Once again, if you have been following my blogs on the Central Ohio Music Therapy, LLC website or our Facebook page, you are familiar with my dual role as a music therapist and music educator.  Having to conduct music therapy sessions virtually (and usually with only 1 – 4 patients at the most), I was fascinated to learn what challenges music educators had with trying to teach virtually and have a full classroom!  This article looks at what music educators learned during the COVID-19 virtual learning school year in 2020 – 2021.  

Draper’s article was written just prior to the vaccine rollout and discusses the importance of getting students with developmental disabilities vaccinated.  Knowing that these students often have other health issues, the focus, as with the shut down and remote learning, was to keep everyone as safe as possible.

I was simply blown away when the presenter shared the results of this study.  I already knew that when a patient with Alzheimer’s disease listened to music that they knew, that they were often able to sing the words and it brought a smile to their face.  I had witnessed that in numerous sessions in the past, but what I didn’t know was just how much the music penetrated the brain of the patient.

In a pilot study by Fischer, Churchill, Leggieri, Vuong, Tau, Fornazzari, Thaut and Schweizer, researchers examined both musicians and non-musicians.  Investigators stated, “The purpose of our study is to examine whether a program involving listening to long-known music for 1 h[our] a day for 3 weeks results in changes in brain structure and function and corresponding improvements in global memory performance for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early AD” (p. 820).  

When setting up the criteria for this study, research assistants met with each qualified patient and had them pass some basic tests for cognition and that they did not have any “significant medical needs” (p. 821).  Each participant had a listening list, including music that they did not know mixed with music that they identified as “well-known” to them.  Caregivers assisted with helping make sure the participant focused on the music and asked questions as directed by the research staff.

This article outlines a case study performed by researchers to find the effect of using embedded song interventions compared to verbal instruction of a 5-year-old boy diagnosed with Autism. The researchers noted that in our culture independence is highly valued by young individuals as well as for adults who provide care for them. For children with Autism, independent self-care can be inhibited by a number of factors such as motivation and meaning to the individual, habits and performance patterns, communication deficits, sensory processing, and variability of performance. These factors can lead to adults parenting or working with children with Autism maintaining their caregiver role during self-care tasks for longer periods of time than those working with typically developing children.

As a Music Therapist and a Music Educator, I find myself drawn to articles written by music educators concerning students with disabilities in their classroom.  Although music therapy is a related service under IDEA, many school districts do not employ music therapists to work with their special needs students.  Often music educators are left to grapple with the how to teach these students with varying levels of training and experience.

I had a lady come up to me today after my choir concert and share that she had a young daughter who has autism.  She asked me if I had ever heard of a certain school in the area that specializes in students with developmental disabilities.  I told her about my choir program for the older students.  (I conducted a pilot program creating a choir with three classrooms, which serve older students.)  She smiled and said her daughter loved music and wondered how she could get music therapy.  I shared some information with her on how to contact the company I work for and see if her daughter could receive individual services.  I truly hope she will follow up since she smiled as she told me what happens when her daughter hears music.

You may have heard about music therapy for individuals or groups, but have you ever wondered if music therapy could work for families? Michael Silverman’s article “Effects of Family-Based Educational Music Therapy on Acute Psychiatric Patients and their Family Member: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study,” explores music therapy in a family based setting for psychiatric patients. As the length of inpatient psychiatric stays are decreasing, the care and support provided by families for their loved ones are increasing. Education groups and therapy groups have been successful for families struggling with a mental health diagnosis of a loved one. These types of education groups, or psychoeducation, groups can help decrease stressors involving communication, interactions, and coping within the family environment.  

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have many challenges.  Most of us think about their awkwardness in social settings.  Those with severe ASD may not be able to talk or only communicate through an Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) device.  Some use Ipads, which have special applications that assist with communication.

Most consider the survey as one of the best ways to determine what trends are developing and how professionals deal with change.  Knowing that the public, professionals and families focus much attention on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), researchers asked what clinical practices and training needs exist for music therapists working with this specific population.  Most recently, media releases say that 1 in 88 individuals (different statistics for males versus females) receive a diagnosis of ASD.  Kern, Rivera, Chandler and Humpal (2013) took the opportunity to ask 328 professional music therapists from the American Music Therapy Association questions regarding their involvement in working with individuals diagnosed with this disorder.  Researchers needed to find out how many worked with individuals with ASD, but wanted them to answer questions about assessment, clinical goals, approaches and techniques used to treat these individuals.  Examining these key areas helps “evaluate the status of music therapy practices…, the implementation of national ASD standards and guidelines, the awareness of recent developments and training needs of music therapists” (p. 274).

As a music therapist, my job is to make sure that my client/patient can participate in music making, as this is often one of the main goals of my sessions.  Neuroscience research is showing us just how active the brain is when an individual is participating in the music making process.   Those that attend a concert and see music presented are not as involved as those participating.  Music educator Matthew D. Thibeault stated in his article entitled “Music Education for All through Participatory Ensembles” which makes a valid point for music educators to create ensembles for everyone because participation maximizes enjoyment and focus.

Quality of life has become more and more of a focus in care of individuals with Dementia. Many articles or studies have shown that music therapy can help quality of life for many people, but how exactly does it help individuals with varying levels of Dementia? In the study “Effect of Group Music Therapy on Quality of Life, Affect, and Participation in People with Varying Levels of Dementia”, researchers attempted to find out why music therapy is effective for Dementia.

Music can help soothe symptoms related to medical procedures or diagnoses, but can it help the deeper issues that come with a serious medical diagnosis? Potvin, Bradt, and Kesslick looked into symptoms management and the underlying issues in their research article, “Expanding Perspective on Music Therapy for Symptom Management in Cancer Care.”

Many adults suffer silently with chronic mental illness. In fact, according to The National  Institutes of Mental Health about 4.1% of the population suffer from serious, ongoing mental illness. Unfortunately the current health system focuses on stabilization of the most acute symptoms. However, in order to return to a functional daily life much more treatment is needed.  Music therapy, along with counseling, medication, and other treatments, can help ease symptoms of mental illness and assist in integrating these individuals into the community.