Music Therapy Commons^™

Factors Influencing Music Therapists’ Retention Of Clinical Hours With Autistic Clients Over Telehealth During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicole M. Richard Williams

Music Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced music therapists to migrate services to online platforms, though some lost clinical hours during the pandemic when telehealth was not a viable option. This survey study aimed to ascertain factors that helped music-based therapists to continue serving autistic clients over telehealth during the pandemic. We surveyed 193 accredited music therapists located mainly in Canada and the United States. In addition to gathering data on general perceptions of telehealth music therapy and Neurologic Music Therapy® (NMT), one-way ANOVAs were applied to determine differences in percent-change loss of clinical hours for music therapists: 1) working in different employment …

Effectiveness Of Music-Infused Aba Strategies On Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Josephine A. Sodano

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Given the nationwide increase in the diagnosis of autism, particularly in the pediatric population, there is obvious value in examining the effectiveness of intervention methods. This research sought to examine the effectiveness of a music-infused approach combined with Applied Behavioral Analysis methodology. The exploratory mixed method design pilot study examined and comprehended the narratives of special education early childhood teachers assigned and trained to deliver a music-infused intervention program within a natural self-contained Applied Behavioral Analysis program, five days a week, 20 minutes a day, for a duration of 6 weeks to a population of ten preschool students, ages 3-5, …

The Non-Verbal Expressions And Experiences Of An Autistic Adolescent In Improvisational, Relationship-Based Music Therapy, Naoko Funahashi

Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the non-verbal expression and experience of an autistic adolescent with language delay in improvisational, relationship-based music therapy. The purpose of the study was to gain a fuller understanding of the adolescent’s experience in music therapy and to discover the roles of music therapy in the larger context of the adolescent’s life. The adolescent’s mother and a professional from his treatment team at his school were each invited to participate in an individual interview consisting of review of a music therapy session video and semi-structured discussion. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews yielded themes related to the following: …

The Connections In Relationships Among Autistic And Neurotypical Adolescents Participating In A Virtual, Inclusive, Performative Music Therapy Group, Laura Silvestain

Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the connections in relationships among autistic and neurotypical adolescents in a virtual, inclusive, performative music therapy group. The researcher utilized a one-group pretest-posttest design. There is a lack of research involving inclusive music therapy groups with adolescents. As such, this research was needed in order to provide opportunities for adolescents to connect in an inclusive music therapy group, aligning with the neurodiversity movement in uplifting autistic voices rather than focusing on improving perceived deficits of autism. Four participants engaged in four inclusive, performative music therapy sessions through active music-making and sharing music preferences. They each completed a …

Square Pegs Community Arts On Campus, Gabrielle Marina Ortega-Miller

MSW Capstones

My capstone project started with a qualitative research study exploring the value of music through the voices of Autistic adults, for without their voices—whether verbal, non-verbal, or verbally limited—it is difficult to know what the value of music is in their lives. The inclusion and leadership of Neurodivergent Black, Indigenous, and students of color (BIPOC) in the UWT Neurodiverse community is one focus of this project; the other is to provide a community space for all Neurodivergent students at UWT to feel welcome and safe, create art, and support each other. Square Pegs Community Arts on Campus is built on …

How Music Therapy Affects The Development Of Children With Autism, Bailey C. Sweet

Honors Theses

How does music therapy affect students with Autism and their development? Music therapy is not a very popular field of work, often times people forget or do not acknowledge its existence as a professional career and underappreciate the value it holds. Music therapy helps patients with all different disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of music therapy on children with autism. There are so many positive effects and numerous proven strategies that improve social skills and alleviate impairments that allow for people with Autism to gain knowledge and abilities to allow them to live more …

Bridging The Music Education Gap: Designing A Curriculum For Students With Autism To Be Taught By Pre-Service Teachers, Josie Schultz

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This paper contains 20 music lessons written and designed for the elementary students enrolled in the Kelly Autism Program at Western Kentucky University. The Kelly Autism Program serves local students diagnosed with autism and offering educational support and after school services. The program in previous years had music classes however, because the staff had no formal training in music, these lessons were forgotten about when staff members resigned, and new staff were hired. These lessons were also limited in content, the lessons in this thesis have been designed to be taught by teachers with little musical training. Each lesson has …

Music Therapy: Effects On Children Diagnosed With Asd, Jennifer Lynn Mahr

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to focus on the use of music therapy as a treatment to serve people of special needs, including individuals with ASD. The research seeks to inform parents/students of children with ASD that music therapy could be the avenue in which their children/students are treated in certain areas. The information in this research can assist parents with the knowledge and understanding they need relating to music therapy in order for their child to overcome weaknesses associated with ASD. Similarly, music teachers can gain further insight into the world of music therapy to encourage students who struggle in …

Understanding The Needs Of Transgender Young Adults Dually Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Depression, Elizabeth Whalen

All Zyzzogeton Presentations

This study investigates the mental health treatment experiences of one transgender young adult and one genderqueer young adult who are dually diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and depression. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with these young adults and two of their parents. Interview questions centered around participants’ mental health treatment needs and experiences. The researcher conducted a phenomenological analysis of the data that yielded individual meaning units and global meaning units. The analysis found that individuals in this population experience low self-esteem, social difficulties, and a lack of appropriate mental health services.

