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

[Julie Palmieri]

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?

[Sarah Braverman]

I work with clients who have autism, Apraxia, developmental delays, language delays, and other various types of disabilities. The needs of the families and their communities include coping skills, relaxation, recognizing emotions, increasing overall movement skills, increase communication skills, and overall enjoyment. The way music can meet these needs for the families and these communities include using music for stress reduction, using music as a creative outlet for how the child might be feeling and identifying how their feeling, involvement in movement both with and/or without instruments, using the voice with and/or without movements to hear and imitate the various musical elements associated with language development, and to have fun in experimenting with different instruments and/or vocal sounds in a safe environment.

[Erika (TeamRH)]

It sounds like you have a great understanding of the needs of the community you serve 🙂

[Talia Morales]

Many of the families I work with have a wide range of needs some examples include affordable health care/ therapy, respite services, child care, enrichment-after-school/summer programs, language translation services/support, healthy strategies for to interact with their kids in meaningful ways.. Needs of my community range greatly as well from critical survival needs such as affordable housing, food, health care which impact the community and boost the immunity on a foundational level. If health is a resource for an individual or a family, then the promotion of health within a community is a resource for society. Strengthening the immune system of communities via music is a way to achieve both objectives. From a salutogenic lens, “boosting the immune system” of community also includes a need to fortify its resilience and a sense of belonging and “communitas”, the experience of human kindness. Ideally before conflicts or challenges arise. My community needs opportunities for connecting and interacting with fellow community members from the hub points of our shared humanity-across the political, racial, socio-economic or immigration status etc..Music can’t be the solution to everything, but it sure can help! Music and MT also can not replace the important needs that well funded social services and health care serve, but it CAN be embedded as part of the services these institutions offer. For example, providing music education in schools, offering MT in the public schools via the IEP, providing MT in home based services via the county’s resource center. I have seen these models in action, I actually wrote my masters thesis related to community peacebuilding via music so am especially passionate about this topic and grateful when families and communities have opportunities to engage musically ranging in a variety of settings from home, to school, to park, to hospital, to farmer’s market, to clinic and enriches us ALL in planting the seeds of voice, safety, place and empathy. Happy to share my thesis with anyone who might be interested 😉

[Erika (TeamRH)]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us! I truly appreciate learning about your experience, background, and expertise.

[Julie Palmieri]

Talia, I could read your thoughts ALL day long!

I especially love this: “…grateful when families and communities have opportunities to engage musically ranging in a variety of settings from home, to school, to park, to hospital, to farmer’s market, to clinic and enriches us ALL in planting the seeds of voice, safety, place and empathy.”

I love how you worded this so beautifully.

[Sarah Braverman]

I’d love to read your thesis Talia! It’s really fascinating to learn about how music therapy can help bring more opportunities in community settings and help strengthen it in new ways! 🙂

[Julie Palmieri]

Even though I am not working directly in an early childhood space, there is a need for connection and community in this post-COVID world – for everyone! In my family, we have definitely been seeking out opportunities to come together with other people, whether it is through a team sport, band, music concerts, and so much more.

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