[Laura Silvestain]

In each practicum I’ve had, I’ve used elements of each. In the practicum with children with severe and pervasive developmental disabilities, the children were mostly in the awareness through independence stages. My partner and I utilized these experiences to elicit reactions in the children. For singing, we mostly worked on an awareness of the self. Some of the children were non-verbal, but we wanted them to recognize themselves within a song, by either pointing to themselves or saying “me”. We had the children play shakers, encouraging those that were able to move the shakers up and down and to each side. This combined both movement and instrument playing. We also encouraged them to reach out and above them by motivating them to hit a shiny tambourine, which caught the attention of those who had cortical blindness or who were not as reactive during the session. Their reactions to listening to music were more subtle, but every reaction noticed was recognized and praised, for one of the main goals during this practicum was to encourage longer periods of awareness of the world around them.

[Laura Silvestain]

Listening: Awareness: Turns attention toward sounds
Trust: Gives greater attention to familiar and consonant music
Independence: Controls reactions to music heard
Control: Creates preferences about what they want to hear
Responsibility: Listens attentively to music

Singing: Awareness: Makes noises on own
Trust: Begins to imitate pitches
Independence: Vocalizations become more recognizable as melodies
Control: Begin to replicate musical phrases with accuracy
Responsibility: Learns whole songs with accuracy

Playing: Awareness: Reaches toward instrument being played
Trust: Holds instruments and may shake them for a short period of time
Independence: Explores instruments in more depth
Control: Begins to play two-handed instruments
Responsibility: Imitates basic melodic and rhythmic patterns of instruments

Moving: Awareness: Moves body in response to sounds
Trust: Moves body in purposeful movement in response to sounds
Independence: Reacts with purposeful movement to familiar songs
Control: Begins to adjust movements to match the elements of the music
Responsibility: Able to reproduce learned movements with music

[Laura Silvestain]

My area currently (Colorado) is influenced by traditional children’s music, with more pop music with early elementary-aged children. Frozen, of course, is always a big hit. At school in Indiana, it is the same, with the addition of country music. I know that growing up, many of the songs I knew were Girl Scout songs, and I believe they could have their place in a music therapy session, even if they aren’t as well known.

[Laura Silvestain]

In a previous practicum, I have been able to use the “Good Morning” song. It was a great way to bring the group together and start the students’ engagement in music. I look forward to incorporating the other songs into my honors project in the fall, and seeing what reactions they elicit.

[Laura Silvestain]

In my practicum with middle school students with severe and pervasive developmental disabilities, there was one student who became more aware and responsive as the semester went on. At the beginning of the semester, he would need physical cues in order to become attentive to the music, but by the end of the semester, he would become attentive on his own about 50% of the time. He would watch where the music was, and would lift up his head when the music was directed at him. He was in the awareness stage at the end of the semester, and it would have been wonderful to watch him continue to progress.

[Laura Silvestain]

Since I am not yet a practicing music therapy, I am not sure what exactly I will bring to early childhood music therapy based programs. I hope to provide a unique experience to children, while reaching goals effectively. I know this information will be a basis for my work, and I will use what I learn to shape my work into what I believe should be done as a music therapist.

[Laura Silvestain]

As stated in previous comments, I also liked the exercises in which there was an inside look on the child’s perspective. While it seemed silly to jump alone in my bedroom, it’s a good exercise to keep in mind when connecting with children.

I also liked the way in which the developmental stages were presented. There is much to keep in mind about what should occur at each stage, and I think they highlighted the most important aspects of development in each stage. The book outlines this well, and I know I will use it as needed.

[Laura Silvestain]

Hi! My name is Laura Silvestain, and I am currently a student at the University of Evansville in Indiana. I have had practicums working with older adults with and without dementia, adults in a rehabilitation unit, and middle school-age children with severe and pervasive developmental disabilities in which some of Beth Schwartz’s practices were used. Since deciding I wanted to major in music therapy, I have been interested in working with young children, and I am excited to be able to this upcoming school year. In the fall, I will begin a project testing the validity and reliability of Beth Schwartz’s assessment: Music Indicators of Early Childhood Development. I am taking this course in order to learn more about early childhood and music therapy in general, as well as more of the specifics of Sprouting Melodies and Raising Harmony.

[Author]

Posts