Best practice recommendations for using music with children and young people with disorders of consciousness

Authors

  • Anna Menén Sánchez Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain; Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8830-6415
  • Jonathan W. Pool Research Department, The Children’s Trust, Tadworth, United Kingdom; Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research (CIMTR), Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4134-8030
  • Janeen Bower Department of Child Life and Music Therapy, The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Australia; Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5176-3345
  • Valerie Paasch Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States of America https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7817-7103
  • Wendy L. Magee Department of Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States of America https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4350-1289

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47513/mmd.v15i1.885

Keywords:

disorders of consciousness, music, sensory stimulation, caregivers, pediatrics

Abstract

Children and youth with Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) present with highly complex medical, physical, and behavioral needs. Additionally, involving such children and young people in meaningful activities with caregivers can be challenging due to the combined motor, sensory, cognitive and communication impairments. Authoritative guidelines for engaging children and youth in meaningful sensory experiences that can enhance social and emotional experiences are lacking due to the minimal research with this population. Music is a medium that optimizes sensory stimulation using salient stimuli in the auditory modality. Furthermore, music experiences require minimal physical demands and offer opportunities for social interactions in line with developmental milestones. The primary objective of this paper is to offer best-practice recommendations for musical stimulation with children and youth with DoC, including its use in leisure and relaxation activities. These recommendations are synthesized from the existing evidence and combined with expert opinion. They are intended for caregivers of children and young people with DoC, which include paid healthcare professionals and providers, as well as non-paid caregivers such as family, friends, and volunteers. These practical suggestions may be applicable in a variety of settings, including hospitals, educational and residential care settings, family homes, and rehabilitation units.

Author Biographies

Anna Menén Sánchez, Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain; Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain

Anna Menén Sánchez, MsC, MMT, NMT-Fellow, is a Music Therapy Lead at the Institut Guttmann, Institut Universtari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Jonathan W. Pool, Research Department, The Children’s Trust, Tadworth, United Kingdom; Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research (CIMTR), Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom;

Jonathan Pool, PhD is a Senior Research Fellow at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University and a music therapy researcher at The Children’s Trust, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Janeen Bower, Department of Child Life and Music Therapy, The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Australia; Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, Australia

Janeen Bower, MMus(MusThrpy) is a PhD Candidate at the University of Melbourne and Music Therapy Team Lead at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.

Valerie Paasch , Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States of America

Valerie Paasch, PhD is an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a pediatric psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

Wendy L. Magee, Department of Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States of America

Wendy L. Magee, PhD is a Professor in the Music Therapy program in Boyer College, Temple University.

 

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Published

2023-01-30

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2023): Music and Medicine January

Section

Full Length Articles