Date of Award

Spring 5-2024

Document Type

Oral Presentation/Poster

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Health Science

Faculty Mentor

Megan Johnke OTD, OTR/L

Keywords

music, mood, social skills, behavior, communication, occupation-based

Subject Categories

Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Music in therapy research currently focuses on the role of music therapy in children with behaviors, mood, and social/communication difficulties. However, limited research exists on the role of music in occupational therapy. The purpose of the capstone project was to use music-focused occupation-based interventions with children to improve social/communication skills, mood, and behaviors at a pediatric outpatient clinic. A literature review was completed on the objectives listed above to determine the need of the project. The theoretical foundation of the project is the Ecology of Human Performance Model, focusing on the unique contexts of each child. Music was used in each session to reach the client and capstone goals. Improvement in children’s social skills was demonstrated by an increase in scores for the Social Profile, DAY-C, and self-created social assessment. Mood and behavior scores were observed to improve from beginning to end in 80% of the children as well. The DAY-C indicated improvement in three out of four children in the Adaptive Behavior domain and all children in the Social-Emotional domain. The project determined that music-focused occupation-based interventions in children with mood, behavior, and social/communication difficulties is beneficial.

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