What are the needs of the families you work with?

[Meredith Pizzi]

What are the needs of the families you work with? What are the needs of your community? Share with the board how your families and communities might be unique.

[Elizabeth Ferguson]

The needs of the families I work with vary greatly but tend to have overall similar needs. Socializing with peers and exploring different instruments are two big reasons for the families joining my community music groups. Towns outside of my own have a strong music together following. I am hoping to bring Sprouting Melodies to my hometown to offer more local early childhood music classes.

[Rachel Lighty]

The needs of the families that I am currently working with definitely fits in with the portion of the presentation that discussed educating parents. The parents are not sure what is ok for their child to do and they want their child or children to sit perfectly on the carpet and do exactly what they are “supposed” to do. Educating the parents on these things and also reassuring them that everything their child is doing is okay is a definite need in my groups.

The needs within the community appear to be educating about the difference between music therapy and a person using music in groups. There are many music groups in my community (young children groups at the library and in schools), but very few that are led by a credentialed music therapist. Getting into more schools and educating the community about what music therapy has to offer and the value it can have on young children can be very powerful in starting and growing programs.

[Anonymous]

Elizabeth- Meredith has been a great insight for me when I became a provider, as Music Together’s headquarters is in NJ and that among many other programs saturate my area, that it is a good thing to see other programs doing well. It means families are open and willing to spend their money on music programs. When you become a provider, you will get lots of support in sharing with families how you offer something unique and that will set you apart. 🙂

It is great to see how you each are looking at your communities. This will help you to develop programs and find ways to better support your community.

[Tracy Schoenberg]

I’ll admit years ago I trained in kindermusik for music therapy credits, and thought it was beneficial to an extent, but then there was the purchasing of curriculum and instruments which were over my budget, following all the scripted curriculum was hard for me- so i called another kindermusik provider in the area to talk to and observe, and she was very territorial and did not want another person doing kindermusik in the area. She suggested I search faraway towns to practice. That ended that dream fast, but she was a wonderful teacher when I did the program with my first kid. I know the music together does very well and seems to be a huge following in one of the mom’s meetup groups I am currently in. They bring all their children in and do all the classes religiously. I attended for awhile but very challenging for my own kid to attend to most songs due to his own sensitivities and I honestly can’t afford more than one of those classes a year. I also trained in Gymboree a long, long time ago and it was very scripted, but did go into child development a lot more than any other music program I attended. It was a very general description of what a child should and might be doing at the time of development, but nothing for parents to really take home. That was prechildren. During training, I didn’t like the fact it revolved around a strange clown so I left to do music therapy in schools since there was more music therapy involvement and felt it was more in my professional area.

I think this program would really fit into some different areas in my community like a music school. I used to teach piano for many years in a music school before I needed to be at home with my kids, but they have been asking if I was interested in developing an early childhood class. I just wasn’t organized last year and felt I still needed more time with my kids before I could pursue that. Another thought is in special recreations department could benefit from this program for supporting kids with special needs and their parents. Also, I do feel the kids with special needs don’t get a lot of specialized music programs. I mean every therapist my kids have seen for speech, OT, and PT do not have a music therapist- probably related to laws of insurance in Illinois. There used to be a few music therapists that worked in these places, but now I haven’t seen any around the area as visible as other therapists. I would have totally utilized a music therapist if it were an option for my kids- really tricky to be a teacher or therapist for your own kids.

[Marchele Gilman]

Tracy, thank you for your thoughts. I have wondered about other music curriculums and how they each were different from each other. It is particularly valuable hearing from a music therapist’s view.

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

As others have written, the needs of the families I work with can vary widely but also include many similar needs. The major themes in these needs include acceptance, support, and knowledgeable guidance. Most families need varying levels of support understanding their child’s development, both general development and their child’s particular needs.

[Cassandra Reyna]

The families that I (am hoping to) work with appear to need support, knowledge, and unconditional acceptance. I recently accepted a position teaching privately at a franchised music school, and the directors have informed me that we have already had a significant amount of parents of children with special needs calling to ask if we accept their children at our school. We absolutely do! It broke my heart to imagine these parents believing that we may not accept their differently-abled children simply because they might not be able to learn the instruments as quickly or in the same manner as the other children. To me, this is indicative of the families’s needs for support and acceptance in a culture where music is only done by “professionals.” They need a safe space where they can come and enjoy a “Mommy and Me” class just like any of the other families, supported by a professional knowledgeable in child development and who has experience working with children with special needs. Even if the child cannot play the instruments or sing the songs, they are still absorbing their surroundings and experiencing new stimuli, and I hope to instill this in the families who will hopefully be signing up for lessons/Sprouting Melodies classes very soon!

[Anonymous]

It’s great to see how you all have a unique set of skills that helps to include everyone and meet a multitude of needs. I know the families in your areas will benefit greatly from your expertise.

[Flora Whitmore]

In our community, the needs are very complex. The three counties I serve are kind of diverse in their socioeconomic status- one is very poor and relies on a lot of support from the state- this means they do not have the access to music therapy services unless their children have a formal diagnosis and their school contracts a music therapist. Another has a drastic split of both very affluent families with children in need of continuous medical care and therefore miss out on a great deal of socializing and community involvement and very poor families who cannot afford childcare or child enrichment opportunities. The third has a great deal of immigrants and refugees and while they have some funding for programming, it is very limited and most music therapy services in this county rely on grant funding. All of these counties and communities are very curious and excited about early intervention and early childhood music therapy. Parents have a lot of questions, a lot of fear and a great deal of interest and relief when they hear about options for enrichment and support for their children. The struggle is still finding funding. However, as Sprouting Melodies is separate from clinical services, this has been appealing to a lot of families who desperately want music therapy for their musically motivated children and would not normally have access to it. The parents who do have the means, are very excited at the prospect of enriching their children and connecting with other parents. Because I work in such rural areas, there is a lot of isolation. In many families, both parents or caregivers work, and stay at home parents are very isolated. Offering this program in my neck of the woods will be an exciting avenue for helping them enrich their children and help get them ready for school and for interacting with their peers. It’s also a great opportunity for their parents to network and feel supported, informed and encouraged and armed with knowledge that will carry them forward once the classes are finished.

