[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

I find that all four of these music experiences are present in the vast majority of sessions. Because most of my work takes the form of individual sessions, I often try to follow the lead of the child, keeping their clinical goals in mind, and shaping music-based interventions as we play and explore. Listening, singing, and moving almost always emerge organically in every session. I find that instrument playing often emerges in some form out of movement even if there aren’t any designated musical instruments accessible (e.g. banging or shaking toys, stomping feet, etc.). When I do offer instruments, I’ve found their use very helpful to address specific goals (e.g. sharing, crossing midline, targeting a certain movement pattern, impulse control, etc.). I will very interested to see how these experience unfold in the context of a group!
I enjoyed listening to and reading the uses of these experiences this week, particularly in regard to incorporating them into a semi-structured group setting!

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

Singing
Awareness: uses non-specific pitches in vocalizations and responds to a singing voice
Trust: uses pitch intentionally and vocalizes in response to singing
Independence: string two pitches together to form an interval and babble on pitch
Control: matches specific pitches and completes phrases in familiar songs
Responsibility: can sing with pulse and increased accuracy of melodic contour
Instrument Play
Awareness: turn toward the sound of instrument play and alter vocalizations in response to instrument playing
Trust: explore instruments with hands and mouth, begins to shake or strike instruments
Independence: transfer instruments from hand to hand and coordinate both hands for some movements
Control: plays a wider variety of instruments, plays in different tempos, uses repeated rhythmic patterns
Responsibility: maintain steady pulse in playing
Moving
Awareness: moves instinctively in natural rhythmic patterns
Trust: moves in rhythm in response to music
Independence: clap hands, engage in more coordinated rhythmic movements, and engage in some imitation of rhythmic movements
Control: imitates rhythmic movements
Responsibility: sing and move and sing and play concurrently
Listening:
Awareness: distinguishes between parents’ voices and other voices and shows awareness of presence of a voice
Trust: Distinguish familiar from unfamiliar melodies and notice changes in familiar melodies
Independence: Display physical mirroring of characteristics of music, including actively listening
Control: actively choose to listen to music
Responsibility: listen to the music being created by peers,

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

I work with a set of premature twins in the awareness stage. In the presence of music, they display most of the behavioral changes described in this week’s information, including: changes in movement, audible breath, and facial presence. They are particularly responsive to their mother’s voice and to simple, familiar, consonant songs. They have had a very rough time feeding, and the influence of a musical intervention is particularly evident when their mother sings to them during mealtimes.

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

I live and work in a diverse community (Cambridge/Somerville) that is also steeped in rich opportunities to share and experience the music of many cultures through attendance of events, concerts, and exhibits. The families I work with reflect this diversity, and I’ve often thought that it would be clinically useful to encourage the use of music that is traditional to a family’s cultural heritage in our work. This can be quite challenging to accomplish without putting a caregiver on the spot or making assumptions about music that is culturally relevant to them. Has anyone discovered helpful ways to structure an intervention of this kind to make space for sharing of multicultural music?

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

I had the opportunity to use “Wiggly Jiggly Car” with a 13 month old with gross motor delay. Though this song is presented in the material as a bonding song, I also found it very useful as an intervention to target strengthening and core control. I think it was particularly effective because of its novelty and because the two contrasting sections appeared to increase engagement. The contrasting sections also provided the opportunity to structure two differing movements of the child on my lap, shifting side to side slowly and bouncing up and down with support on his hips or thighs. Since this child is seen in session with his siblings, songs like this provide a great way for all three kids, each sitting on an adult’s lap, to receive intervention and attention addressing their differing goals and needs.

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

I found the insights into children’s social and emotional development particularly helpful and would love to continue to expand my understanding of this topic. In my experience, it seems easier to remember when a child typically achieves motor, speech, adaptive, and cognitive milestones, but mental health milestones can seem more ambiguous and nuanced. I found it helpful to be reminded of what children typically need to feel safe in some of these stages and how they typically interact with adults and, later, peers.

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

My primary contact with children currently is in my work in early intervention. This means that I mostly see children who are experiencing some level of developmental delay. It can be difficult not to allow this experience to skew my knowledge of typical development, so it is very valuable to be reminded of what typical development looks like.
Since I primarily work with children at home with their families and not in groups, this affords me the opportunity to gain and in turn provide to their families a more nuanced understanding of the child’s development, needs, and strengths. Though it is very useful to understand and be reminded of typical developmental milestones, I have found it powerful in my work to understand each child’s development as having its own trajectory, particularly for children with identified delays or diagnoses. As I consider development in the context of groups, it will be interesting to think about how shared understandings of the timeline of typical development will affect children who may have evident delays and their caregivers.

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

Hi everyone! My name is Gwen Van Baalen. I graduated from Lesley University just over a year ago with a masters degree in music therapy and mental health counseling. While in graduate school, I interned with at-risk school-aged children and, later, adults with severe mental illness in a long-term, in-patient setting. I currently live in Cambridge, MA and work for a wonderful early intervention program in Cambridge and Somerville. I love using my music therapy and mental health background in my work with infants and toddlers and their families, and I will likely be starting a music therapy group through my organization in the fall. Through this course, I hope to expand my music therapy skills and knowledge related to early childhood development and group work. I also hope to gain more information and resources specifically related to early childhood mental health and music therapy intervention.

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