[Destiny Boyum]

@Megan that is a great point! I find this as well, that even though you may be nervous to try to connect with a family that comes from a different country you will likely be surprised!! The kids that I mentioned earlier from Saudi Arabia and Puerto Rico… they love Frozen and Coco! So I would second your advice to look at the patients personal preference instead of assuming that their culture will dictate what they are exposed to. With the internet and technology in 2019 there is no telling what type of music your client will actually like!

[Destiny Boyum]

@Erika ! I didn’t see your response to Emma! That is fantastic! Would you be willing to share some of your teams suggestions and developmentally appropriate songs in a second language?

[Destiny Boyum]

@Emma I think that is a good suggestion – I have though before about the potential of offering a group for Spanish speaking families, but I would have to do a LOT of brushing up on my high school Spanish to facilitate this. Although, there could be benefit for catering toward different cultural groups while using English and doing our best to support their traditions or music. I don’t know how I feel though about limiting it to one culture, I think that it would be fair to say it is focused on supporting community needs for _________, but open to all who are also interested in supporting these needs as well or learning about their culture.

[Destiny Boyum]

@Emma that’s a great point that while we are working on a specific “motor” goal, it is definitely with the larger goal of overall wellness, success and happiness! We are looking from all angles in the bigger picture, which allows us to focus in on smaller pieces of the goals.

[Destiny Boyum]

Well, I am not a mother at this point so my experience is from work and from friends having babies. I do spend a decent amount of time seeing babies in this age in pediatrics on the general floor, cardiac ICU and NICU. I tend to shy away from introducing myself to these families initially, because I am less certain what I can offer them. I feel that as I develop as a professional I am becoming more confident in my introductions and “selling” myself to new potential clients. I typically am looking for tracking, vocalizing, and overall awareness of the music. I also often am able to look at heart rate and oxygen levels as the babies calm or respond to stimulation, which I think makes it sometimes easier to communicate to medical professionals the impact that we can have on physiology.

[Destiny Boyum]

5 Words: SM1
Adaptable
Flexible
Gentle
Joy
Bonding

5 Sentences for parents:
“That’s a perfect distance for bonding!” (12-18 inches)
“It’s just as important for you to be here as for them, so it’s okay if they’re asleep at some times!”
“I’m SO glad you’re here!”
“Tap your baby’s chest when we sing their name so that they know it’s to them!”
“Take a deep breath!”

Hello song that encourages parents to sway and rock their baby, and sing specific to each baby by name
Bonding song – really like the idea of “row row your boat” because I already know it so I feel confident that I could already implement something similar to this, just encourage more movement. I haven’t used it to play with the dynamics, but I really like it as a means of building trust.
Scarf song – I like the where is my face idea, but I might also do like the tune to “are you sleeping” and change it to, “where is _____?” could be name/mom/dad, and then “here I am!” or “Peek-a-boo!”
You Have Two______ – I would love to use this because as mentioned, it is much more age appropriate than trying to do “Head shoulders” even if it’s the parents implementing it.
Wind down song
Repetitive Goodbye song that is predictable with all age groups

[Destiny Boyum]

I think there is a community need for early childhood development attention, especially for kids THIS young. I don’t think there are a lot of other mediums that can provide a social experience at this age. I think that parents are also so ready or excited to engage in community opportunities, but the offerings seem limited. They do want their kids to be in the community, and they do want them to engage with others but might not know where to look or what to do. So again, I think we can offer a unique opportunity that is often in a low pressure social situation for parents or kids who maybe more apprehensive and a quick way to build shared experiences through music.

[Destiny Boyum]

The needs of the families I work with vary depending on which setting I am working in, although I think there are also needs that we meet across all settings. I think these needs are

In pediatrics I think the needs are generally based around maintaining or gaining appropriate developmental or social checkpoints, coping with difficult information/diagnoses, self-regulation or relaxation/comfort support with particularly anxious or agitated kids, autonomy support (opportunities for control, decision making and mastery), etc. I could go on about the specific patient goals that I use, but I think that through supporting the kids and providing normalization, and often brightening their affect, that we are supporting the entire family. I often have parents who are tearful (happy to see their kid smile for the first time in hospital perhaps), and endlessly grateful, thanking me for lightening the mood or providing that normalization. My sessions here are also focused on attending to the needs of the entire family; sometimes, especially with infants, my session can turn into an opportunity to provide supportive listening or education. So, I think in this setting I have to be aware of the constantly changing needs of families.

In our clinic, the needs seem a little more predictable in a way. I think that the main needs tend to be developmental support, for most often motor or speech deficits. So along with goals to meet those areas, I am still working to attend to the needs of families to know that their kids are safe and in good hands. I think that more education fits into the needs of the family, and again, is an area that I would like to get better with.

The needs of the community is an interesting question. I think that music can serve a community by helping create connections between community members and providing opportunities for education. I think that Rochester, MN is an interesting community again with being home to the Mayo Clinic, which staffs about 40,000 locals (30,000 more across the enterprise). Because of Mayo, about one third of our city population works in a medical realm. This means that many of our families are very directly connected to Mayo. I think that this probably changes the dynamic of our community needs, and probably a lot more people seeking out creative therapies or understanding the effects of music on the mind and body. In addition to our community being uniquely medical, the clinic also draws a lot of international clientele, adding to our diverse community. I think that this also lends itself to our unique community needs, and creates a space for us to reach out and embrace opportunities for connection through music. One example of how I did this in the last year was hosting a “Bhangra dance class” which was hosted by me, but taught by members of the Punjabi community in Rochester. This was well attended by a diverse group, and encouraged community building. While this was not music therapy, it was just an event that we held in our space, it helped us show our presence in the diverse community.

