PP1119 - Baby TEMPO Project: Training Early Music with Parent Opportunities for Children with Hearing Loss

Abstract:
The purpose of the Baby TEMPO pilot project was to evaluate the effects of the Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) musical training for infants/toddlers with and without typical hearing using subjective and objective behavioral assessments. Applying early music training during the critical period is of particular interest for infants who receive cochlear implants because research has typically shown deficits in music perception in older children and adults with cochlear implants. Evaluation of eye gaze metrics while listening to familiar and novel songs suggests that early music training has the potential to enhance music perception for infants with hearing loss.

Summary:
There is considerable research documenting the benefits of music instruction in adults as well as in children. One line of research has focused on the relationship of language and music, both of which require rhythm, to convey meaning. They both stem from smaller units – syllables and musical beats. Furthermore, gaining mastery of Language and Music has remarkable similarities, including precise movements, repetitive practice, and focused attention. There is a need to evaluate this link in young children, particularly during very early development. The Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) program, developed in 1989 opened the door for music instruction for infants/toddlers, ages birth to three. When considering music training in childhood, the first three years of life are recognized as a critical period for auditory development. Children as young as three months demonstrate a preference for maternal voice and respond to certain prosodic features of language and simple musical pieces (Trehub, 2003). It can be hypothesized that an intensive musical experience for young children may result in enhanced perceptual abilities that apply not only to music but also to speech reception of fine acoustic cues which may in turn facilitate speech and language development. The SECE music training program has shown promise with infants as young as six months. Compared to a control group that received passive music training (just listening), infants who were enrolled in SECE musical training with active participation had significant gains in social and communication development (Gerry, Unrau, and Trainor, 2012).
The purpose of the Baby TEMPO pilot project was to evaluate the effects the SECE musical training for infants/toddlers with and without typical hearing using parent observation and objective behavioral assessments. The project included two experimental groups of babies, ages 6 to 37 months, with normal (N=4) and impaired hearing (N=4) who participated in six weekly, one-hour sessions of SECE training and a control group (N=5), ages 5 to 29 months, who received no training. During each class, the parents facilitated their child’s participation by modeling the actions and reinforcing their child’s attempts to participate and noted their observations in a journal. Before training, the participants were introduced to the preferential gaze paradigm to familiar objects used in training and to novel objects while familiar and unfamiliar melodies were played using a state-of-the-art Tobii Pro Eye Tracking System. The same paradigm was used post-training to determine differences in gaze patterns. Analysis of gaze duration suggested that six of the eight participants in the training group showed a preference for the songs/objects used in training. However, statistical analyses of the gaze duration by group and song familiarity did not reveal significance, possibly a result of the small N and short training duration. These findings suggest the need for further exploration of early music training benefits for children with hearing loss, especially those with cochlear implants, during the critical period of development to facilitate music perception as well as language development.