Exploring the World Through Music: Serving Infants and Toddlers With Visual Impairments
 

Author:

Dr. Petra Kern

Abstract:
The ideas represented in this presentation are the result of a project conducted at the Early Intervention Training Center for Infants and Toddlers with Visual Impairments at the University of North Carolina. The center develops resources that help build the capacity of colleges and universities, with the aim of preparing personnel to serve infants and toddlers with visual impairments and their families. Recognizing the importance and early development of the auditory system as a bridge to the social and physical world, music and sound can potentially be used to address issues related to visual impairment. Music therapy interventions can support early attachment and social relationships, expressive communication and understanding of nonlinguistic expressions, self-stimulatory behaviors, and orientation and mobility. Conceptual and evidence-based approaches and their practical applications in music therapy will be discussed and illustrated by case vignettes and musical activities.

Participants will learn about
•   visual conditions
•   basic principles of Early Intervention for children with visual impairments
•   the benefits of sound and music for children with visual impairments
•   the importance of considering families’ priorities and needs within the context of daily routines

    in planning music therapy interventions
•   transdisciplinary collaboration with other professions, and
•   musical activities to achieve specific IFSP goals within natural environments.
 

Keywords:
Early Intervention, Visual Impairments, evidence-based practice, embedded instruction, natural environments

Biographical details:
Dr. Petra Kern is a researcher and educator in music therapy. She lived and worked in Germany, Canada, and the USA. Her research focus is on early childhood, inclusion, and contemporary models of service delivery in music therapy. Most recently, she worked at the FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, USA, where she conducted her research and developed a practical and evidence-based music therapy curriculum to prepare personnel to serve infants and toddlers with visual impairments. Her work has been published in Young Exceptional Children, the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, and the Journal of Music Therapy.