An Analysis Of Music Therapy On Improving Social And Communication Skills In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Steven Koehler

Theses and Graduate Projects

Autism, a diagnosis that has skyrocketed and is worrisome to parents, teachers, clinicians and researchers. Over the past four decades, the rate of children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder has grown 10 times and is the fastest growing disability in the US.1,2 Currently, 1 in 68 births are affected by Autism.1 Due to the high prevalence of this disability, researchers are searching for ways to treat the symptoms of this incurable disorder. Music therapy is gaining popularity as an intervention strategy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).3 This paper will analyze the benefits music therapy has on the improvement …

Bendablesound: An Elastic Multisensory Surface Using Touch-Based Interactions To Assist Children With Severe Autism During Music Therapy, Franceli L. Cibrian, Oscar Peña, Deysi Ortega, Monica Tentori

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Neurological Music Therapy uses live music to improve the sensorimotor regulation of children with severe autism. However, they often lack musical training and their impairments limit their interactions with musical instruments. In this paper, we present our co-design work that led to the BendableSound prototype: an elastic multisensory surface encouraging users to practice coordination movements when touching a fabric to play sounds. We present the results of a formative study conducted with 18 teachers showing BendableSound was perceived as “usable” and “attractive”. Then, we present a deployment study with 24 children with severe autism showing BendableSound is “easy to use” …

Rebecca Center For Music Therapy Newsletter: Volume 4 Issue 1, John Carpente Ph.D., Mt-Bc, Lcat, Jill Mulholland Ms, Mt-Bc, Lcat, Suzanne Sorel D.A., M.T.-B.C., L.C.A.T, Michael Kelliher Mt-Bc, Diana N. Abourafeh Mt-Bc, Laura De Gennaro Psy.D., Audra Cerruto Ph.D.

The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy Newsletter

What's Inside: ASD Research Five Years in the Making; Beyond the Session Room Jason's Story; Experiential Learning at the Center; Campus Connections; Community Outreach; Research; Recent and Upcoming Presentations; Book Club

Exploring The Use Of The Bass Guitar As A Clinical Instrument Within Music-Centered Practice, Matthew J. Brady

Theses & Dissertations

There is limited research on the use of the bass guitar in music therapy. This study explored the use of the bass guitar as a clinical instrument from a music-centered perspective in clinical work with individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders and emotional challenges. Data were collected from filming individual music therapy sessions with three participants. Each participant had four sessions of music therapy. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Five themes which reflect the interventions and social processes within music-centered work with the bass were identified: following the client’s lead, grounding, client and therapist as rhythm section, client and therapist …

An Evaluation Of A Developmental Individualized Relationship (Dir®) And Creative Arts Therapies Program For Children With Autism, Faith Thayer

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study evaluated a Developmental Individual Differences Relationship-based (DIR®) creative arts therapy (CAT) program for children with ASD. The study was intended to assess whether the program met its stated goals to stimulate individualized social-emotional growth for children with ASD. The study was motivated by a central research question: Do DIR®-based creative arts therapies promote the social-emotional growth of children with ASD? A summative, longitudinal program evaluation research design was used to examine the program’s fidelity and outcomes. The evaluation included assessments for pre- and post-test quantitative standardized measures for data collection and analysis. The study also collected data from …

Music Therapy In Schools : The Current Status, Tammy Takaishi

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study, to assess the prevalence and role of music therapy in various school systems across the United States, utilized a demographic survey design. The instrument used in this study was a 10 item self-report electronic survey. A mix of open ended and multiple choice questions were utilized.

Descriptive statistics, percentage analysis, and topic categorizing were used to analyze the data supplied by 166 school-based music therapists from throughout the United States. Results indicated the following: 1. The majority of respondents (78%) provided music therapy in public schools with weekly self-contained groups being the most common type of session. 2. …

Musical Echolalia And Non-Verbal Children With Autism, Krystal Leah Demaine

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

Typical imitation skills that are integral to language and social learning do not readily develop in children with autism. Echolalia, an echoing or imitation of speech sounds, has historically been considered a non-meaningful form verbal imitation. Since music is intrinsically more meaningful than language for children with autism, musical echolalia may offer path to communication for non-verbal children with autism. This research study sought to identify a potential existence of musical echolalia among nonverbal children with autism. Twelve non-verbal children diagnosed with classic autism, six boys and six girls, aged four to eight, who had no formal musical training or …

Presenting Carly And Elliot: Exploring Roles And Relationships In A Mother-Son Dyad In Nordoff-Robbins, Suzanne Sorel D.A., M.T.-B.C., L.C.A.T

Faculty Works: MT (2003-2021)

This study explores what occurred between a mother and her son with high-functioning autism who were seen for 24 sessions at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at New York University. This was the first time that a parent and child had been seen in music therapy sessions at the center in which the parent was an active participant. The study was conducted one and one-half years after the sessions had concluded. The prima-ry data sources included the 24 sessions on videotape, transcripts from interviews with the mother and each therapist, therapist index sheets and notes, treatment summary re-ports, and …

Music Of The Mind: An Examination Of Music As A Communication Conduit For Autistic Children In An Educational Atmosphere, Sarah A. Mcgovern

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Topics covered in this investigation are autism, music therapy, and education. Music has a unique way to communicate and touch people like no other medium. It knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries and can be used for various therapeutic reasons, such as autism. This study investigates whether music is an effective form of communication for autistic children in and educational environment. Books, journal articles and websites related to these topics were used as sources in this research project. In addition, the author conducted a survey to receive a better idea of how the public views the affect music has …

Autism And Music Therapy, Gennie Eldridge

Honors Theses

In 1943, in Autistic Disturbance of Affective Contact, Leo Kanner describe eleven children whose symptoms appeared to constitute a unique syndrome. This was termed "early infantile autism" in 1944. Early infantile autism is a syndrome of which the symptoms can usually be traced back to the fourth month of life, but that often does not become disturbingly evident until the first or second year. Outstanding characteristics include extreme withdrawal from contact with people an obsessive need for sameness in the environment; skillful manipulation of objects and often an affectionate relationship to them; a physical appearance of intelligence; and speech …