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.

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Emily Seymour]

        The families that I work with are in need of more services for those who have special needs.  There are general music classes advertised in the local park district magazine, but the special recreation association for my community offers no fine arts classes.  Families have to travel to other cities to participate in art, music or drama classes.  I would love to one day provide music classes specifically designed for those with special needs in my community.  I would also like to start a sing & sign class for young children and their parents (similar to the work of Anne Meeker Miller) in the community.  We’ll see where the future takes me!

[Jillian Brown]

The families I work with in pediatric palliative care have a number of needs focusing on psychosocial and emotional. Families are struggling with all the components of having a child with a life threatening illness: financial, emotional, physical, psychological, spiritual. Sometimes there are intense family dynamics and lots of feelings of loss, anger, resentment, anxiety, depression, and deep emotional burden. I work with a clinical team addressing the over all need of the child with the life threatening illness and also her family members and what the need is as a family unit. Sometimes my work is more focused on just the child with the illness but more often than not I am doing sibling work, and work with the whole family. I think the families I work with are unique in that they have gone through a lot and are incredibly strong. The parents really seem to advocate intensely for their children and families and want the very best. They seem so grateful for any help they get even if it seems small. I feel very privileged to work with these families and it has been very challenging but rewarding. I hope I become better at what I do and I’m hoping this training helps me have a better understanding of children and developmental and well-being needs.

[Anonymous]

The center, I will be working at in the near future, is located in a community that solely offers either standard therapy for the disabled or standard music programs like Kindermusic and Music Together. It is the goal of the center to provide holistic, family centered services by highly trained therapists and medical professionals. Part of their mission statement is that all the professionals in their center work collaboratively to provide a well rounded service to each family. Both music therapy and Sprouting Melodies fit in nicely with the center’s goal and it meets the needs of the families in the community. There will quality early childhood music programming that all children can attend, individual music therapy services, and a trained therapist that will be able to work with the center’s collaborative team and the families.

[Anonymous]

Emily I am intrigued by the sing & sign idea. Have you had specific training for this? I know how to use sign a bit, but would love to get more training and never thought about groups specifically for that. I would love to hear about your experiences!

[Megan Goddu]

I have found that the families I work with are looking for support in any way they can get it, even if it’s just a friendly ear to help them process what is happening with their child. In the school I work at, while my main job is to provide music therapy services, as a case manager, I am being the voice of the parents at school when they are not there. In my home town (where I am currently living, but really work an hour away), I am not really aware of any community based music programs at the libraries or if music therapy is an option within the school setting for special education students. I have just recently received an inquiry about conducting a music therapy evaluation for a student in the town right next to mine…I am hoping that this inquiry may grow into a possible contract. (keeping my fingers crossed)

[Vanessa Talbott]

Living in a metropolitan area with many highly paid professional women brings a unique set of needs that are different from what I have taught in different areas of the country. The biggest need is to foster connection which many times is with a nanny instead of a parent. For some children, I have only met the parent a couple of times so I focus on equipping the nanny with ways to use music with the child and I focus on fostering the child’s secondary attachment with their caregiver.
I also work in daycare centers and see the struggles for connection that the children, parents and staff have so I work on bringing everyone together and fostering an environment of love and acceptance.

[Kristen Macleod]

There is very little in the area I work in in terms of group activities for families with children who have disabilities and nothing that is musical. When I talk to mothers of some of the individual children I work with I hear about how they would love to be able to hang out with other mothers who are in similar situations to them or be in an environment where they don’t feel stressed that their child wont fit in or be accepted. As the only music therapist in the area I would love to be able to offer them a service that could meet some of these needs.  I also work a little with some of the young siblings of these children and I think it would be great to have a siblings class where they could be with other children who are experiencing some of the same experiences they are in their home life. It can be a stressful for these children at home and to have a group in the community where they could come and make music and socialize would be fantastic.  I have a large “to do list”!

Emily, Like Erika I would love to hear more about your ‘Sing & Sign’ ideas.  Using more signing is also on my to do list! 🙂

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

Thanks for all these interesting plans, ideas and dreams. I think all of you are tuned into the particular needs of your community, and that is what we are looking for here at Raising Harmony – early childhood music programs run by skilled professionals that are flexible enough to meet the needs of both the children and the families.

