Music and Developmental Disabilities

Author(s):  
Michelle Renee Blumstein

The following chapter presents a compilation of research about various types of technology that are employed by music therapists to benefit children with developmental delays. Music therapy can be an effective way to meet the goals of the individual. Music can also be a very powerful motivator. Previous musical skill or experience is not required for music therapy to be effective for clients with developmental disabilities or for clients more generally. Many music-based technologies are designed to create a positive, successful, and enjoyable experience for all users. Music therapy can provide a safe and confidence building environment where children are able to feel in control of a situation, possibly for the first time in their lives.

2016 ◽  
pp. 2374-2391
Author(s):  
Michelle Renee Blumstein

The following chapter presents a compilation of research about various types of technology that are employed by music therapists to benefit children with developmental delays. Music therapy can be an effective way to meet the goals of the individual. Music can also be a very powerful motivator. Previous musical skill or experience is not required for music therapy to be effective for clients with developmental disabilities or for clients more generally. Many music-based technologies are designed to create a positive, successful, and enjoyable experience for all users. Music therapy can provide a safe and confidence building environment where children are able to feel in control of a situation, possibly for the first time in their lives.


Author(s):  
Masako Otera

The author discusses what music therapists must work on to establish Evidence-based practice (EBP) in music therapy by referring to Saito's discussion of the misunderstandings and various interpretations of Evidence-based medicine (EBM), the issue of Empirically Supported Treatments (ESTs) in EBP in psychology (EBPP), and related discussions. Although the EBP movement tends to be recognized as a threat to music therapy, some recent discussions of EBM and EBP are encouraging for the development of EBP in music therapy. This paper shows that an integration of evidence of multiple types with clinical expertise and the individual needs in clients has become a consensus of EBP. However, the issues related to conducting Randomized controlled Trials (RCTs) and employment of standardized treatment protocols in music therapy have persisted as difficult problems. Because the issue of EBP is very complex and easily biased, effective learning of this issue should be promoted among music therapists so that they can successfully relate to the EBP movement and bring benefits to the field of music therapy. The author suggests that incorporating the ideas of EBP positively into the field of music therapy and constructing methodologies and theories will enhance EBP.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Gross

More and more music therapists are becoming aware of the social model of disability. The social model of disability maintains that the locus of disability rests in the capacity for society to create barriers for people with physical or mental differences. Much of music therapy practice still invests in the medical model of disability, which maintains that disability is an inherent personal flaw in the individual which requires remediation. This paper argues that music therapy practice should adopt the social model of disability, and maintains that, in particular, music-centered music therapy is one theory of music therapy that resonates well with the social model of disability. The paper includes advice for the emerging music therapy clinician on how better to incorporate social model of disability perspectives in practice based on the work of previous scholars who have written extensively about the social model.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Penny Warren

<p>The purpose of this research project is to investigate the factors that influence individual music therapists’ professional identities in New Zealand over time and whether these factors impacted on their practice and the field as a whole in New Zealand. Professional identity is a multi-dimensional process that develops over time and is underpinned by the concepts of personal and social identity. For music therapists, this process is also interconnected with the ongoing shaping of the boundaries of the music therapy profession.  A qualitative case study methodology was employed. Nine music therapists who had over five year’s clinical experience in New Zealand were engaged in open-ended interviews and a process of thematic analysis was used to generate the findings from verbatim transcriptions of each interview.  An overarching category and three core themes relating to personal, profession-specific individual and collective features of identity have emerged as influences on the individual music therapists’ professional identities. The overarching category is to be validated by others. The three core themes are to i) feel a sense of professional competence, ii) experience direct or indirect reciprocal communication with other music therapists, and iii) develop an ability to adapt and manage change in response to new conditions or client need. Within the overarching category and core themes are an overlapping interplay of subsidiary themes that hold different levels of salience for each music therapist and reflect the dynamic, interwoven nature of professional identity. All but one of the participants in this study had trained overseas. Now working in New Zealand as experienced practitioners, it is clear they would have had a significant international influence on the music therapy community in this country. In future it would be interesting to explore how the professional identity of music therapists in New Zealand might have changed as more locally trained music therapists become experienced practitioners.  The results of this study also draw attention to the presence and value of supervision within the New Zealand community of music therapists; an individual sense of belonging to a professional group that holds common values and norms, shared approaches and theories; and the strength of the participant’s own musical identity. Music is a key distinguishing factor in the professional identity of music therapists, and the primary modality that they use in their clinical practice. However, that it was rarely used as a method of supervision for music therapists’ in this study seemed significant.  The results suggest that a stronger and more expansive awareness of professional identity can potentially be developed through reflection upon the influences on identity, and can consequently positively influence clinical practice.</p>


