Improvised music to support Intensive Interaction for children with complex needs: A feasibility study of brief adjunctive music therapy. (November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Strange, John
• Is Part Of: British journal of music therapy. Volume 35:Number 2(2021)
• Page Start: 43
• Page End: 52
• Publication Date: 2021-11
• Subjects: adjunctive music therapy -- complex needs -- improvisation -- Intensive Interaction -- RCT; Music therapy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 615.85154
• DOI: 10.1177/13594575211028038
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-4575

Abstract

This study investigates Triadic Support of Interaction by Improvisation, an application of music therapy as a brief adjunctive therapy for children with complex needs who are receiving Intensive Interaction. A small randomised controlled trial measured changes in child-support worker interaction between the 4th and the 12th of 12 weekly sessions of Intensive Interaction. In each of two special schools, a control group of four children with complex needs received Intensive Interaction only and an experimental group of four children additionally received improvised music in sessions 5 through 8. Experienced Speech and Language Therapists made blind assessments from video recordings of sessions 4 and 12 using an adaptation of an instrument developed by a National Health Service learning disability service for tracking progress in Intensive Interaction. The experimental group at one research site showed significantly enhanced interaction (p = 0.02). This offers provisional proof of concept, provided environmental factors identified as impacting results at the other site can be resolved in future studies.