Share your thoughts.

[Meredith Pizzi]

Share your thoughts with the board on how much stimulation is enough? How much stimulation is too much?

[Mary Carter]

I think it would depend on the age of the group, if you do have little 6 month olds in the class loud drumming may be too much stimulation, so obviously it’s a case by case basis. I think you can read if you have enough stimulation by the interest that is shown in the activity/song by the children. If they focus on the activity, whether that be by participating, by coming to the activity or by active listening there is probably enough stimulation. If they are avoiding the activity by staying away from the group for long periods of time or really clinging to the caregiver or they seem to startle easily there may be too much stimulation. Lots of unexpected surprises may be too much stimulation for this age so you probably want to alternate surprises with familiarity.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

At this age the children are needing a little more stimulation than in the younger age group, but are still sensitive to too much change. You don’t want too much inflection in voice or too many unpredictable changes in the music but you still need more than in SM1, you can use a little more inflection in your voice and can throw in some surprises in the music at this stage. It also depends on if the clients have any sensory issues such as oversensitivity to sound, etc. You have to gauge the reactions of the clients. If the children are all leaving the group and appearing to lose interest then you need to increase the energy of the session a little.

[Emily Baroody]

I think you can best gauge the right amount of stimulation needed by observing the quality of engagement the children are displaying. If they are passively are actively participating in each music experience they are probably receiving the right amount of stimulation. If they are avoidant of the interaction they are either receiving too little or too much and you can judge by adjusting what you are providing. Children at this age are still prone to startling especially when there are loud unexpected noises. As the music facilitator of the group I think we should be cognizant that even though these little ones need more stimulation to grow and learn about the environment than their friends in SM1 are still babies and may need a break from all the sights and sounds, or need more from you to enhance their experience in music.

[Corie Barkey]

For this age range I believe it is typical for the children to begin seeking the additional stimulation. As therapists we are typically excellent at spot assessments. We can gauge an individual child as well as a group to find that appropriate level. Similarly if we assess incorrectly and observe a child startling we have the skills to adapt session plans as well as the present music to meet the stimulation level of the children.

Personally I have a very skewed perception of an appropriate level of energy and stimulation because I have three BOYS. The gender difference between the boys and girls may also factor into this issue. Some of our friends with little girls would love to spin and rock and sway and at the same time my boys would have been lost with that level of energy. They would have required upbeat march, jumping, and surprise type of music support.

I feel that it is a developed skill for the music therapist to know when you are approaching a child’s “too much” level and to know as Beth said in the video how to bring the energy up and down during the session to find that balance and offer opportunity for all children to experience the range of stimulation that is appropriate for each one.

[Molly Moses]

I think the right amount of stimulation can be gauged from the child’s reaction. If they appear distressed in any way- avoiding the group for extended periods of time, crying, or too much fussiness- they are probably overstimulated, and something needs to back off. If they appear to be enjoying the stimulation (smiling and participating) or appear to be taking it in (gazing but not upset), then it’s probably the right amount and the music and activities can continue.

[Cynthia Cross]

I love Corie’s point about the spot assessing we do as music therapists. I think my instinct would be to have a lower energy level in the first couple classes of this level, perhaps introducing some mild musical surprises; then building and using more and more variety as the sessions progressed. I also appreciated the idea that we, as therapists and leaders of the group, need to be comfortable and natural with our playfulness. It can be easy to lose touch with that ability for many reasons and I think being aware of that will assist in regulating the energy level in the sessions.

[Kristina Rio]

Also remember that when you have two children with different needs of stimulation levels, let the parent or caregiver in on how they can engage with their child differently to support their child through something that may be too much or too little. That may be just facing them towards the caregiver, or giving an older child a separate task from the group to challenge them!

[Anonymous]

Each one of your submissions demonstrate how music therapists are the best people to work with music and young children!

[Laura Silvestain]

I agree with what everyone has said previously. It is a case-by-case basis for determining how much stimulation is enough, and the therapist needs to be aware and react to their participants in order to create an appropriate level of stimulation for every individual. The parents also know their child well, and with help from the therapist, will be able to adapt experiences as needed to fit the stimulation need of their child.

[Mary Kerrigan]

I feel as though for this developmental level and ages of the babies/toddlers that it really needs to be quite a fine balance of stimulation. The babies are starting to explore and observe their world more and do enjoy those “expected surprises” but they are somewhat expected so there is structure to the surprise and predictability which allows it to be more familiar. They like to have that stimulating challenge of anticipating the surprise but also the familiarity of knowing that it is coming soon. As mentioned in other posts it really and truly is a case-by-case basis on how much is enough. If your enrollment is mostly filled with babies on the younger end of the age range then maybe not too many surprises or loud music; however, if you have higher enrollment on the 18 month old age range or around there then that kind of stimulation is what they need and without it they may become disinterested or disconnected from the music experiences which is definitely not what you want. Again it needs to be a fine balance which we as therapists are trained to recognize when running music experiences.

[Brianna McCulloch]

I love this question–I think balancing the amount of stimulation throughout a group is so important. There have been times I felt like I was “losing” my group, with lots of kids starting to wander, and all it took was increasing my volume and energy and changing timbre (and maybe doing a movement song) to bring everyone back. Other times, with littler ones, I have felt like they were getting overstimulated, starting to get fussy and uncomfortable and all it took to re-regulate everyone was a gentle, slow, quiet swaying lap ride. I think that’s another benefit to providing live music when working with young children (and not following a recorded curriculum)–the MT has the opportunity to tailor the stimulation to the needs of the group.

[Melaine Pohlman]

I think the key to this “how much stimulation” game is a in the moment clinical decision based on what you’re presented with. As musicians and clinicians we must be able to adjust our “dials,” (for volume, tempo, timbre, excitement, etc.) The SM 1 children require a lower amount of stimulation in general, yet within that group we might even find a variance in what is needed. For example a parent might need a bit more encouragement to participate and so we dial things back a bit to make the music making experience more successful for them. At the same time a little one might be ready for more as they get ready to age out of SM1 and move into SM2. I’m sure this variance exists in SM2 and SM3 as well and certainly in Family Sprouts. Again, our unique skill set…as clinicians and as musicians gives us the ability to tune in with each client within our group to meet their needs. Our professionalism gives us the ability to share our knowledge and reasoning for making the choices we do so help the families know that we have all of their individual needs and best interests in mind.

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