“That's the Joy of Music!” An Evaluation of Partnership Working with a Teacher in Planning and Delivering a Music Therapy Group for Three Children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (original) (raw)
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This study aimed to discover how the key competencies featured in student music therapy with three children who have autism spectrum disorder. Individual music therapy was carried out in the natural environment of a primary school and clinical notes were developed to record events and reflections on the sessions. This data was then retrospectively analysed in a process known as secondary analysis which used inductive and deductive techniques. A process of thematically analysing data revealed that the three children with autism spectrum disorder demonstrated the key competencies in diverse ways in music therapy, such as through letting their personalities shine (managing self) and relating from shared histories and relationships (relating to others), and that I assisted the development of the key competencies for children in equally diverse ways, such as, by being well-being focused, giving openly and making music therapy child-led. A clinical vignette is used to illustrate the findi...
Educational Action Research, 2015
Music therapists have been working in special education contexts for many decades, utilising research and case studies to inform practice. Growing interest in the link between the creative arts and well-being has led music therapists to consider what aspects of their knowledge others could feasibly appropriate in the school system. An action research approach was utilised to explore this question, grounded in partnerships between university-based music therapy researchers and staff at a school for learners on the autistic spectrum. Five cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection framed the collaborative partnership, with a music therapist acting as consultant to explore how music could be used across the school day. The greatest shift evidenced through qualitative and quantitative analysis was in the area of relationship building. Rather than seeing music as a tool that supports the acquisition of specific skills, the professionals and students in the school came to understand that music could be a meaningful part of their encounter with one another. This is congruent with music therapy research findings that also emphasise the ways music can be used to motivate, evoke and elicit meaningful responses from young people. Some limitations were identified in the sustainability of music practices in the school, particularly when other parts of the school culture were changing.
Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 2020
Introduction: Following positive outcomes of music therapy-based skills-sharing projects undertaken there in 2009, this doctoral research responded to a locally identified need by classroom practitioners at a Belarusian Development Centre seeking to develop relationships with children with complex needs. Method: The study employed a convergent mixed-methods, pre-and postintervention design. Winnicott's theory of the holding environment provided the theoretical framework for a new evaluation instrument which underpinned the structure of a specifically designed staff development programme. Eight staff participants evaluated their usual musical interaction with a child with complex needs (preintervention). Following engagement with the staff development programme (intervention), they then undertook ten filmed individual music sessions with the same child (post-intervention). Sessions were filmed and two self-chosen extracts pre-and post-intervention were self-rated and peer-rated against the descriptors of the evaluation instrument. Participants then reflected on the experience with the child in interviews. Results: Results focus on that part of the qualitative data set that describes ways in which Winnicott's theory of holding was accessible and applicable in supporting optimisation of teacher-pupil relationships. Outcomes showed that the experience of Winnicott's "holding" in the learning process supported participants to engage with a process of change, facilitating potential spaces for play and development in relationships within the research group and between staff and children. Discussion: Participants required support to maintain two levels of awareness in their learning-this internal process of change in perceiving, attuning to and empathising with the child which then underpinned growth in their concrete musical interactional skills.
Enabling young children with autism through musical engagement - a music educator's toolkit
Sound Connections is a leader in research and advocacy for the music education sector in London. London Early Years Music Network (LEYMN) aims to promote and develop best practice in music education for the Early Years. It also supports and facilitates research in the early years music sector, in order to build evidence of the power of music in reaching young children. This action research is part of this work.
Everyone needs to belong. People with disabilities often experience belonging to restricted communities of people who usually have similar needs. The purpose of this study is to investigate how music therapy could enhance the sense of community at a day program for adults with learning disabilities. The project focuses on exploring and improving my own collaborative music therapy practice in order to reach the goal of this research. This action research follows three cycles of planning, acting and reflecting. The different cycles observe my own collaborative skills, moments of togetherness as an expression of a sense of community and relationship building with different communities of people. The data analysis involves a thematic analysis of my clinical and reflective notes taken during each cycle. I have used song composition for each cycle as a tool for integrating meaning and summarising my learning. The process of this action research helped me understand that: 1) Effective c...
