[Caroline Gillott]

I see a great need for music therapy to continue making it’s appearance int he community. I was first introduced to the term “community music therapy” during a presentation by Ken Aigen. Ever since then, I’ve been intrigued by the idea. In my community music therapy is not widely understood or even known. However early childhood music definitely is. I love the idea of music therapists facilitating an early childhood community based group because it will bring awareness and advocacy to both sides. That is just want my community needs. Another thing is funding–I’ve worked for a facility that has been dependent upon medical assistance funds–MA covers clinical MT (as long as it is focused on behavioral health goals) 100%. On the surface that sounds great, but the struggles are also great. Every year there are new stipulations and ground rules that are not in the best benefit of clients. My community needs a stable, affordable and understandable service. Not something that is always changing because of state mandates. They need something that is at their level of understanding- once you see it and participate in it, it’s obvious that there will a benefit. Then, they know for sure that it is worth every penny out of their pocket.

[Caroline Gillott]

I agree with the previous posts but Jennifer has hit the nail on the head. I’ve seen and worked with other processionals providing a similar service who have just as much passion, who have just as much energy, just as much positivity and all those nice character words. But What sets us (MTs) apart from other professionals providing a similar service is that we have the training to engage a variety of ability levels, to manage behaviors, to recognize and embrace the non musical goals, to build upon strengths, to know what is typical, what is not. As music therapists who are held to standards of practice and ethics, etc, parents are guaranteed to receive top-notch resources, feedback, information, etc. We are part of a growing community that is still developing before our very eyes. This in and of it’s self is extremely valuable because we are active participants in the history of our field.

[Caroline Gillott]

I do not currently run any early childhood groups or anyone who would benefit from the service. I am also new to the area where I live so this is a tough question for me to answer directly. I am imagining that since I am in need of finding an early childhood music group for my child that the rest of the community must also be in search for this need. There are kindermusik and music together groups being offered but they are quite far away from my immediate area. I am hoping that my community will be open to accepting an early childhood music class and that they can see benefits for child and parent and eventually the rest of the family. I believe that the need for inclusion is high too–for those with special needs. There do not seem to be too many groups that can offer this.

[Caroline Gillott]

I use all four experiences in my treatment. I use movement the least mainly because it’s not something I feel comfortable doing. If anything, I want to make changes to how much I move and the quality of my movements in my treatment. After viewing recorded sessions I realized how stiff I looked whether at the piano (not a structured movement experience) or during a dancing experience (structured). I want to be more spontaneous and congruent (to the emotion) in my music. I do not currently see children that fall in the age range of “early childhood” but my 14 month daughter helps me out.

[Caroline Gillott]

Singing
-awareness: alters movement in response to singing voice
-trust:adjust attention when presented changes in melody
-independence: babbles using melodic intonation
-control: adjusts quality of vocalization to match the mood of music
-responsibility: regulate vocal quality to match dynamics and timbre of music

Playing
-awareness: turn eye gaze toward source of sound
-trust: reach out to touch instrument
-independence: uses whole hand to play an instrument
-control: uses pincer grasp to manipulate guitar pick
-responsibility: use individual fingers of dominant hand to play keyboard

Moving
-awareness: moves entire body
-trust: moves entire body rhythmically in response to music
-independence: rhythmically rocks and bounces
-control: isolates body parts to move rhythmically
-responsibility: moves forward and backward

Listening
-awareness: tolerates live music
-trust: look toward face of singer
-independence: tolerate harmonic changes
-control: tolerate singing along with peer and others
-responsibility: identify others through song lyrics

[Caroline Gillott]

I’m struggling with this post because I have to think in retrospect AND I do not currently work with children that fall within the category of “early childhood” which I guess is birth-5. So, I’m going to try to apply this post to my adolescent and adult clients that I treat. I find it mind blowing that the autism spectrum can vary so much. I have seen my clients exhibit ALL stages one week and maybe just the awareness stage the next–regardless of age. I have teenager who lives in a world of dysregulation. Bless his heart but music sometimes just doesn’t get through the barrier. Today it started to and I saw elements of control in him. He was moving from slow to fast purposefully within the relevant context of the song. He matched beat for significant periods of time and he repeated rhythms accurately. I often think about him and wish he can some day get to the point where he isn’t using all his energy to spin down the hall or to jump from room to room. It’s got to be exhausting. It was so exciting to see control in him today because it’s so rare. He initially came to the session extremely overstimulated–jumping up and down, spinning round and round. By the end of the session he was sittin’ at the drum jammmin’. Life is good.