[Jessica Triana]

I love that Meredith pointed out how incorporating parents into the music therapy session allows the caretaker to see and know their child in a new way. It was also nice to be reminded that the relationship between an adult’s education and his/her competency in parenting is not a direct one. I see this frequently in my sessions with other family members and children. As a patient in a rehab hospital, one often experiences some change in self-image, appearance, functioning, daily life activity, etc. In hand, there may be shifts in family dynamics and parent-child relationships. The transition from a typically developing kid to a child with special needs can be significant and abrupt, potentially leaving the caretakers feeling distraught, overwhelmed, and isolated. The interventions that I can bring as a music therapist to the patient’s larger treatment plan are uniquely sensitive to the psychosocial and medical needs of both the child and family throughout their course of treatment and beyond. I have seen how bringing the parents in as active participants gives them the opportunities to be playful again, understand their child’s capabilities, and help them adapt to this new life with their child. They often appreciate working with someone who can act as an expert, but is also willing to be a teacher and motivator. It certainly helps that music is non-invasive, instinctive and fun.

[Beth McLaughlin]

This second question is of great interest to me currently. I recently retired from my full time job as music therapist in a school for children with special needs, age 4 – 21. My idea for retirement was to pursue this training and begin to offer classes to young children and their families in my community. I did not have a clear plan or structure for pursuing this idea until I received a call from a parent in my community during my last weeks at Wildwood asking if I knew anyone who was offering music classes to young children on the autism spectrum. They just wanted to have some fun. Long story short, she is part of a support group of parents who are looking for opportunities for their children to be a part of a group where music is the catalyst for social interaction with their siblings and peers. There are many such support groups in this area as well as Family Support Services in local agencies that work with parents to find such opportunities for families. While there are many music therapists in my area providing services for school age children, the process for receiving those services can be complicated and varies widely from district to district. Many families in my community may not be looking for IEP driven music therapy services but see very clearly the potential that music has for enriching the lives of their children and family relationships. There are few if any such ‘music classes’ in my community and I wonder if there is a growing need or demand in other areas as well.

I have started working with these families and their children (age 4 – 7) and we’re definitely having fun!

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

Back in 2013, Meredith and I were asked to contribute to the music therapy early childhood magazine – imagine doing a side by side comparison on Sprouting Melodies with Music Together and the Sing and Grow Program. You can find copies of imagine at musictherapy.biz.

[Marchele Gilman]

I would say that the families I currently work with need support. Since I work with children with special needs, they need information on how to parent, information on what to do when a child has certain behaviors and why. They also need to know that they are doing a good job, and that I am there to support them and refer them to others with special skills that can also help them along the way.

[Marchele Gilman]

Elizabeth, I couldn’t find that issue of Imagine on musictherapy.biz. Is there a link so I can read that article?

[Alice Sorensen]

I think the needs of the families I’ll be working with will simply be a place to be in music – and all of the things that being in music together provides, such as support, socialization, bonding, etc. As I’ve mentioned before, I think this program is really unique and it is a real need in the community, which has a vast range of socioeconomic families and a lot of diversity.

[Anonymous]

Marchele I will check in with Beth and see if she can give a link for everyone. Thanks!

[Alison Albino]

Like many have mentioned, the needs of the families that I work with also vary, but they all can be educated. Children are constantly changing and teaching caregivers what can be expected of children as they progress through the developmental stages is so important. Parents with children who have developmental delays also rely on that knowledge that they are not alone. I believe that is another need of the caregivers and families in this community. Having children be in an environment where they are surrounded by peers who are in the same developmental stage and age range is important for them, but it’s also important for families. It gives those families/caregivers an opportunity to connect with others and share experiences.

[RaeAnna Zinniel]

Though I am not a professional yet I can see that there are many needs in my community. Like I have said previously there are no music programs outside of school or private lessons offered in the surrounding hour radius. I think what is most needed would be what Sprouting Melodies offers, a program for young children, typical development and atypical development to lean and grow together and for parents to also have a group of supportive peers and professionals.

[Ayelet Weiss]

I live in the Upper East Side neighborhood of NYC, where as I mentioned before, there are tons of mommy and me music classes and programs available. However, I don’t know of one that helps to educate and support the caregivers and provide knowledge about typical and atypical development and be able to relate it to what the children are doing in music. As a new mom in this neighborhood, I am part of some community list-serves and facebook groups with thousands of members, and there are ALWAYS parents asking other parents if something is normal or what to do in a certain scenario so I know that the need is definitely out there.

Additionally, for the children, there is a need for a safe and research guided music program that appropriately meets their developmental timeline. Parents will be able to see their children thrive (or learn how to notice red flags) while learning how to support their children at home.

[Anonymous]

Ayelet, I think you are already seeing what an asset you will be for your community. You will be a great support to them and providing something that is unique and not just a “fun” program to bring your kids to, rather a true enrichment program that will be beneficial for everyone in the family.

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