Music For Kiddos Podcast
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How do we use music to help regulate kids’ sensory systems?
Over the years, I’ve talked to hundreds of music therapists, music educators and parents about self-regulation, and it is a topic that tends to really pique everybody's interest. On this blog post and on episode 31 of the Music For Kiddos podcast, we're talking about songs for sensory regulation and about songs that can be used to help regulate kids’ sensory systems.
When we are creating songs for the sole purpose of sensory regulation, there are a couple of really important things to keep in mind.
The first thing to keep in mind is just the concept of neurodiversity.
Brain differences are normal and to be expected. Everybody does things differently: we socialize differently, we learn differently, we pay attention differently, we play differently. We may have differences in our mood and the way we interact with the world. Not only is that okay, that is good! My brain is different from your brain and in fact, there's not such a thing as a “normal brain.”
Another thing to be mindful of is the idea of consent.
When we are helping or assisting a child with something physical, we always want to ask if it's okay to do so. Even if a child is non-speaking, we always want to ask if it's okay if we can help them. Even if we may not get a response from a child, we need to ask them, wait for a response and we need to look at every possible way of communication to make sure that we are making our very best attempt at getting a response from a child.
In terms of consent, we need to do the same with songs that are intended for sensory regulation. There are situations that I’ve made an assumption that somebody was dysregulated and wanted my assistance to get regulated.
In the context of neurodiversity, we wouldn't want to redirect or attempt to change behaviors that are very useful to the person we are working with, such as stimming behaviors that are used as a coping strategy. If a person is in a significant amount of distress and we are in a trusted relationship, depending on the context, perhaps we can proceed with supporting them co-regulate but it's something to be very careful about. We definitely don't want to assume that we have the answer.
If you are interested in learning more about my sensory-based approach, I recommend you give episode 1 of the Music For Kiddos Podcast a listen.
In that episode, I talk about sensory seekers and sensory avoiders and I share some helpful things to determine what you tend to be and what the people you work with tend to be: A sensory seeker? A sensory avoider? Or are you a combination of both?
The whole idea behind sensory regulation and the sensory songs or sensory ideas we use to support this process is that we are creating a sensory safe environment for the person or the people that we are working with.
If you're working one-on-one with a child, you can do brief assessments and determine what their comfort level is. You can ask them, you can talk to their family, you can do some kind of assessment to determine if they are a sensory seeker or if they are a sensory avoider.
Being a very good observer will give you a lot of information to create a sensory safe environment for the clients you work with. You may notice the sounds that they like, the sounds they dislike or avoid.
If you're in a group, it can be more challenging to create a sensory safe environment because you most certainly will have sensory seekers and sensory avoiders in the same exact group. In this instance, my default tends to be for the volume of the group to be at a comfortable volume, especially for the sensory avoiders. My groups are very quiet for the most part and I keep a close eye on the kids that are covering their ears or those that are a little wide-eyed and nervous about the volume of it.
I basically facilitate my groups so that the sensory avoiders in the class (the quietest kids, the shy kids, etc.) feel comfortable to participate.
Of course, there are times when things are going to happen when it is suddenly not a sensory safe environment (because life is not sensory-friendly). There's thunder outside, the fire alarm goes off, there's a child in the class who's having a hard time and suddenly you can see this overstimulation, overwhelm & anxiety and the sensory safety goes away. This overstimulation can look like a lot of different things, so that might be an opportunity to start working on these regulatory ideas.
A lot of times, my first regulatory step is moving.
Maybe we'll do an active movement song, followed by a sitting movement song. Then we'll transition to a music book, followed by a cool-down song, like the “Yoga Song.”
We can intentionally utilize songs and musical experiences in a slope by gradually reducing stimuli or by using the idea of the iso-principle, so that by the end of the class everybody has this relief, relaxation and have had the opportunity to regulate, participate and calm with music.
Read more about the 3 types of movement songs I use in my work with children here.
Do you want a list of sensory regulation songs?
Here’s a list of some episodes of the Music For Kiddos Podcast in which I have shared songs for sensory regulation so you can use them when supporting children:
Episode 1: I talked about my sensory based philosophy and I shared the song “Breathe.”
Download the chords + lyrics of “Breathe” here.
Episode 2: I talked about early childhood music groups, how I support sensory regulation in this setting, and I shared the song “Just Dance.”
Download the chords + lyrics of “Just Dance” here.
Episode 13: In this episode, I shared my song “Grizzly Bear Grump” with a story about being mad, sharing feelings and matching music to emotions.
Download the chords + lyrics of “Grizzly Bear Grump” here.
Episode 29: In this episode, I talk about music for transitions and share my clean up song “Time To Clean Up.”
Download the chords + lyrics of “Time To Clean Up” here.
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“Yoga Song” chords + lyrics
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