[Stephanie H Morris]

Calm – its important for me as the therapist to stay calm and help the mother and baby who may be coming in frazzled.
Slow – I dont’ need to be in a hurry with the songs and sequence of the class. Make sure I give the parents time to breathe!
Timbre – make sure my singing is warm and inviting.
Pitch – make sure the songs are in keys that the parents feel comfortable singing in.
Affect – Be aware of my facial expressions with the babies (if I get to interact with them) and with the parents/caregivers.

[Stephanie H Morris]

As a mother of 2, I have to think back quite a number of years when I want to remember them as babies (they are 33 and 27 now). Even though I was working some as a music therapist when I was pregnant with the first one, I know I did a lot of singing and making up funny songs. I was working as a banker when I was pregnant with the second one, but still did a lot of singing and silly things with him as a baby too. One thing was for certain, both of them liked it when I stood and held them and with the first one, he really enjoyed being rocked to sleep at night. The other funny story that goes with our family is after I went back to work after the first one, my husband was the caregiver and was getting ready to go to graduate school at FSU. Sometimes I would call to check on them and before I could say hello, he would tell me “He’s fed, clean and I have to practice!” I would come home and the baby was on a blanket on the floor and my husband was standing over him playing the bassoon! What a sight!
Now that I’m older and not as nervous (as I was as a new mother), one of the first things I do with a baby is sing to it! I usually get a smile.

[Stephanie H Morris]

Marisa,
As I read your post about your child, I couldn’t help but smile! What a cute story!

[Stephanie H Morris]

Shannon,
What a cool story! My oldest is on the autism spectrum and as he grew, he started rocking in the car. Even after he moved out of the car seat/booster seat, he continued to do this.
Thanks for sharing!

[Stephanie H Morris]

I wanted to read other comments before making mine and enjoyed the different viewpoints and comments. Having been a music educator and now a music therapist, we do play different roles in the community. We have a Community Music School associated with Ohio University where I live and within that is our music therapy clinic. It has been wonderful for our small little town of Athens and provides a great service.
The other contribution I would like to make is to share that I have a community choir in the area that includes adults with and without disabilities. While this choir is NOT music therapy, the benefits that have blossomed as a result of this group are too numerous to list in this forum, but both those with disabilities and those without love this group. We are starting seventh year of operation next month and it amazes me every year the impact we make when we perform. I’ve had individuals with DD earn a certificate of participation (I give them out at the end) who NEVER got that opportunity when they were a child. One choir member came up to me the next year after she got her certificate and shared that she had it framed and was hanging in her bedroom. On the other side of the coin, I’ve had a community member share that while dealing with some really hard “life events,” the choir had helped her get through those and bless her in many ways. All I could say was, “That’s great,” because I was trying not to cry!
I also play every summer in a community band made up of band directors, both active and retired, university students and community members. It is such a joy to be able to make music in this environment for me! It gives me an opportunity to make music with a group without having to be the director/leader like I am when I am working as a therapist.
The biggest impact we can have as a music therapist in our community is our understanding of how music affects us as individuals and activates our brains. What a wealth of knowledge we have to share about that to those in our community to promote wellness in all.

[Stephanie H Morris]

Erika,
Thanks for those tips! I will use them.

[Stephanie H Morris]

Marissa,
5 babies! I respect that and am the oldest of 5 myself!
But I feel that my experience as a mom, specifically one who has raised a child on the autism spectrum in a time when so much was unknown (mid 80’s to 90’s and beyond) is what gives me an “edge.” Yes, I love music and what I do. I respect families who are struggling because I’ve done that as well, but to be able to share my knowledge, skills and strategies that can help others is one of the main reasons I am in this field!
I was so glad that one of the core principles is to help families understand that we aren’t offering “therapy” for their babies, but a program ingrained in a developmental approach with education to help the families understand their child’s growth and development. I just breathed a sigh of relieve when I read and saw that on the slides! That was great! As far as a value of what we do, I think this is the key. These key points…experience, respect, knowledge, love, musical skills and learned strategies are what should be seen as our “value” and contribution to our community.

[Stephanie H Morris]

I loved Caroline’s comment about a “therapeutic connection.” While our education and training is vital, those two words really sum up our contribution. I am sure we all want our families to be healthy in their interactions, but through music we can help them connect therapeutically which will be healthy for all!

[Stephanie H Morris]

Erika,
Yes, there are other programs out there and I have a neighbor that runs one of them. It will be interesting to see how many families end up coming to my SM program because of its uniqueness and the educational component. I am excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to see what happens!

[Stephanie H Morris]

Without looking at other participants’ comments, I think first and foremost, parents/families/caregivers need a musical way to interact with their children. I feel this is probably the biggest need because many will say, “I can’t sing,” or “I don’t know anything about music.”
I realize I haven’t started this program yet, but have heard adults say this in the past. Whenever the conversation comes up that I am a music therapist, the adult I am talking with usually says, “Wow! That’s interesting.” While I realize that through social media and other forums, the society is more aware of music therapy, but still often do not understand what it is.
Also, I see parents/families/caregivers who are so busy and so stressed. I hope that this program will give them a chance to slow down and really be with their child(ren). Between work, parenting responsibilities, taking care of the house, grocery shopping, etc., I am sure many young parents find it difficult to spend quality time with their child. I know I struggled with that, but I made a big decision as a young parent. I decided to train my dinner dishes to stay on the table after the meal so I could spend that time reading and being with my boys. It was really easy! Those dishes waited on me to take care of them AFTER the boys were in bed! They didn’t mind at all! It was great!
Hopefully through this program, families will see how music can enhance their family life in a way that no other program can.