[Caroline Gillott]

I have used some of these songs in my sessions for several years and most. The one that I most recently used was wiggly jiggle car, but I adapted it for use with street safety with 2 yr old triplets. Basically, it addressed the need to hold hands, to stop and look left and right and left again. I incorporated pauses and tempo changes which the kids found very fun. With triplets however, the organization of it all tended to fall apart. It was just me, the triplets and one parent (AHHH!)When on a walk outside, we’d sing it when coming close to an intersection and when one of the kids broke the “hand train”. It was challenging because there was a lot of external stimulation that distracted the kids while being outside. I introduced the song first in the home. We did the motions to my novel lyrics while walking around the house. Then, we took it outside, but like I said, the distractions (oh!!! look at the fire truck) were too a little much for the kids at the time. I did not treat with this family for very long (maybe like 4 sessions). I believe that if I had more time with them the song would have been more effective and useful.

I most consistently use a song that hasn’t been given to us and I hope it’s okay that I mention it–it’s “Can You Follow”. My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. Again I adapted it, but in a very minor way. They love the heigh-ho part and the love the fact that they get a chance to be a leader. I found this song to be exceptionally valuable for children when building confidence in front of peers. They loved to see their peers do something that they created.

[Caroline Gillott]

Thanks Kate–I too am confused. I am wondering if this topic should be: “Review what you heard today, describe a moment in your practice when you saw a child in one of the developmental stages. Post your story to the board.”

[Caroline Gillott]

I grew up in a similar setting to Katie. My family sang the traditional nursery rhythm songs such as the ones she listed. As I got older and started taking piano/voice lessons broadway and disney became a mutual musical interest among my family members. Hymns too were also a big influence. My mom and I used to play together in church. Her on flute and me on the piano.

[Caroline Gillott]

I view this question as something that I will continue to ask my self on a regular basis as a form of self exploration. I really like that it was asked in the beginning of this course because I know my answer will change or at least evolve from now until the end of the course. As of today, I hope to bring to early childhood music therapy base programs a unique approach that is child-centered. I hope to base my program on research as well as what the child brings to the experience. I am looking forward to developing my own melodies and lyrics that are developmentally functional for early childhood and I want to eliminate any misconceptions of “what kinds” of music children at this age respond to. I can’t wait to diversify my toolbox!

[Caroline Gillott]

There was a wealth of information to take away from this week. Being a new mom, my mind is very fresh with all the information. But I think the reminder that children will accomplish milestones at various rates and times is something to always keep fresh in my mind. Development isn ‘t black and white. I feel that this weeks information spoke to me on a more intuitive level. Meaning that even though a developmentally appropriate practice is “grounded in research on child development and learning knowledge base regarding education effectiveness”, that there are other aspects such as the child’s contribution and the parent/provider intuition that also play a crucial role in developing a successful developmental practice in early childhood.

[Caroline Gillott]

Hi I am Caroline Gillott. I graduated from Mansfield University, Pennsylvania and completed my internship at Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities Service Office with Donna Polen. I’ve been a professional in the field of music therapy for almost 7 years. I live in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania with my husband, 14 month old daughter and another daughter on the way. I currently work in Harrisburg for a small agency that provides music therapy to primarily (but not limited to) children on the autism spectrum. However, since becoming more recognized in the PA Early Intervention program, we have received more referrals for our young ones with developmental delays/global delays. I have many reasons for taking this course but here are the top four:
1. I had the honor of taking one of Beth’s CMTE courses at a national conference (Beyond The Bus) several years ago. Since then, I’ve been a repeat audience member to her other presentations. I felt like I finally met someone who says what I feel and believes what I believe when it comes to music therapy, childhood, development and play. For that reason I knew I needed to continue to “follow” her and her endeavors around. So when i found out about this course and she was a part of it I enrolled before even knowing what I was getting in to. Meredith–I am not as familiar with you, but definitely look forward to getting to know you!
2. I am looking to market myself and my services. I needed something to jump start me and motivate me.
3. I am a mother of 1 and soon to be 2 so I needed something with a lot of flexibility
4. I’m going to be brutally honest–my passion as a music therapist is with adults with ID and if funding was available I’d be right there working with them. However, since having a child a new interest in early childhood development is emerging. I want to learn more!

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