[Destiny Boyum]

I think that similar to what the mother said that was interviewed, that we provide a service in which we are typically VERY passionate about! I am glad to hear that families feel like we are very invested in our work, and genuinely care for the families that we work with. I think that is something very important that we can offer families.
We DO have a lot to offer! I like the importance of reminding ourselves that – I feel like I need to be better at telling myself that! I think we can also bring value in validating their parenting! It seems that this course does a great job of informing parents about development support, and that is something that I don’t feel like I am doing at this point! I sometimes feel confident that I can educate parents of the general ways that music can support development, but I hope to get better at pointing out specific observations I have and give them tangible ways of observing them too!
We also really offer normalization to families with young children (I feel this is especially important with my work inpatient pediatrics), and provide a unique family experience while in the hospital, and a typically stressful situation that makes them feel “normal” or comfortable. I think we have a great tool with our music to create this comfortable space during stressful moments in peoples lives.
I think that it is also a really valid point in praising children with positive re-enforcement through music.

I also like that the video touched on the importance of being in charge of your group, and haven’t though before about the perspective of the parents being so anxious about what their kids are or aren’t doing. I tend to fall into the mindset that if the child is acting out, that the parent will intervene and it isn’t my place to set harsh boundaries. I will tell kids not to throw instruments etc, but I think that I need to be better about using these moments for modeling as talked about! I think that this is important because we can offer parents that peace of mind and reassurance that we are in control, we are creating a safe environment, and we are offering something unique for interactions, socialization and bonding.

[Destiny Boyum]

Erika, I work in Rochester MN and I grew up here as well! 🙂

[Destiny Boyum]

Interesting comment about minor songs seeming more mature for older children – I haven’t really thought of it in that light, but I think I agree. Do you find that they respond to it better?

[Destiny Boyum]

Singing:
Awareness: Will make cooing sounds when content
Trust: Will vocalize when music disappears into silence
Independence: Will vocalize when hears a familiar song, using pitched intervals.
Control: Will sing songs independently
Responsibility: Will accurately sing pitches of familiar song.

Playing Instruments:
Awareness: Will open his hand and keep his palm on a drum or tambourine
Trust: Will use open palmed hand or fist to bang random patterns on drum/piano
Independence: Will use a mallet/tool to strike the drum, or increase use of single finger to tap.
Control: Will begin two handed instruments, and attending to dynamics of loud/soft, slow/fast.
Independence: Will play a single beat on cue.

Moving:
Awareness: Swipe at musical object/person
Trust: Will begin to look toward instrument while shaking/striking it.
Independence: Will crawl/walk toward instrument of choice.
Control: Will adjust speed of movements to tempo of the music.
Independence: Will coordinate learned sequences of movements to the music.

Listening:
Awareness: Will look toward source of music
Trust: Will look toward place where music had been when it stops.
Independence: Can track movement of instruments by rotating head as he/she sits.
Control: Will start/stop play in response to music.
Independence: Will adjust singing/playing to match group.

[Destiny Boyum]

I think this is the case for me majority of the time when I am working with kids in the hospital – it is typically kids and parents, and sometimes siblings. This is partially why I am excited about this week having more examples of WHAT to point out to parents, and how/when to encourage them to demonstrate. I don’t see it as taking away from “leading” to educate parents, but I can also see how it could distract from a group setting. I think I would keep the music going, vamping on a chord progression and keep the flow of the session going while I talk over and give some additional pointers and suggestions to increase engagement/ what to watch for.

[Destiny Boyum]

Emma, I had the same reaction to the summertime song and would be curious to have this explained to me again as well, the intention of that.

[Destiny Boyum]

I do feel like I am aware of these four concepts in my sessions to a degree, but this information broken down into phases is very helpful. I think I could be more aware of the singing aspect, where I typically note if the kid is babbling, what vocalizations they are making, if they are singing words/etc. I think I should be more attentive to the melodic contour and melodic aspect of singing, than the syllables and words. This is a great reminder.
I use the awareness of instrument playing quite often. I am aware of younger kids showing response to the sedative songs vs the play songs, exploring instruments, responding to start/stop and playing with a steady beat. I think this is the domain that makes the most natural sense to my brain and I am already practicing in my pediatric groups.
Attending to movement is another interesting reminder for me, because yes I see the kids when they rocking to the beat, and have in my brain the next “natural” steps, of imitating movements of reaching up, or bringing hands together. I really enjoyed the piece of control, and kids demonstrating an attitude of pride when they can begin to master what others are doing. It was also really nice to be reminded that little 18m olds can’t do Head/Shoulders, and to be more intentional with what we are prompting. I will definitely use some of the pointers to tell parents encouragements as I recognize these things.
Listening is something that I don’t attend to in my work as much. I do think I note when my musical intensity is being matched by a toddler, but I think that I need to be more aware of when kids are listening/watching others. Also, reminding parents about the benefits of watching others, and the mirror neurons being at work.

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