[Stephanie H Morris]

Hi! I guess I misunderstood the question:
Singing Awareness – they use pitch in their vocalizations – you can hear it! Trust – can match selected pitches about 1/2 the time. Independence – babbles with melodic inflection. Control – can follow melodic contour of a familiar song and becomes a performer. Responsibility – uses pulse and meter and loves to “perform” the song for you.

Playing Instruments Awareness – they respond differently to different kinds of music (playful music vs. soft/sedative music). Trust – can briefly use pulse, might pick up an instrument, shake it a few times and then drop it. Independence – explores a variety of instruments purposefully. Control – they love to stop and start. Responsibility – can maintain a steady beat on a drum or other instrument.

Movement Awareness – their rhythmic movements are instinctual. Trust – respond to music with repetitive movements. Independence – can isolate body parts to move rhythmically. Control – imitates learned musical movements. Responsibility – Uses music movement in a sequence.

Listening Awareness – can recognize their mom’s voice and different timbres. Trust – can recognize familiar melodies. Independence – Can match movements to intensity of music. Control – active listening and can stop action to listen to the music. Responsibility – they listen to the music of others.

[Stephanie H Morris]

Marisa,
I have the coolest bag that my boss gave me that has a # of compartments inside. I have about 4/5 small tambourines in one pouch, egg shakers and maracas in another opposite the tambourines. Then there are 2 other pouches that are slimmer. I have 2 cabasas, 2 shakers, some jingle bells, a small rain stick and some finger cymbals stuck down in those. Then in the middle, I have a variety of drum mallets (my frame drums are in a separate bag), a tick-tock, 2 racket tambourines and a couple of rhythm sticks that double as guiros (spelling?). The thing that helps me the MOST is my wagon that I use to cart stuff around. It is super nice. Unfortunately, I can’t figure out how to attach a picture, but it folds up and fits behind the driver’s seat in my car.
Hope that helps.

[Stephanie H Morris]

Shannon,
It was a camp for kids experiencing emotional disorders I believe. What was somewhat disappointing was the age ranges that were in the “classes.” The “younger” group consisted of Pre-K – 2nd grade. It was crazy! There was definitely a preschooler there in the “independent” stage. He was moving all over the place and doing his own thing. I watched as the counselors tried to “contain” him while trying to do an intervention that I felt all would enjoy, however, I realize now that was completely not appropriate for him. In this rural community, they have so few resources and are trying to provide something special for these kids.
The other class was 3rd grade through high school! There were SEVERAL young men in that class that were taller than me! They were fun and even sang Taylor Swift! HA!

[Stephanie H Morris]

The prompt said to “Create your own developmental sequence of music responses in each of the four music experiences,” so here are what I would do:

Singing
Awareness-make a variety of cooing sounds and “la’s” and other musical vocalizations with the baby
Trust – sing a familiar song that has specified consonants (n,k, p, g, or b) or vocalize using those consonants
Independence – sing familiar songs that have animal sounds the child can imitate
Control – use repetitive known songs with the child
Responsibility – use call and response songs

Playing Instruments
Awareness – Play a maraca or other “exciting” instrument without startling the baby verses a “soothing” guitar or other stringed instrument accompaniment
Trust – Allow the child to explore instruments (mouth, and other touch)
Independence – all the child to have an instrument on their own
Control – Use songs about playing instruments
Responsibility – have the child play a specific beat on an instrument to “show off”

Moving
Awareness – if holding the baby, I would use a rocking back and forth motion while singing a familiar song or vocalizing
Trust – I would use songs that talk a lot about body parts so the baby/child could point to them
Independence – use marching, walking and stopping music
Control – use songs about movement
Responsibility – use songs that have sequenced movement

Listening
Awareness – Offer a variety of music sounds and watch the baby for changes in their facial features or body movements
Trust – Watch for changes in movement when the music stops and starts
Independence – Use fast/slow/fast songs
Control – stop and start songs
Responsibility – Use songs that require listening and following directions

[Stephanie H Morris]

Although I do not currently work with children yet, I do incorporate singing, playing instruments and moving a lot in my practice. I don’t often use listening as much, but plan in the future to incorporate it more.
Primarily, I have worked more with adults with developmental disabilities and older adults including those in hospice care. It is always interesting to see how anyone is going to react to music. There have been many times where I have used nothing but my voice, or my voice and a cabasa or tambourine. There have also been those times when I have played guitar or piano and had the client(s) play along with me on rhythm instruments. For some of these patients manipulating a tambourine is more movement than they have done in weeks! When we as humans reach that stage in our life where our body is just giving out, even the smallest movement is an effort. I’ve even seen patients on a ventilator make the effort to blink their eyes in an effort to communicate. Many times I have established that one blink means “yes” and two means “no.” With that, one can make choices and indicate preferences, which is big for them considering their limitations at that stage. While I haven’t had the support of machinery to verify my “hunches,” it has appeared that when I sing that favorite some and they are shaking a small tambourine, while there might not be a smile present, the satisfaction through other body language is evident in their response to the music.

I hope to share next week, is I am going to use some of the songs this week in a kids’ camp. I will have 2 classes (K – 2nd grade; 3rd – 8th). I can’t wait to see how the children will react to the songs. Although I know they were written primarily for younger children, I am sure they are adaptable for these older ages. I am most certain I will attempt to get them to sing with me, play instruments and move, but also hope that in our music making, what they hear will be meaningful as well.

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