Abstract By 2010 there will be 3,500 Children’s Centres in England, one for every community. The ‘one-stop shop’ approach to services offered through these centres to families with children under 5 has led to many professionals working and learning together in multi- professional teams. The co-working of health, social work and community practitioners brings a wealth of knowledge and skills together, along with diverse worldviews. This can challenge notions of ‘lay’ and ‘expert’ knowledge [Brechin and Siddell 2000 in Rixon 2008:222]. This paper will explore Wenger’s concept of ‘communities of practice’ [1998] where mutual engagement, joint enterprise and a shared repertoire are key dimensions to multi- agency group working. The transfer of musical skills such as listening, turn-taking, non-verbal responses, expressions of emotion and mood, eye contact and co-operation may all be useful means not only for encouraging interactions amongst families but also in creating new ideas for team cohesion and expression. Professionals working in early childhood are taking part in multi-professional training courses and music in early childhood is often included in such professional development. Musicians are finding innovative and accessible means to transfer useful skills to a range of professionals, however there may be questions about accreditation of learning and the ‘quality control’ of such training. How is excellence measured and against whose criteria? Conflicting worldviews at the heart of Children’s Centres can influence the focus of training offered, e.g., health models seem to prefer the scientific approach and social work models the social- constructionist paradigm. Keywords: music, multi-professional1, learning.
Music therapists are frequently called upon to produce 'evidence' that the services they offer are 'effec-tive'. However, a vicious cycle can exist in which efforts to develop a knowledge base that will satisfy demands for Evidence Based Practice (EBP) are hampered by limited music therapy practice, which is partially due to the lack of current evidence. In this article we discuss the dilemmas that music therapists face in designing research to meet the demands of EBP with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), when populations and practices are heterogeneous, and professional values are incongruent with quantitative paradigms. Our discussion is grounded in the context of exploratory research which aimed to gather information regarding the practice of music therapy with children who have ASD in New Zealand, in order to scope and design research appropriate for the New Zealand context. We use this discussion to demonstrate the value of mixed methods designs for music therapy, and introduce a specific proposal based on the findings of our exploratory research to investigate the perceived impact of music therapy to support the interpersonal communication of individuals who have ASD using a convergent parallel mixed methods design.
The Use of Music as an Instructional Tool by Teachers Working with Students with Autism
The present study is examining the use of music by teachers of students in the Autism Spectrum as an instructional tool in the classroom. In order to explore teachers’ routines concerning the use of music, two days of classroom observation were held, followed by five teacher interviews. The participants were working in special schools in the area of Bristol in the UK. The findings suggest that music is mainly used when transitioning from one activity to the other, as well as during group sessions. Music was used in order to teach different subjects to students with autism, as teachers believed that they are more understandable when taught through music. It was also found that music relaxes students with autism and calms them down. Moreover, it was found that it is of high importance for music to be implemented as a part of the daily routines when working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Additionally, teachers were asked about their beliefs concerning the generalization of the positive outcomes that music might have in other contexts and times of the day. It was found that this is a rather complex issue, as they felt that under certain circumstances it would be possible, while is some other it might be quite challenging. Nevertheless, it was supported that such transfer would be helpful. In addition to the above, the present study also identified some challenges in the use of music with individuals with autism. Those refer to common ideas between the teachers that suggest that music might sometimes be a barrier, as, when it stops or when the students do not like the song, they might get upset. The present study also acknowledges some limitations of the research undertaken. Ideas for future research are discussed, in order for the above issues to be explored further.
Autism research and treatment, 2016
Music therapy is gaining popularity as an intervention strategy for children with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study was a pilot investigation of a classroom-based music-based intervention, Voices Together®, for improving communication skills in children with ASD and children with intellectual disabilities. Four local public elementary school special education classrooms, serving 5 children with a classification of autistic disorder and 32 children with intellectual disability without autism, were randomly selected to receive one of two levels of exposure to Voices Together music therapy: "long-term" (15 weeks beginning in January 2015 (Time 1), n = 14) or "short-term" (7 weeks beginning 7 weeks later in February (Time 2), n = 17). Using observational ratings, investigators reliably scored participants live in terms of their level of verbal responsiveness to prompts during three songs featured each week of the program...