Patrice Stribling Nelson knelt on the floor of her home music studio, and leaned toward her student, first-grader Scotty Kovalcheck.

Their noses brushed close together, and they smiled at each other, maintaining friendly eye contact.

“I’ve known him for seven years,” says Merced pediatrician Sima Asadi, MD, who watched from the dining room table. “Do you know how long it took me to get that close?”

Stribling Nelson and Asadi are both passionate about children and child development – and both have struggled for years to find ways to help children with developmental challenges.

Stribling Nelson, who teaches Musikgarten, a developmentally-based music class offered in Merced, Calif., for children from birth through preschool, sees music as a way to teach the skills that her students will need as they grow.

“We might know how to teach a child how to practice drinking from a cup or using the potty, but we might not know how to help them practice developing impulse control, or learning how to integrate with their bodies so they don’t get hurt as often,” says Stribling Nelson – and she emphasizes that the skills incorporated into Musikgarten classes can help them as they grow into their own.

Though Musikgarten is not specifically geared toward children with developmental challenges – on the contrary, it aims to provide all children with developmentally appropriate activities – recently Stribling Nelson has been working privately with a few developmentally challenged children referred to her by Asadi. Their results have been very positive.

“There were kids in my practice with developmental issues, and we had hit a wall,” Asadi says. “But usually by age 2 or 3 or 4 there’s an interest in music. I thought, let’s capitalize on that.”

“Quite a few professionals understand the importance of music,” Asadi says, “many put kids into choir to get music curriculum outside of school marching bands.”

Certainly, music’s utility to child development has been well documented.

Growing fetuses listen constantly to the steady thrum of their mothers’ heartbeats – and when these fetuses are born and grow as children, they continue to thrive upon the beats and rhythms of their lives.

“Rhythm becomes ingrained on a cellular level,” Stribling Nelson says, “That’s why most of us find ourselves unconsciously tapping our toes when we hear music. Research indicates that incorporating physical rhythm is a profound vehicle for tapping into the brain, and it’s used as an important part of music therapy for patients with challenges such as autism.”

Scotty, today a friendly and beaming 7-year-old, was born at 33 weeks – almost two months early. He weighed only two pounds, nine ounces, and suffers from asthma and gastrointestinal problems that Asadi says are common for premature delivery.

At age 4, he was diagnosed as autistic.

After years of referrals and conferences with specialists, Asadi and Scotty’s parents felt like they were running out of options.

“We could only get dry medication recommendations,” Asadi says. “This drug, that drug. We were considering psychotherapeutics. There were days when his mom couldn’t get him out the door.”

Finally, Asadi referred the Kovalcheck family for private music therapy, and Scotty began taking lessons with Stribling Nelson in her home.

“He couldn’t function,” Asadi says, “and now – no drug works this fast. Now there are more good days than bad days.”

“At first, he was quiet and scared,” says Keith Kovalcheck, Scotty’s father, “but she’s brought a lot out of him. He’s a different child than he was two years ago.”

Scotty began working with Stribling Nelson about eight months ago, and Kovalcheck has seen huge changes.

“Everything is better,” he says, “all his scores are up. He has come a long way in looking people in the eye, speaking to them directly.”

Kovalcheck credits Scotty’s change to the Musikgarten curriculum, used in conjunction with supportive teachers at his school. He watched Scotty’s lesson from the stairs, smiling as Scotty sang, laughed, and danced exuberantly.

Asadi stresses that early intervention can do wonders in helping children with developmental difficulties.

Stribling Nelson concurs: “Every child has their own clock.”

Musikgarten and music therapy can help children developing at all different stages find their own pace.

Source: Elizabeth McMunn-Tetangco/Merced Sun-Star