Music communication practitioners from five districts participate in new training

Representatives of the Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance Service, music teachers, teaching assistants, and speech therapists from kindergartens with the highest number of children with special needs in the districts of Cahul, Călărași, Fălești, Nisporeni, and Ungheni participated on 26–27 January in the second round of training on the implementation of the Music Communication Program, designed for children with special needs aged 0–7 years.

The program is currently being piloted in these five districts under the European Union-funded project “Increasing Access for Children with Special Needs to Community Support Services and Early Childhood Education,” implemented by Partnerships for Every Child (P4EC).

Practitioner training includes both theoretical lessons and practical sessions on program implementation. Participants are taught how to prepare for each session, manage activities, and regularly record the progress of each child benefiting from the program. They also learn various techniques for playing musical instruments.

The music therapy program provides a method of communication, through music, with an individual child or a small group of children, where the children initiate most of the musical and communicative activity. This method does not require specific technical or musical knowledge but does require a change in attitude on the part of adults.

Music therapy is especially effective for children with autism, who may be unable or unwilling to speak, offering them a safe alternative to express their emotions. The method can be used with children from as early as seven months of age and is a highly effective way for parents to build a strong attachment with their child.

The Music Communication Program is one of four programs and tools for working with children with special needs included in the project “Increasing Access for Children with Special Needs to Community Support Services and Early Childhood Education,” implemented by P4EC in collaboration with Mellow Parenting and HealthProm from the United Kingdom, with the support of the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, the Ministry of Education, and local public administrations from the five project districts. The project, with a total budget of €680,000, is funded by the European Union.