Resources & references

This study describes an interprofessional intervention program, combining the expertise of an occupational therapist and of a music therapist to systematically teach piano keyboarding to preschool children with impaired vision. We conducted a small, mixed methods non-randomized pilot case study to determine how such a program could be successfully embedded into a preschool setting, to examine if fine motor skills improve post-intervention, and to study the perceived effects on participants and their families.

A music therapist speaks with the mother of a young client who receives music therapy services. Learn how music therapy has helped her son, who is diagnosed with Angelman syndrome, find the motivation to achieve his therapeutic goals, including improved social and physical skills.

Learn about a child with a neurologic disorder who received music therapy services and watch interviews from the child's mother, the music therapist, and a music therapy student.

Heather Overly, a board-certified music therapist, discusses how music therapy can support children with  developmental disabilities. Through live session examples and interviews, she demonstrates how group music therapy can meet therapeutic goals such as self-expression, academic skills, and social skills.

A comprehensive guide to music therapy with young children, providing a detailed examination of development from birth to age five, with theoretical perspectives and extensive scales of developmental milestones. The author categorizes development within five levels. An expansive catalog of musical goals is provided for singing, playing, moving, and musical understanding within each level.

 The central impairments of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affect social interaction and communication. Music therapy uses musical experiences and the relationships that develop through them to enable communication and expression, thus attempting to address some of the core problems of people with ASD. The present version of this review on music therapy for ASD is an update of the original Cochrane review published in 2006. The findings of this updated review provide evidence that music therapy may help children with ASD to improve their skills in social interaction, verbal communication, initiating behaviour, and social-emotional reciprocity. Music therapy may also help to enhance non-verbal communication skills within the therapy context. Furthermore, in secondary outcome areas, music therapy may contribute to increasing social adaptation skills in children with ASD and to promoting the quality of parent-child relationships.

This study employed an online survey to investigate current approaches, clinical interventions, and outcome measures used by music therapists working with young children with acquired communication impairments (ACIs)  to address language- and communication-oriented goals. Among the diverse range of interventions employed by music therapists, song singing, vocal improvisation, and music and play emerged as the most effective techniques for supporting individuals with ACIs in achieving their goals. 

Pascal Comeau is part of the team of music therapists working at this hospital. With a variety of instruments, Pascal does much more than make music. By cleverly using soothing sounds, bright colors and fun shapes, he helps children who are admitted to the hospital for long periods of time or who have frequent appointments express their stress, fears and other feelings through music. For children with physical disabilities, playing an instrument and moving to the beat of the music can even improve their motor skills. In this video, find out more about the fascinating profession of music therapist!

Charlotte Stewart, a board-certified music therapist, sings a hello song to a child during an individual music therapy session, helping the child develop their verbal communication skills through singing.

This book describes well-defined models of music therapy for working with families in different clinical areas, ranging from families with special needs children or dying family members through to families in psychiatric or paediatric hospital settings. International contributors discuss their specific approaches and share case studies. Particular emphasis is placed on connecting theory and clinical practice and on discussing the challenges and relevance of each model.

This video features twin brothers diagnosed with autism and cerebral palsy who received individual music therapy sessions. Watch as they play instruments and sing to strengthen their communication, expression, and collaboration, and hear insights from their mother and music therapist in interviews.

This article introduces an adaptation of the music therapy and autism specific AQR-instrument. The author developed this adaptation following the requirement to report on the outcomes of his work at a school for children with autism. After introducing the AQR-instrument, the author describes how his adaptation enables him to produce bar charts illustrating client progress.