Author(s):  
Barbara E. McDermott

While the purpose of the correctional system is multi-faceted, including punishment and removal of the offender from society, one component is rehabilitation. With no offender does this seem more relevant than those with developmental disabilities. Although the research is inconsistent, most studies suggest that offenders with developmental delays commit less serious offenses, yet serve more time in prison than offenders without such delays. Opinions are mixed on whether appropriate services for such individuals should be provided on specialized units. Proponents of this approach cite the vulnerabilities of these offenders. However, all agree that specialized services must include appropriate assessment that takes into account culture and individualized approaches to habilitation. It cannot be presumed that services designed for the individual with mental illness will be appropriate for inmates with developmental disabilities. Little research has been conducted on the efficacy of specialized services for offenders with developmental disabilities. As such, correctional facilities must necessarily take guidance from research based on non-offender samples. An active collaboration between departments of corrections and agencies providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities can enhance service delivery and improve the integration of the offender into the community. This chapter outlines the progress that has been made in the identification and habilitation of individuals with developmental disabilities in the criminal justice system. Definitions, legal issues, and prevalence rates will be discussed, as well as the vulnerabilities individuals with developmental delays present to the criminal justice system. Finally, screening, management, and habilitation in corrections arising directly from these vulnerabilities are discussed.


Author(s):  
Rebecca Zarate

According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2009), anxiety has become a serious international threat to global health, productivity, and sensibility. When a person suffers from anxiety, it impacts all aspects of their well-being as well as that of people close to them. This paper discusses the presence and impact of anxiety as a relational, multisensory, and embodied experience that occurs as a result of internal and external social environmental stressors. It supports the theory that the individual and collective impact of anxiety is an operational social construct produced from a deeply rooted history of competitive individualism, power in relationships and issues of difference in society. The way in which the field of music therapy currently conceptualizes anxiety suggests that more studies are needed to specifically target the larger relational and social contexts of anxiety. Thus, providing the potential for increasing the body of knowledge for the field and opportunities for music therapists to think and practice from such a critical perspective.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Penny Warren

<p>The purpose of this research project is to investigate the factors that influence individual music therapists’ professional identities in New Zealand over time and whether these factors impacted on their practice and the field as a whole in New Zealand. Professional identity is a multi-dimensional process that develops over time and is underpinned by the concepts of personal and social identity. For music therapists, this process is also interconnected with the ongoing shaping of the boundaries of the music therapy profession.  A qualitative case study methodology was employed. Nine music therapists who had over five year’s clinical experience in New Zealand were engaged in open-ended interviews and a process of thematic analysis was used to generate the findings from verbatim transcriptions of each interview.  An overarching category and three core themes relating to personal, profession-specific individual and collective features of identity have emerged as influences on the individual music therapists’ professional identities. The overarching category is to be validated by others. The three core themes are to i) feel a sense of professional competence, ii) experience direct or indirect reciprocal communication with other music therapists, and iii) develop an ability to adapt and manage change in response to new conditions or client need. Within the overarching category and core themes are an overlapping interplay of subsidiary themes that hold different levels of salience for each music therapist and reflect the dynamic, interwoven nature of professional identity. All but one of the participants in this study had trained overseas. Now working in New Zealand as experienced practitioners, it is clear they would have had a significant international influence on the music therapy community in this country. In future it would be interesting to explore how the professional identity of music therapists in New Zealand might have changed as more locally trained music therapists become experienced practitioners.  The results of this study also draw attention to the presence and value of supervision within the New Zealand community of music therapists; an individual sense of belonging to a professional group that holds common values and norms, shared approaches and theories; and the strength of the participant’s own musical identity. Music is a key distinguishing factor in the professional identity of music therapists, and the primary modality that they use in their clinical practice. However, that it was rarely used as a method of supervision for music therapists’ in this study seemed significant.  The results suggest that a stronger and more expansive awareness of professional identity can potentially be developed through reflection upon the influences on identity, and can consequently positively influence clinical practice.</p>


