Evidence for your Practice: OT and music therapy for children with ABI

Article for review: Twyford, K., & Waters, S. (2016). In the groove: an evaluation to explore a joint music therapy and occupational therapy intervention for children with acquired brain injury. Voices: a world forum for music therapy, 16(1)

This pilot study sought to understand if a joint occupational therapy and music therapy intervention would lead to positive outcomes in developing self-regulation skills in children with acquired brain injuries or with neurological disorders. The Australian study involved six participants aged five to ten, all with acquired brain injuries and sensory processing difficulties. The intervention consisted of seven weekly one-hour sessions, with targeted occupational and music therapy activities. Both standardized (including the Goal Attainment Scaling and the School Function Assessment) and non-standardized outcome measures were used to measure any changes seen after the intervention period.

Conclusion: Outcome measures from both an occupational therapy and a music therapy perspective indicated positive results in increasing the children’s self-regulation skills. This shows that there may be benefits to creating joint programs between occupational and music therapy, in addition to working on inter-disciplinary teams. 

Read abstract here

By Christl Bradley, fieldwork student with CAOT-BC