Kamile Geist

Music and Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Music is a pervasive presence in life, so much so that conceptualizing ways to integrate music into the lives of individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication or into ones clinical practice can be overwhelming. This paper reviews a framework for conceptualizing musical involvement based on the distinctions of appreciation, recreation, and creation of music. In terms of integration into the therapeutic process, music therapy is explored as a discipline. Some of the barriers music therapists have noted in collaborating with speech language pathologists are discussed along with potential proposed solutions. Finally 4 case studies are presented to outline ways in which music therapists and AAC specialists can collaborate with children with complex communication needs.

Single Case Design Studies in Music Therapy: Resurrecting Experimental Evidence in Small Group and Individual Music Therapy Clinical Settings

BACKGROUND The profession would benefit from greater and routine generation of causal evidence pertaining to the impact of music therapy interventions on client outcomes. OBJECTIVE One way to meet this goal is to revisit the use of Single Case Designs (SCDs) in clinical practice and research endeavors in music therapy. Given the appropriate setting and goals, this design can be accomplished with small sample sizes and it is often appropriate for studying music therapy interventions. METHODS In this article, we promote and discuss implementation of SCD studies in music therapy settings, review the meaning of internal study validity and by extension the notion of causality, and describe two of the most commonly used SCDs to demonstrate how they can help generate causal evidence to inform the field. RESULTS In closing, we describe the need for replication and future meta-analysis of SCD studies completed in music therapy settings. CONCLUSIONS SCD studies are both feasible and appropriate for use in music therapy clinical practice settings, particularly for testing effectiveness of interventions for individuals or small groups.