[Patricia Karr]

Kristen, Thanks for sharing your story about how you have been talking to parents about this training. It is great to hear how the information you shared has opened up more conversation and observation about the child’s development. Just this evening, I had the opportunity to sit with one of my moms to discuss what happened in her son’s session. We ended up having a lively 30-minute discussion about her son’s progress since music therapy began early last year. I was able to confidently speak about her son’s developmental level and pathway because of the information learned in this course. Mom then spoke very openly about her worries and challenges, and shared a number of stories and observations regarding her son’s efforts to communicate (his main goal area) and his many musical behaviors. I was able to explain how his musical development impacts his overall development and how the two are intertwined. Our conversation seemed to reassure her that her son is making noticeable progress despite the challenges, and, while I was not previously sure she understood the true value of music therapy for her son, I believe she has a greater confidence and understanding about music therapy’s value than she did before this conversation. I am excited for more conversation and can’t wait to hear what else Mom may share with me in the weeks to come. Interestingly, this boy meets with his SLP immediately following music therapy, and for the past several weeks, the SLP has been VERY interested in what we are doing as he has been coming into her sessions singing our songs (especially our hello and goodbye songs) and being more focused and interactive.

[Patricia Karr]

Cheryl, Great research idea!

[Patricia Karr]

Erika,
Your posts were helpful and informative. I especially liked your recommendations for Cindy about how to handle co-workers and your reference to the Abrams and Nordoff & Robbins research.

[Patricia Karr]

Rebecca,
Keep at it and don’t give up. Your community sounds like the rural area where I grew up. It takes time. After educating the community about the value and benefits of music therapy, I believe things will turn as they did in my parents’ hometown. It sounds like you have some good ideas and have already spread a lot of “seeds.”

[Patricia Karr]

I can identify with several of you, as I worked for over 20 years in inner-city Detroit where my students/clients had many challenges with poverty, violence, lack of food, etc. You are doing valuable work in an often-difficult environment. Your families, children, and co-workers appreciate your efforts more than you know. You are making a difference!

[Patricia Karr]

The families I currently work with need stress-reduction, relaxation, and fun experiences with their children. Many parents run themselves ragged trying to fit in all their children’s therapy appointments, work, and after-school activities. Some of my clients have 2-5+ hours per day up to 6 days a week of ABA, OT, speech therapy, PT, and music therapy! My parents can spend hours sitting in the waiting room at the private therapy center I work at. My parents have the money to private pay for music therapy and good insurance to finance other therapies. What they could use is more quality time with their children. Maybe I could offer a unique program that focuses on family music-making. Bringing family members together for a fun-filled, bonding experience could provide my families with a different kind of experience that currently does not exist. There are plenty of music lessons and music classes offered in my community. My approach as a music therapist would be different and unique. Offering a family-oriented experience could provide value and multiple benefits in my workplace and broader community. If I were to bring this program to the broader community, I may need to also consider the financial aspect for some families to have access.

[Patricia Karr]

Cheryl, Thank you for your thought-provoking post! It causes me to reflect once again on the absolute beauty of the music therapy session, where all are safe and appreciated as they are, where individuals are free to express and grow at their own pace, where each accomplishment is celebrated, and we don’t even give any thought to the word “normal.”

[Patricia Karr]

Music therapists bring a ton of value to families of young children! We are knowledgeable. We have studied music, music therapy, human growth and development, anatomy and physiology, psychology, sociology, special education, group process, and a variety of other topics. We have practice with adapting and modifying instruments, methods, and session plans even on the spot within the session to meet the needs of our clients who have a wide range of disabilities and diagnoses. We have the ability to identify our clients’ strengths and set individualized goals to encourage growth. We know how to look at our clients in a holistic manner and are used to collaborating with others to more fully address the needs of our clients. We are trained to be observant and notice even the subtle changes in our clients. We are able to communicate verbally and in writing about significant moments within our sessions. We have the power of music on our side, and we know how to use it to bring positive change to our clients’ and their families lives. All of these things make us unique among other early childhood program providers. Why would our parents not appreciate the extra value we as music therapists bring to the table?

[Patricia Karr]

Rebecca, April, Eliza, Germaine–
It is great hearing from you about how you apply this learning to populations other than just young children. I, too, find the information to be applicable to my work with older children, teens, and adults.