[Carla Carnegie]

I am in a large area of 400,000 or so folks, working on my own in my private practice.  I am not 1 yr. old yet as a professional, so I am very much in the development stage of my own practice.  We have a Guild School (non-profit) that caters to the needs of very disabled young children up to age 3 or so.  I haven’t yet discovered what happens to these kids beyond that school, where they receive a number of therapies (there are no other music therapists involved) We also have a Shriner’s Hospital, and these 2 places are on my short list of venues I wish to visit and introduce myself as a music therapist.  There are 3 major Spokane Valley School Districts, but there is no music therapists to serve kids with special needs, let alone typically developing or at risk kids.  I do know we have a couple of “Music Together” programs going in the area.  I see a huge need for music therapy, and the unique program of Sprouting Melodies in my area—-it is sometimes (ok, more often most times) completely overwhelming when I think very long about it! I have much work left to do, and I am hoping that by offering the Sprouting Melodies Program, it will help to more quickly build my practice and spread the news about music therapy!

[Lauren Bevilacqua]

I think the biggest need in my community is to provide an opportunity for parents and children to connect. I live in the Silicon Valley where the population of children on the autism spectrum is very prevalent. I think parents are just looking for all different ways to connect with their children. 

There are several “mommy and me” classes, kindermusik and music together classes in this area. But there are not, to my knowledge, any of the music therapists in this area providing music therapy based early childhood classes. So there is a need for this type of class to help fulfill a need for parents to connect with their kids. I’m working on it. There are a few organizations that I am looking to partner with for this purpose. When I moved back to the bay area, I decided that I wanted to be an “opportunity creator.” I’m finding that working through this material is definitely helping me be more confident in pursuing more work opportunities with this population. 

[Channing Shippen]

Contracting, I get to work in a variety of communities! I feel that one of the biggest needs of the general community of the greater boston area is music therapy in eldercare. I think that multi-generational music experiences would greatly benefit the surrounding communities.

[Lisa Klostermann]

Sing & Sign. Very cool idea. But it’s very expensive and you get FOUR lesson plans. That’s it.  🙁

[Lisa Klostermann]

The need I see in our community is a reasonably priced music class with high quality music.  We have Music Together and Kindermusik in town which are definitely not cheap. I have twins and couldn’t really afford to take my twins.  There is a baby store in town that offers an inexpensive music classes, but the quality is frankly awful. EVERY song is recorded music.  So, my goal is to provide something in the middle!

[Courtney Fanello]

I definitely understand your feelings, Lisa. My community has Kindermusik and Music Together, but they are really struggling to fill classes. ( I know some fellow music therapists that teach them). I would love to offer a high quality music class that is more affordable, but I also don’t want to sell our profession short (as happens everywhere in Arizona right now). I will soon be moving to Utah, where families are typically bigger and families would have multiple kids to bring to classes. A sibling class would probably be a great option for that area.Another popular program is Let’s Play Music, which is more geared toward teaching musicianship and theory.

I have also noticed a lack of music groups for children with disabilities here. I have talked to several parents that have expressed a desire to have their children participate in choirs, or performing groups, but no one is willing to accommodate their child’s special needs. I think I mentioned this before, but I would love to create an inclusive children’s choir that does interactive performances. When Meredith mentioned that the community needed good children’s music, it was right in line with my dream. I would love to get ideas on doing audience participation in performances. I see this group as a natural extension for me to reach out to those kids after they have progressed past Sprouting Melodies.

[Carla Carnegie]

I have really enjoyed reading everyone’s dreams, and desires in their areas!  Very good input.  I heard alot about fostering connection: parent/child, caregiver/child, sibling/child, and especially creating community and opportunities with families dealing with disabilities.  Lisa and Courtney, I admire your ambitions to fill a gap between some expensive classes, and really awful cheap offerings, that meet NEEDS!

I think that is one of the characteristics I most love about music therapy, and music therapist—-client-centered, meeting the needs of the whole supporting unit of the family. Awesome.

