10 practitioners from 5 districts of the country have been certified as trainers in the “Communication through Music” Programme. Now, they will be able to train other professionals who support children with special needs aged 0-7. The practitioners have attended the third and last module of Communication through Music, and now they have the necessary skills to successfully deliver all elements of this programme and to offer the necessary support to children.
The trainers' certificates were provided by the line organisation from the UK at a workshop attended by representatives of the Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance Service, music teachers, teacher's assistants and speech and language therapists from the kindergartens with the greatest number of children with special needs from Cahul, Calarasi, Falesti, Nisporeni and Ungheni districts.
The training for practitioners has included theoretical lessons and practical sessions with regard to its application. The participants have been trained how to prepare for each session and how to manage them and have been encouraged to regularly record the progress of each child included in the programme. The participants have also learned different techniques of playing the musical instruments.
The Communication through Music programme implies a method of communication with one or several children. This method helps them initiate most of the musical and communication activities. In addition, this method does not require specific technical or musical knowledge, but requires a change of the adults' attitude.
Communication through Music is very effective in the case of children with autism, who cannot or do not want to speak, and provides a harmless possibility to express their emotions. This method can be used in the interaction with children starting with the age of 7 months and is extremely effective in helping parents to form strong attachment to their children.
The programme is piloted in 5 districts under the EU-funded project “Improving access to community-based early years and pre-school support services for vulnerable children with special needs in Moldova” implemented by the NGO “Partnerships for every child”/P4EC/.
The Communication through Music programme is one of the four programmes and tools of work with children with special needs included in the Project “Improving access to community-based early years and pre-school support services for vulnerable children with special needs in Moldova” implemented by the P4EC, in collaboration with the UK-based Mellow Parenting and HealthProm, with the support of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of Education, Culture and Research and the local authorities of the five districts covered by the project. The Project’s total value of 680,000 EURO is funded by the European Union.