Abstract
Music is motivational, accessible and engaging for individuals with learning disabilities. Several systematic reviews have addressed the effects of music activity on people with learning disabilities; however, none has specifically reviewed the use of musical activity with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
This review aimed to: 1. identify peer-reviewed studies and describe the characteristics of evidence-based musical activity used with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and 2. evaluate and analyse the effectiveness of these music-based interventions and identify gaps within current research. A systematic search was conducted in April 2021 identifying seven peer-reviewed studies which included music-based interventions with at least one person with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
Findings reveal the interventions varied in their frequency, duration and content. The outcome of most (n=6) interventions documented the development of the participants’ social skillset. Interventions were predominantly (n=6) implemented by facilitators with musical expertise. The diverse and novel nature of the reviewed studies highlights a need to expand and enhance research with this population.
This review aimed to: 1. identify peer-reviewed studies and describe the characteristics of evidence-based musical activity used with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and 2. evaluate and analyse the effectiveness of these music-based interventions and identify gaps within current research. A systematic search was conducted in April 2021 identifying seven peer-reviewed studies which included music-based interventions with at least one person with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
Findings reveal the interventions varied in their frequency, duration and content. The outcome of most (n=6) interventions documented the development of the participants’ social skillset. Interventions were predominantly (n=6) implemented by facilitators with musical expertise. The diverse and novel nature of the reviewed studies highlights a need to expand and enhance research with this population.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Intellectual Disability |
Early online date | 29 Apr 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 29 Apr 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ES/P000711/1)
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
Keywords
- interventions
- music
- profound intellectual/learning disabilities
- review