13 January 2017, Representatives of the Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance Service, teachers of music, educators’ assistants and speech therapists of kindergartens with the biggest number of children with special needs in Cahul, Calarasi, Falesti, Nisporeni, and Ungheni, participated in a workshop on the implementation of the Program of communication through music for children with disabilities.
The program will be piloted in the five mentioned regions, within 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 Partnerships for Every Child/P4EC/. The training is provided by British experts Sarah Hodkinson and Jane Ebel.
The training of the practitioners includes theoretical lectures and practical sessions on the use of the program. The participants are offered suggestions on how to get ready for every session, how to lead the sessions, and are encouraged to regularly record the progress of every child included into the program. They also learn various techniques of musical instruments interpretation.
The music therapy program involves a method of communication through music that can be applied in the work with a child or a group of children and that can be used by them to initiate most of their musical and communicative activity. This method doesn’t require special technical or musical knowledge, but rather needs a shift of attitudes on behalf of the adults.
Music therapy is highly effective in the case of autistic children who cannot or do not want to talk, as it provides them an inoffensive possibility to express their emotions. This method can be used in the interaction with a child as young as 7 months, and represents an extremely efficient method through which a parent can build strong attachment to own child.
The music communication program is one of the four programs and work tools for 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 P4EC in collaboration with UK-based organizations MellowParenting and HealthProm, with the support of the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family, Ministry of Education and local public authorities in the five pilot regions of the project. The Project’s total value of 680,000 EURO is funded by the European Union.