[Patricia Karr]

Kristen,
I loved hearing about you giving the children the long, long wait and seeing a response you described as “magical.” It is truly hard to wait, especially in a group setting where we might fear losing our control of the group. Yet, it is so important to provide this time for our clients to process and respond. If we don’t pause long enough, we may miss a key opportunity for the clients to respond and grow. Great work!

[Patricia Karr]

I have used all four music experiences in my work and, depending on the client goals and abilities, I use a varying amount of each type of experience within our sessions. Like many of you, I have tended to use fewer listening experiences overall. I find that now that I do mostly 1:1 work and am more experienced, I use listening more frequently. In my current work with adults with developmental disabilities and children and teens on the autism spectrum, I change tempos, intensity, tonality, volume, and insert stops/starts to watch for my clients’ reactions and see if they try to communicate either verbally or non-verbally to let me know what they want to happen next. This gives them the opportunity to exercise choice and control, particularly if they are non-verbal or do not readily communicate with others due to ASD. Waiting can be hard, but it is so important to give the client time to process and respond. After much practice, I am getting better at this. I use singing for stimulating vocalization, as a musical “frame” for practicing sign language and social speech, addressing speech/language skills (e.g. processing oral directives, articulation, etc.) and providing informational content (e.g. social stories, academic concepts, vocabulary, etc.). I also use singing as a means of social connection and transition. I use playing instruments for gross and fine motor skills, choice-making, following directions, teaching concepts of directionality, turn-taking, joint attention, musical expression, socialization, and music learning. I use movement with and without props for gross and fine motor skill practice, social skill practice, joint attention, sequencing, nonverbal social communication, body and spatial awareness, and emotional expression. These lists are not comprehensive, nor are they exclusive to each type of experience. I often use these experiences together simultaneously, such as singing and moving, singing and playing, or listening and moving.

Since I have been taking this class, I am noticeably aware of what my clients’ behaviors indicate about where they are developmentally. Understanding the framework provided in this class helps me to see what is appropriate and helps me to decide what to provide my clients with next to help with their optimal development. I have to admit that before this class, I made some errors in my expectations for what my clients could do 1st, 2nd, 3rd musically. I have made some adjustments accordingly. I am also more aware of giving my clients increased opportunities to practice control and responsibility.

[Patricia Karr]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your well thought out sequences. Your contributions help me to see the various pathways that are possible when working with our individual clients.

[Patricia Karr]

SINGING: Awareness: instinctively vocalizes pitched sounds and turns toward familiar vocal timbres. Trust: matches an expanded range of vocal pitches produced by familiar others. Independence: babbles in isolated musical phrases and patterns. Control: vocalizes or sings familiar songs with melodic contour. Responsibility: uses pulse and meter while singing the lyrics of a song during group and individual music experiences.

PLAYING INSTRUMENTS: Awareness: reaches for, touches, and mouths instruments in response to first listening as another plays; responds differently to sedative vs. energizing music. Trust: produces one or more sounds on an instrument, followed by an increased duration of playing as the child gains experience with that instrument. Independence: chooses and explores playing a variety of instruments, including those with mallets. Control: initiates starting and stopping own instrument playing. Responsibility: maintains a steady beat on an instrument during solo and ensemble playing.

MOVING: Awareness: exhibits instinctual rhythmic movement that changes in response to sedative vs. play songs, silence vs. music. Trust: engages in purposeful repetitive whole body movement (bouncing) in response to, but not always synchronized with, the music. Independence: intentionally moves an isolated body part to the beat of the music. Control: imitates adult movements paired rhythmically with music. Responsibility: performs a learned or created sequence of movements or dance steps.

LISTENING: Awareness: recognizes different vocal timbres and prefers familiar voices; may startle to sudden changes in timbre. Trust: calms to familiar melodies. Independence: demonstrates change in facial expression, posture, and body movement that correlates to the intensity, rhythmic quality, and key or mode of the music heard. Control: stops movement to actively listen to music. Responsibility: listens attentively to others’ music and attempts to layer in one’s own music with sensitivity to the ensemble’s dynamics, tempo, etc.

[Patricia Karr]

Sara,
I hope you had a successful event with a good turnout!

[Patricia Karr]

Cindy and Erika,
Thank you for the tips on where to find more songs. I’ll have to check it out.

[Author]

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