Core Skills Analysis
Music and Listening
Mila chose one music selection from two options and listened through therapeutic listening headphones for 45 minutes. The activity gave Mila a structured opportunity to attend to music selected for the program, while making a choice practiced decision-making. Through repeated sessions, Mila was working toward becoming more comfortable with changes in routine and loud, sudden noises.
Sensory Awareness and Self-Regulation
Mila took part in a listening routine intended to support the modulation of sensory input. The program aimed to help Mila respond with less sensory input and tolerate loud, sudden sounds more comfortably. This activity supported practice with sensory regulation; it did not establish that these changes had already occurred.
Social-Emotional Learning and Flexible Thinking
Mila selected between two music options, practicing a small, supported choice within a consistent activity. The program was designed to help Mila accept changes in routine, offering repeated practice with flexibility over time. Listening for 45 minutes also provided a sustained, predictable activity in which Mila could engage with the chosen selection.
Tips
Tips Keep the listening routine calm and predictable, and invite Mila to choose between the two selections before each session. Afterward, offer a simple way to reflect, such as drawing a face that shows how the listening felt or describing one sound that stood out. With appropriate adult support, make a gentle “sound explorer” activity by comparing quiet and everyday sounds at a comfortable level, without surprising Mila. Track Mila’s own observations about routine changes and sounds over time, and follow the therapeutic listening provider’s guidance.
Book Recommendations
- The Listening Walk by Paul Showers: A picture book that invites children to notice and describe the sounds around them.
- The Feelings Book by Todd Parr: A colorful introduction to recognizing and talking about a range of feelings.
- My Mouth Is a Volcano! by Julia Cook: A child-friendly story about pausing, listening, and taking turns in conversation.
Try This Next
- Choice-and-reflection sheet: circle the music selection and draw how listening felt afterward.
- Sound detective page: draw or list three sounds noticed during a calm listening walk.
- Routine flexibility prompt: illustrate one familiar activity and one small change to it.
- Listening check-in questions: What did you choose? What sound stood out? How did the routine feel?