 

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

Thanks for all these great practice ideas. In the later sessions of the training, we will be talking more about the business aspects of providing services in your community. Also remember that there will be a phone conference session on June 24th, so begin compiling some of your specific questions for Meredith and me.

[Meredith Pizzi]

Great Ideas everybody, and Lauren, I love the title “Opportunity Creator!”

About signing, we do incorporate it a lot into our sessions, especially just the very important basics of educating the parents about what a helpful tool sign language is in aiding their communication skills.

Affordable options are a concern. We have a scholarship program here at Roman Music Therapy Services where we take some of the money we bring in by doing community events, concerts, library programs, etc and then can offer sliding scale scholarships to families who need it. It makes a big difference. (And we offer a twin discount!)   🙂  We don’t lower our overall cost because honestly, when I tried that, I didn’t get more families and couldn’t keep it going at that price. We’ll talk more about the business aspects in the coming weeks, but pricing your classes based on value and quality and community markets and what families can afford is an important piece of the puzzle!

I love all the comments about groups specifically for, or at least open to, children with disabilities. That is a great opportunity for a Special Sprouts Class with a group just for them!!

 

[Meredith Pizzi]

Great Ideas everybody, and Lauren, I love the title “Opportunity Creator!”

About signing, we do incorporate it a lot into our sessions, especially just the very important basics of educating the parents about what a helpful tool sign language is in aiding their communication skills.

Affordable options are a concern. We have a scholarship program here at Roman Music Therapy Services where we take some of the money we bring in by doing community events, concerts, library programs, etc and then can offer sliding scale scholarships to families who need it. It makes a big difference. (And we offer a twin discount!)   🙂  We don’t lower our overall cost because honestly, when I tried that, I didn’t get more families and couldn’t keep it going at that price. We’ll talk more about the business aspects in the coming weeks, but pricing your classes based on value and quality and community markets and what families can afford is an important piece of the puzzle!

I love all the comments about groups specifically for, or at least open to, children with disabilities. That is a great opportunity for a Special Sprouts Class with a group just for them!!

 

[Michelle Muth]

Before I complete my entry I feel the same as Lauren about creating opportunities for parents and children to connect is a need here as well as Courtney’s comments about providing more opportunities for groups for families with special needs.
 
I live in a mixture of rural and city families. My discussion will focus more on the rural areas.  As is the case all across the country music programs in the schools are being cut or drastically reduced in particular for the primary grades.  Music is in that in between stage of being seen as not vital compared to football/sports but musical theatre in the schools is very important for a public image and competition.  How can one have good musical theatre without a viable music program? (rhetorical question)  On the sports front, I had a few male students (when I was subbing) not come to the final concert because they were too embarrassed, a parent didn’t want them too because it was not cool, etc.  Therefore, if there is such a lack of understanding of the importance of music, offering music therapy services can be quite daunting, but I really see it as an opportunity to education and advocate for the profession.  
 
These communities were hard hit by the steel industry collapse and many towns have never recovered.  A large percentage of families are not well-to-do and very attached to the area.  The family unit is strong, with many generations living in the same area and having never left Western Pennsylvania.  Grandparents are often the main caregiver for children as the parent is working.  Fishing, country music, the outdoors and family are key components of this area.
 
Because of some of the “backward” (Not liking that phrase but can’t think of another) nature of this area it is behind the times in education and advocacy for special needs.  I would say that the families I work with outside of the metropolitan area need more compassion and acceptance as relates to their child with special needs.  I think in some areas where I work there are still elements of 20 -30 years ago where one did not bring their special needs family member out in public.  Whether that is instilled in the family unit and/or part of the social fabric I am not certain, because I also see groups really trying to work with families and offering many activities.  Mix this with comments such as “alky” a neighbor said when referring to someone that is an alcoholic or “retard” that are common in the language of this area (although there are many students trying to remove this from the local language and there is still much work to be done.
 
Families have expressed a desire for music programs for their very young and primary-school aged children.  They do want their children to have some exposure to music.  So, this is a quite a mixture here.

[Michelle Muth]

Argh…That was supposed to be 4 different paragraphs…I even put in the HTML code.  Sorry about that folks.

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