American Music Therapy Association

Early childhood music therapy practices encompass many aspects, including approaches to session design, observation/clinical decision-making skills, strategic engagement of parents/adult caregivers, intervention choices, and evaluation/research design. Session describes approaches to early childhood group and individual music therapy with parent-child dyads informed by Music Together philosophy and practices

Objectives:

1. Participants will articulate 2 strategies for identifying child’s music developmental level within the context of a music therapy setting (CBMT Domain I.B.3.d.)

2. Participants will demonstrate 2 strategies for creating a musically accessible therapy experience for children and their parents/adult caregivers (CBMT Domain I.D.8.)

3. Participations will experience and engage in designing 2 interventions to address children’s speech, executive functioning, attention, sensory integration, and social skills (CBMT Domain II. A.2.k.,p.,q.,as.,av.)

Schedule:

• Hour 1 (50 min): Introduction of attendees; review description; clinical decision-making: what’s known, what’s unknown, critical need; experiential learning (song introductions); Concepts of session arc and flow, integrating musical element variety of tonality and meter
• Hour 2 (50 min): Addressing developmental delays through music therapy interventions in the following domains: speech, executive functioning, attention, sensory integration, and social skills; experiential learning
• Hour 3 (50 min): Stages of children’s music development; designing clinical interventions; Music Together philosophy as it applies to clinicians; importance of parent/adult caregivers; experiential learning.
• Lunch (60 min)
• Hour 4 (50 min): Review and critical group and small group discussions of clinical video in a variety of therapy settings (group, individual, school, hospital, etc.) to address the following concepts: parent self-efficacy, children’s music development, music therapy interventions.
• Hour 5 (50 min): Components of therapist-focus materials to design session and family-focused home programs; review; evaluation.