Share some thoughts about the challenges of providing multi-age groupings.

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Stacy Reno]

My family group consists of children ages 0-3 with some type of impairment and their siblings, friends or cousins (ages from 0-10)! It’s “a dance” to make sure that the multiply imparied child that exhibits very little external expression/movement is getting as much out the music experience as the 5 year old typically developing child. Thank goodness for music! Typically developing kids (siblings,friends) are excellent helpers (passing out instruments, demonstrating actions…). There are so many great things (muscially, socially) that can happen when you have a mixed group. These mixed groups probably represent what many of our MT groups (children, teens, adults) look like in terms of develpomental/social levels. I think what separates the family group is the importance of feedback given to the parents.

[Coleen Shanagher]

I agree with a lot of what you are saying Stacy. I really love the concept of multi-age groups. I think it represents what we encounter in the world or in the family. Kids get to be the leader sometimes and sit back other times. But you are right that it brings challenges as we want to make sure we are addressing specific goals for each child at their level.

[Petra Paukova]

I totally agree with Stacy. What I would add is this: I feel the challenge of multi-age groups is in different level of energy and participation of each group level. 5 years old does not need to take a nap while 4 moths old might fall asleep during music…. They will react differently to music because they are in different stages of development. So, for music therapist it might be little tricky to adjust her/his music to all age levels. What is good is the fact that there are always parents who help…..

[Erin Spring]

I agree with Stacy and the others that it in some ways is similar to the balancing act we as music therapists do when we are providing a group music therapy session, especially with individuals with developmental disabilities, where each participant may be on a very different developmental level depending on the domain area of focus. I think for us, its a matter of transferring that balancing act to this family setting. I also agree a key is also balancing and communicating with the parents. You really have 2 groups, the parents and the children, and each group needs a specialized approach.

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

I agree with Erin, that we need to balance the expectations of the parents with the experiences of the children. What I have found is that many of the grownups look to us for information, education and mostly communication.

[Toni]

I think challenges to multi age groups would be similar to multi developmental level groups, The wider the gap, the greater the challenge. The wonderful thing about music is that we can use it to help bring unity to the group. Stacy really summed this topic up well 🙂

[Kehlen Bushatz]

I definitely think it’s just challenging to meet every child’s needs when you have multi-age and level groups. I think it’s really important to know a hierarchy of the skills that are being targeted and have ideas of ways to challenge those that need more and less than most of the group.

[Lauren Stoner]

I agree that a multi age group can be a challenge. However I think it can also be rewarding for the people that are there. The most important thing is to pull it all together and make sure each participant is able to engage at an appropriate level. Going in and acknowledging that the space is non judgmental and based on choices I think helps in bridging the gap.

[Sarah Tree]

I agree that the most challenging part of multi-age groups is ensuring that you meet the needs of all participants. Stacy made a great point that older children are not only great helpers, but they really enjoy being helpers. Luckily for all of us, music is so flexible that it really does allow you to adapt to these challenges as they present themselves to you. Subtle alterations to tempo, dynamics, and timbre allow us to engage children within all of the developmental levels.

[Shannon Kiley]

I think the most necessary element in running a multi-age group is the provision of multiple levels of engagement! Also making sure that everyone is aware of the options for different ways to engage, which points back to the importance of parent education.

[Kathryn Opher]

Multi age groups are challenging but fun. I run family music therapy sessions and model many things for parents in the group. When the parents see how I interact with their children, they feel more confident to be playful and fun not thinking they look silly. I use older kids as role models for younger ones and do also balance the music to not over-stimulate. It is a fine balancing act and has taken years to get this to work! I LOVE family work as it is community based and seeing the parents grow with their kids is so wonderful

[Jennifer Sokira]

I think one of the biggest challenges is being prepared to move with the group, especially repertoire-wise! Having options ready to maintain appropriateness for the younger children as well as challenge and honor the development of the older children- and right there and ready to go:-)

[Keeley St Clair]

Multi-age groups can be quite challenging – much of the challenge can be determining how each child can get the most out of each experience. The great part about SM is that with the model being focused on family, we actually have lots of help – I’m sure most of us are used to leading groups of 10-15 special needs clients on our own or with the help of one or two staffers.
It will be important to keep on our toes and observe reactions to the little ones especially as it could get overwhelming for them with all the energy of the older kids swirling about.

[Andrea U]

I don’t want to repeat what others have said about the challenges of multi-age groupings, but I think multi-aged groups also give the opportunity for older members to be role models to the younger members. Part of the challenge for us is to capitalize in those situations (or even having tasks to create these situations). I find these groups can provide interesting opportunities for learning that tend not to happen with groups of more similar ages and skillsets.

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