[Stephanie Harris]

I have to copy what others have said about the listening component. I do have a 1:1 adult client that chooses whether to listen or actively participate in music making at times in the session. This week when she selected to listen, I paid more attention to how she was listening. Was she just wanting a break or was she responding through her body language/movement to what she was hearing from me.

[Stephanie Harris]

Singing: Awareness- Makes pitched vocalization. Trust- Matches vocalizations. Independence- Matches and/or repeats intervals. Control- Matches selected pitches. Responsibility- Increasingly matches pitch center.

Playing Instruments: Awareness- Responds to sedative versus play song music. Trust- Focuses outwardly in response to play style singing. Independence- Uses hand to strike drum. Control- Likes to pound and bang on drum. Responsibility- maintains a steady beat.

Moving: Awareness- Movement is in simple rhythm. Trust- Responds with repetitive movement. Independence- Isolates body parts to move rhythmically. Control- Imitates movements learned to music. Responsibility- Uses movements in sequence.

Listening: Awareness- Responds differently to sedative versus play song music. Trust- Recognizes familiar melodies. Independence- Enjoys musical surprises crescendo/glissando. Control- Engages in turn taking. Responsibility- Listens to play of others.

[Stephanie Harris]

I found myself assessing an adult I see with Rett Syndrome. Her developmental age fits in the early childhood range. I assessed her to be in the independence stage rhythmically as she has significant physical limitations so grasping and striking take a great deal of effort and motivation. Our interventions are typically giving her the opportunity to respond by reaching and striking a drum within musical structure and increasing how long she will tolerate grasping and how many time she strikes a drum. Her vocalizations were mostly in the control stage. I provide her with choices between songs and if she can’t verbally repeat part of the title, then I try to have her visually or physically show me. If she is still unable to choose then I read her body language when telling her the choices. The vocalizations are often in call and response and completing the word(s) at the end of a phrase.

It felt affirming to assess what stages she fell in and see that I am utilizing a lot of the musical choices and interventions noted in this training.

[Stephanie Harris]

In my day to day practice I am with mostly adults in a 1:1 situation, so I’ve been trying the songs with my own girls. They immediately caught on and start moving in rhythm, especially to ‘Hold On Tight’ and ‘Will You Come.’

I also think that hearing these has energized the song-writer in me. I’ve been pretty stale in my own selections with clients and I know I have a lot of effective songs in my tool belt that could use some updates to address the music developmental levels.

[Stephanie Harris]

My home is also a melting pot of tons of different type of music. I try to introduce my own kids to a variety of my favorites.

Our community is a pretty typical suburban, midwest area. I feel like I’ve had requests and preferences all over the place. We also have a mix of religions here and I have had client’s who are Jehovah Witness and Orthodox Jewish request use of religious music in their sessions.

[Stephanie Harris]

Personally, as a mother of two girls, I have gained a lot of hands on experience that will translate well to supporting other mothers and their children. I think that individuals that aren’t mothers can certainly be nurturing and empathetic too. For me, I know that with my clients with DD becoming a mother dramatically changed my perspective on their family struggles and concerns. I would hope that I could bring my experience as a music therapist, with the additional early childhood training, to adapt and implement programs that benefit the development of the children, while providing the caregiver with a positive experience with rationale for why music is such an significant part of development and bonding.

[Stephanie Harris]

I found myself doing a checklist of when my 5 year old met certain milestones and where my 17 month old is with the milestones. What I took away that I think impacts my practice as a music therapist is that even my own two girls have been within the ranges, but my older daughter always excelled more in language, whereas my younger daughter has excelled in motor skills. They’re both on their own path with different strengths and needs, much like our clients. What a great refresher in and resource to look back at!

[Stephanie Harris]

I was reading through other posts and saw another Woodsie! I can’t believe I forgot to mention that I completed my master’s at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in 2008!

[Stephanie Harris]

Hello everyone! My name is Stephanie Harris. I graduated from Ohio University in 2003 and completed my internship at New Avenues to Independence in Cleveland. Following my internship I moved to Valparaiso, Indiana to work for Behavior Specialists of Indiana. I have been there ever since working as a music therapist and gradually moving into the role of Director of MT for our team of 5 music therapists. We work primarily with individuals of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are mainly funded by the Indiana Medicaid Waiver.

A co-worker completed this training last Spring and thought that it provided information and opportunities that would be beneficial regardless of if we started an early childhood program at our facility. As a music therapist I have tried to make sure that I have a well rounded education and early childhood is an area I wanted to gain more in depth training. As a director, a goal of mine is always to see if there are ways to diversify our funding sources and increase our presence in our community.

Personally, I have been married for almost 9 years. We have 2 beautiful little girls, ages 5 and 17 months. And of course I can’t forget my big dog, Tanner. I’m looking forward to this journey with everyone.

[Author]

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