[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!

[Beth McLaughlin]

In the interview video, that mother who was questioned made some good points. I would definitely include them here in my response to this question. The qualities she pointed out were enthusiasm, passion, engagement and sincere caring for the children and their families. In addition, I think music therapists bring a unique skill set that includes the ability to include children of varying developmental levels in the music experience, full personal engagement in the process of music making, patience that translates to an understanding of the importance of waiting for the child to process the information they are getting thru the music environment then responding when ready. Finally, I would include our ability to articulate what we are doing within the music session and why, which was pointed out by Meredith as an important component of our role as a provider of music for young children.

In reading others’ posts, I agree with Gwendolyn regarding the rapport that’s built between the provider and those engaging in the music. It fosters an inclusive environment for both children and adults that promotes trust and encourages communication. And of course, musicianship is key as well!

[Beth McLaughlin]

Singing:
Awareness – turns head towards sound source
Trust – Coos, vocalizes in response to caregivers voice
Independence – explores ounds of his/her own voice – talks to self in crib
Control – sings repeated phrase or single words ina familiar song
Responsibility – incorporates multiple elements of music (rhythm, dynamics) into rendition of a familiar song

Playing instruments:
Awareness – turns head toward sound source. May vocalize in response to instrument sound
Trust – will grasp and release instruments; explores through multiple senses
Independence – plays a variety of instruments functionally
Control – responds to and alters instrument play according to external sound source
Responsibility – incorporates elements of music into instrument play e.g. alters dynamics, plays with pulse

Movement:
Awareness – exhibits physical response to various types of music (relaxes to quiet music etc.); attends to caregiver as they move to music
Trust – begins to imitate some movements of others; body mvt. changes in response to changes in music
Independence – movements become more functional and increase in duration; explores new movements in response to music
Control – movements are becoming more refised and responsive to changes in dynamics, tempo; demonstrates greater imitative skills
Responsibility – able to sequence movements and engage in multi-step movement experiences with group or partner

Listening:
Awareness – recognizes difference between mom and dad’s voice. Attends to their sound source
Trust – smiles, stops what he/she does when a familiar song is heard; visually attends to musical source; moves away or cries when an unpleasant sound is heard
Independence – begins to respond to changes in tempo and dynamics through movement
Control – will stop to listen to music that others are making (does not need to be involved in the music making to maintain attention)
Responsibility – independently seeks out music listening opportunities; willing to share music listening experiences with others

[Beth McLaughlin]

I have been using these 4 music experiences in my practice for many years. Bear in mind that I have spent my career working in a school where the youngest student was 4 years old so my focus has been more on using interventions to create music experiences that promote social, cognitive, language and emotional development within the educational environment. As such, my singing experiences focused on awareness and control of vocal qualities (inflection, articulation, dynamics etc.) pre-linguistic skills such as vocal play, language concepts, sequencing skills, vocabulary, social language etc. Instrument play was structured to reinforce gross and fine motor skills, taking turns, following directions, sequencing, and developing impulse control. I always incorporated a lot of movement starting with seated movement (body percussion, modeling positional changes) and then moved to a locomotor movement experience that focused on building movement repertoire, peer interaction, self confidence and self-initiated behavior. I began and ended every session with quiet listening that helped the students transition in and out of the music therapy classroom. I’m aware of the incredible potential that these music experiences have for supporting children’s learning and am very excited, as a gain a deeper understanding of their relationship to early childhood development, to implement them in a more thoughtful and sequential way as I move forward with my practice.

[Beth McLaughlin]

I have used the song ‘All of Me’ frequently after learning it from Beth several years ago. It’s magic. The students I used it with were 4 and 5 years old on the autism spectrum. They were at varying levels of development but would all eventually learn the movements and even start to vocalize ‘me, me, me’ at the end of the song. We had to create a special song icon for a student’s PECs book to add to his repertoire of preferred songs!

[Beth McLaughlin]

I had a student a few years ago who was very fearful of the music therapy environment. He was one of 6 students and 4 staff. It was pretty overwhelming for him. Rather than have him sit with the group, we gave him a chair in the large closet connected to the classroom. He sat in there and sang most of the songs with a staff sitting in close proximity. He would sing with a microphone and the amplifier in the larger classroom so his friends could hear him. As he became accustomed to the routine (through much consistency and repetition), he grew to trust the environment. He slowly came out of the closet area and inched his way towards the group. We allowed him to make this transition on his own terms and he became an active and independent participant.

[Beth McLaughlin]

I’m sorry to be late to this discussion. I was away last week and just completed the 3rd week of the training. As far as the cultural and traditional songs for young children in my community (suburban upstate New York), I would have to agree with Rachel and Alison. The songs I hear children singing and listening to include the traditional songs of our childhood already mentioned. I rarely use them in my practice, however, as I have always focused on creating original melodies and lyrics for the students with whom I was working. I had an intern once though who had an amazing repertoire of songs from Woodie Guthrie and Appalachia. He did a wonderful job of adapting those songs in a way that was appropriate to the students’ developmental level while introducing them to our rich cultural folk heritage.

[Beth McLaughlin]

Yay!

[Beth McLaughlin]

I just tried to add an image to my profile. Let’s see if it worked!

[Beth McLaughlin]

I have been working with young children for many years. The information that I’m learning in this training has certainly validated the work that I have done but is also giving me a clearer understanding of how to best maximize the learning opportunities that each intervention may provide based on the developmental needs of the child. For instance, allowing a toddler to independently go to the music box, stoop to get a maraca, stand and return to his square is promoting independence, movement control and social interaction as we celebrate the child’s success in completing this awesome task!

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