What are the needs of the families and communities that you work with?

[Anonymous]

What are the needs of the families that you work with?  What are the needs of your community?  How can music meet the unique needs of your families and community?  Share on the forum.

Be sure to come back and respond to others as well.

[Maria Ramey]

The families that I work with are often overwhelmed by juggling many responsibilities, children, and of course pandemic concerns. Music givese them a voice for expression of those feelings, a way to communicate with each other in a non-threatening way, and a way to relax and focus on some beauty.

[Debbie Merideth-Zantout]

The families of young children that I serve are often overwhelmed. They have just recently received a diagnosis and are trying to juggle a myriad of new doctors, therapists, school, health issues, and other family obligations. They often just need to talk and know that they have support.

[Samantha Springer]

The families that I work with in the community are also overwhelmed figuring out the ins and outs of services that are available for their child. They are also concerned with how their child is progressing on a developmental level towards different skills. As discussed in this module and the previous week, music therapy and music in general can be a tool for teaching and/or reinforcing different developmental skills. Additionally, music therapy can provide the family and the child receiving services to bond and spend time together, building strong familial relationships.

[Mikelia Wallace]

The families that I work with are mostly IDD pre-teens and teens, most with an ASD diagnosis. A lot of these parents are incredibly overwhelmed with how many therapies they see on any given day, along with the regular duties of daily activities, working and raising other siblings. The needs of the kids themselves are usually expressive and receptive communication skills.

In my community, there is not a lot of knowledge regarding ASD and what services are available to families other than ABA therapy, I think there is a large need, there is also not a ton of services aimed at parent and child connection, like “Mommy (Daddy or Caregiver) and Me,” most services here are “drop your kid off and go.”

Music can address the first concern with families by helping encourage expressive communication through creative music making, while addressing receptive communication through songs with strict structure and built in prompts as discussed in the modules. The second issue can be addressed through the creation of a early learning music center as discussed in the module, and advocating for more music within our community.

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