[Stephanie McSwain]

Maintaining a social media presence is so important right now – brief yet informative posts, links to further reading, links to your website, anything that keeps the work being done in the forefront of people’s ‘pages’. Word of mouth is HUGE with work like this – getting that solid foundation of supporters who can share the good things that you’re doing each week.

I feel it’s important to remember, too, that any workshops/lectures given allow for something experiential. We can so easily incorporate music making opportunities in any talks given in the community. The more they see, the easier it is to buy into something that might be a bit new and unknown.

[Stephanie McSwain]

I wish I could see into the future and know for sure where I’ll be! My background in music education and music therapy has greatly impacted both who I am as a musician, as a clinician, and helped guide my career/job path. I currently only work in individual sessions and have the most experience leading groups for music education/performance. I am still passionate about early intervention. I can only see benefits to using the principles of the SM training to continue to inform my practice, whether in a clinical or education setting. Even now, with my current case load, I can use this information to reassure and inform parents and the community about what I’m doing each week and what outcomes we as the group are working towards.

[Stephanie McSwain]

With groups I’ve had previously, I move around, A LOT. Just being physically near the children let’s them know we’re all engaged together. And it keeps me close to any children that have proved to have some difficulty engaging, in case there’s a need.

With my background as a teacher, I always think of the ‘anticipatory set’ – having a plan and letting the group members know what will be happening for our time together. And, yes Haley, the deviation can be needed and sometimes hard to work through. I’ve seen this with my individual sessions. Sometimes things take a turn and we have to trust that we have it under control! But knowing initially what is happening leaves less surprises and less stress when transitions come.

If I see a child becoming disengaged, sometimes even calling their name and drawing attention to something positive he/she is doing can sometimes help regain focus.

[Stephanie McSwain]

The draw for me to being a SM provider is the background knowledge of child development and the support we can give parents. The ability to sit down with a parent and assure them that their child is doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing developmentally or be the first line to other support systems if something isn’t looking quite right is so beneficial.

And that weekly connection with others in the community is certainly positive. I’ve mentioned before about being a parents and needing to have connections with other parents. These music groups are a great way to easily get parents together in a shared experience, and their children as well.

Erin, I like what you said about “functional music”. We spend a lot of time in our training as music therapists really thinking (and sometimes over-thinking) what the music is doing. We have a VAST amount of music at our fingertips, both already created and ready to be created, and the skill set we have as MT’s can help us see the functional benefits to all aspects of music.

[Stephanie McSwain]

I love the idea of multi-gen groups – the younger energizing the older and the older teaching the younger.

There are plenty of challenges and we can be incredibly creative in making good things happen. We can use familiar songs to engage the older children, even if you’re adjusting the tempo and rhythm to make it just different enough. Even giving them small jobs like ‘leading’ movement activities, helping to collect instruments, etc. can give them such a strong sense of independence and self-confidence. Having the parents there allows them to work with the children in a new way, seeing the children interacting positively (which doesn’t always happen at home!!) I feel like the younger children are just naturally ‘in-tune’ with what is going on musically – moving, shaking instruments, babbling/singing to music is naturally fun for their naturally rhythmic bodies.

[Stephanie McSwain]

I see much of music for development just providing ways for children to engage socially, physically, emotionally. There seems to be a bit of ‘skill’ building but, overall, the groups are more geared toward working through the stages of developemt. It’s not so much ‘teaching’ the skills, but merely engaging in experiences that are part of growing anyway.

Music for skill development gets more specific – much of what I do in schools is a lot of language-based skills (receptive and expressive), life skills (ie. working with money), literacy, etc. So music activities are set up to teach/practice that specific skill.

[Stephanie McSwain]

SM3: Busy, growing, excitable, purposeful, emerging personality

Greeting: Hello Everybody, Bonding: Hold On Tight, Songs about Me: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, Movement: Jumping up and Jumping Down, Instruments: Shake your Shakers Everywhere (guiding the group through various movements-shaking high/low, fast/slow, on arms/legs/floor etc.) Cool Down/Goodbye: Time to Go

FS: connection, cooperation, creative, playful, fun

Greeting: Hey Everybody, Bonding: Row it Faster, Songs about Me: Watch Me Go, Movement: In the Mood (Raffi), Instruments: Dancing in the Middle, Cool Down/Goodbye: Music Time is Over

[Stephanie McSwain]

I have a bog full of mixed instruments (not sure of brands but they all came from West Music) – shakers/maracas, bells, tambourine, rainstick, clatterpillar (wooden, because I like that sound better than the plastic), shape drums, lollipop drums, bean tambourines, guiro. I’ve been experimenting with using scarves and bean bags with some of my individual clients with some success. They’re fun for imitation goals as it gives us a unique object to use.

