield]

During my internship, I was so lucky to gain experience working with kids who have Autism. Because it is a spectrum, some kids that I worked with required higher support and other kids required more support in different areas. One of my favorite sessions was toward the end of my internship with a kiddo (in the awareness/trust stage) who did not respond much to music. On this day, the client and I went back and forth imitating one another, taking turns, eye contact, and matching pitch for about half the time. It was such a huge milestone in his progress and I will never forget the experience!

[Leah Strand]

That sounds like that experience made an impact on both ends! Awesome!

[Jorden Liteplo]

This morning I had a new baby in the independence stage start bopping up and down to the music and started signing “ more” at me! It was so cute!

[Erika (TeamRH)]

Great insights, thank you each for sharing.

-Erika

[Leah Strand]

In my internship I was working with a little girl who has autism. She would go in and out of phases for either letting music happen during a session or say “no stop, no music, no sing”. A big thing for her was control, she was in charge and we followed her schedule. This reflected her daily activities like go to sleep, wake up, go to school, eat lunch etc. So a lot of the time we were incorporating music in these things to hep with her verbal communication. I noticed that once I start to “unintentionally” hum music in the silence she would mimic the very same thing as if it was part of the routine. I go sneaky with my methods and indirectly incorporated music to go with the tasks we were doing. She was very much into the independence/control stage.

[Angie Snell]

Leah, it sounds like you were able to use the music to value how she showed up, how she was musical, and how important control was for her.

[Angie Snell]

A case example that has stuck with me over the years is when a young elementary age girl showed up in one of my MT groups without me being given prior notice or information. Her family had just moved to the school district I worked for. She had multiple physical disabilities and was unable to speak or independently move her limbs. Her responses indicated she was in the awareness level, although I was not sure whether that was accurate since I did not know any details about her or her history. I noticed that her eyes followed me and the guitar I was playing. I assessed which music elements she showed even slight responses to through her eyes and breathing. I incorporated those elements into the way I played the music. Soon within the session she presented a big smile and by the end of the session she had sustained smiling and turned her head to follow me and the guitar as I moved across the room.

I found out afterward that this young girl was hardly ever known to sustain a smile, let alone express a smile. And the teacher and the PT did not know she could move her head. After that first session, I collaborated with and consulted with the SLP, in addition to the PT/OTs. We eventually developed the positioning of communication switches on her headrest so she could begin to communicate likes and dislikes. We got a short time with her before she passed away. And during that time she got to expand opportunities to develop and share happiness and social connection more deeply and more meaningfully.

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