ATELIERS RYTHME ET MOUVEMENT POUR ENFANTS AYANT DES TROUBLES DU NEURODÉVELOPPEMENT

Abstract

Music, rhythm and movement bring a lot of fun, a powerful engine for developing the parent-child bond, the sense of belonging to the group and the development of motor, cognitive, communication and social skills. Neuroscience demonstrates its effectiveness and provides theoretical insights into our knowledge, allowing us to improve our practice. MIO activities offer very concrete tools for our work with preschool children. They confirmed the relevance of some of the activities we previously proposed, and brought us new ideas, supported by neuroscientific explanations. However, as MIO activities are sometimes complicated for the type of children we welcome, we have had to simplify them or even replace them with more accessible activities. We have also set up facilities adapted to the needs of children with ASD: visual supports, rituals, clear structure, guidance, rehearsals, space planning. This work led us to be creative and to question ourselves to optimize our practice. We realize that the skill of inhibition (mainly "wait before acting") has been particularly stimulated. It is indeed the first skill to acquire to access later the other executive functions. The workshops were mainly reviewed orally with the parents, the questionnaires being complicated to complete for some of them (language, comprehension, availability). Overall, all mentioned their pleasure and that of their child, the interest and usefulness of the proposed activities. Some were taken home either spontaneously by the children or at the suggestion of the parents. The parents appreciated being integrated into a group, having exchanges and being around other children with special needs. This work confirmed the value of our workshops, as they allow interactions and learning reinforced by the stimulating dynamics of the group. We are very motivated to pursue this project and it is important to us that families can continue to benefit from it. For the future, we imagine creating a database of interesting activities related to our work, so that our colleagues can use them in their interventions with families.