Haley, I have a lot of students who still mouth instruments so I, too, keep careful consideration of what I’m offering up for use. Bells are almost never used but fun when I can pull them out.

I have an ocean drum but I’ve found that to be pretty over-stimulating for many of my clients. It’s so loud…so I’m not sure how to make physical adjustments to it to quiet it a bit.

And Julianna, I use books ALL THE TIME! ‘Wh’ questions, following directions to turn a page, making up actions to what is happening in the story…so many uses!

[Stephanie McSwain]

This is certainly an area that I continue to work on, as well. Most of the individuals on my current case load are on the Autism spectrum and need some level of sensory input. I’m always watching each child for a change in movement, attention, vocal output to see if I need to adjust some aspect of the music I’m presenting. Sometimes it’s as simple as a change in meter or rhythm, timbre or dynamics. Sometimes if the student is ‘low’, I kick up the music a bit to reengage them but then have to be careful to not push them too far over…what a balance! Since I’m in schools, I spend a few minutes before each session talking to the teachers/paras to see how the student has been in the time before my sessions.

The previous comments about ‘flow’ are so important. In our training as music therapists, we spend a lot of time on intervention planning and session planning and making sure everything is ‘just right’ and the music is carefully planned. I keep reminding my practicum students to not ever take yourself out of the equation – there’s still a ‘therapist’ with the ‘music’. Our presence and the therapeutic relationship can really play a role in knowing our clients/families and what is needed at each moment.

[Stephanie McSwain]

5 Words: Busy, Surprising, Creative, Energetic, Exploring

5 Sentences: 1. “It’s ok that your child isn’t playing the drum the ‘usual’ way – s/he is just exploring/creating different sounds.” 2. “This is a safe room for your child to get up and move as s/he feels comfortable.” 3. “I really like how your child is watching, not only Parent’s actions, but other’s as well!” 4. “It’s ok to give a little time in your singing at home to give your child a chance to respond.” 5. “Did you hear how your child is starting to sing along?”

Session Plan: Gathering Song (Hello), Bonding Song (Hold on Tight), Songs about Me (Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes), Instruments (Dancing in the Middle), Movement, Goodbye/Closing

[Stephanie McSwain]

It seems, in my region, that so many people are focused on what the student is receiving in school that they don’t even think about what can happen before the child gets to school. The child learns so much in those first months and that can certainly be praised and nurtured (or problems noted early). Erin mentioned the idea of ‘connections’ – from talking to other mom’s, we’re always looking for social experiences, and not just for our children. I think there’s a great amount of value to community programs like SM to be a place for parents to connect – they MUST find some kind of support system for self care, as well.

[Stephanie McSwain]

I’m not working with this age group right now but, from my own experience, I was that new parent frustrated with all the ‘unknowns’. Still sometimes today, it takes someone to look at me and say ‘you don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be.’ That’s huge for this age of child and I love the connection that can be made between child and parent with music therapy strategies.

[Stephanie McSwain]

5 words: calm, together, quiet, support, nurture

5 sentences: 1. I’m happy to hear your baby’s cry because they are still engaging! 2. Whenever you and baby are ready, go ahead and explore the instruments. 3. Feel free to move with your baby as you’re comfortable. 4. Your baby doesn’t care how well you sing, he/she just wants to hear you! 5. We’re all in this together.

Possible plan: 1) gathering/welcome song to move everyone into a mindset of starting the group, 2) greeting song to greet the group members, 3) bonding song to encourage touch and eye contact, 4) movement to encourage physical development, 5) instrument exploration, 6) cool down – I really like the idea of using scarves. They are so much like a child’s blanket-familiar and soothing, 7) closing song.

I’ve started to ‘arc’ my sessions as well – start with something familiar to engage the student, mix in novel with familiar to practice particular skills and then calm them before sending them back to the classroom.

[Stephanie McSwain]

I’m currently seeing students primarily in school so I’m only connected to the student and the IEP team. The ‘need’ for the family rests in myself personally – I need to better connect with the parents past just a quarter report and a yearly meeting. Since I’m so closely connected with the team members in the school, I keep a lot of my communication with them. A little note to the parents every now and again I’m sure would be appreciated.

I really don’t know much about my community needs…I’m sure the stay-at-home parents would love a fun yet educational, unique group that the child(ren) can be involved with. Something to connect not only parent to child but parent to parent, as well.

[Stephanie McSwain]

I think we overall just see people differently. I come initially from a music education background and, while I cared about my students, everything I did was geared toward them learning something for a performance or a state standard. With music therapy, I can focus on the ‘person’! We have a powerful tool to use to teach, to encourage, to guide, to lift up, to connect…

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