Author(s):  
Ana Katušić ◽  
Ksenija Burić

Music therapy acts as a separate discipline in the interdisciplinary field of science and art. Unlike music education, music therapy is aimed at developing and enhancing non-musical skills by using music as a symbol of emotional and personal growth. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the theoretical foundations of music therapy in the field of human psychology and music pedagogy, as well as the development of music therapy models that have arisen from these theoretical approaches. The most commonly used music therapy models in special education are based on improvisational music therapy techniques, which include free improvisation therapy, creative music therapy known as the Nordoff-Robbins model, and Orff music therapy. Improvisation in these models plays a key role during the acquisition and promotion of skills. Using sounds, playing instruments, making music here and now, allows for expression and exploration, and enables children to acquire skills in different developmental domains. Finally, the paper offers an overview of the use of music therapy in education of children with developmental disabilities educating developmentally disabled children, its unique features and connections with the education through music approach, in accordance with the set-up goals of the Individual Education Plan.Key words: Individual Education Plan; music therapy; improvisational models; education; children with developmental disabilities. --- Muzikoterapija djeluje kao zasebna disciplina u interdisiciplinarnom području znanosti i umjetnosti. Za razliku od glazbenoga obrazovanja, muzikoterapija je usmjerena prema razvoju i jačanju neglazbenih vještina koristeći glazbu kao simbol emocionalnoga i osobnoga rasta. Svrha je ovoga rada prikazati pregled teorijskih osnova muzikoterapije na području humanističke psihologije i glazbene pedagogije, kao i razvoj modela muzikoterapije koji su proizašli iz navedenih teorijskih pravaca. Modeli muzikoterapije koji se najčešće koriste u procesu obrazovanja djece s teškoćama u razvoju zasnivaju se na improvizacijskim tehnikama muzikoterapije, a obuhvaćaju: terapiju slobodnom improvizacijom, kreativnu muzikoterapiju poznata kao Nordoff-Robbins model i Orff muzikoterapiju. Improvizacija u ovim modelima ima ključnu ulogu tijekom usvajanja i poticanja vještina. Korištenje  zvukova, sviranje instrumenata, stvaranje glazbe ovdje i sada, omogućava izražavanje i istraživanje, a djeci pruža mogućnost samoostvarenja na različitim razvojnim područjima. Naposljetku u radu se nudi prikaz primjene muzikoterapije u obrazovanju djece s teškoćama u razvoju, njegove jedinstvenosti te poveznice u odnosu na pristup obrazovanja kroz glazbu sukladno postavljenim ciljevima Individualnog edukacijskog plana.Ključne riječi: Individualni edukacijski plan; muzikoterapija; improvizacijski modeli; obrazovanje; djeca s teškoćama u razvoju


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masako Otera

The paper discusses required knowledge in preparation for a disaster relief. The author shares her experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake and reviews how she went through the post-disaster phase as a music therapist. The author has made three suggestions for change in music therapy as a disaster relief. First, specific topics on disaster relief should be included in music therapy educational courses. This should cover general information regarding natural and human-made disasters and disaster relief. Second, making connections with related organizations, both the individual and national level is also suggested. Third, the further accumulation of studies on music therapy as a disaster relief service is needed.


Author(s):  
Rachel Ablow

The nineteenth century introduced developments in science and medicine that made the eradication of pain conceivable for the first time. This new understanding of pain brought with it a complex set of moral and philosophical dilemmas. If pain serves no obvious purpose, how do we reconcile its existence with a well-ordered universe? Examining how writers of the day engaged with such questions, this book offers a compelling new literary and philosophical history of modern pain. The book provides close readings of novelists Charlotte Brontë and Thomas Hardy and political and natural philosophers John Stuart Mill, Harriet Martineau, and Charles Darwin, as well as a variety of medical, scientific, and popular writers of the Victorian age. The book explores how discussions of pain served as investigations into the status of persons and the nature and parameters of social life. No longer conceivable as divine trial or punishment, pain in the nineteenth century came to seem instead like a historical accident suggesting little or nothing about the individual who suffers. A landmark study of Victorian literature and the history of pain, the book shows how these writers came to see pain as a social as well as a personal problem. Rather than simply self-evident to the sufferer and unknowable to anyone else, pain was also understood to be produced between persons—and even, perhaps, by the fictions they read.


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