Dr Matthew Breaden1, Mr David Anthony
1Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Matthew Breaden is a teacher, researcher, and music therapist based in Australia. His research interests include investigating how involvement and participation in music can help autistic children and adults, and how music facilitate family and community relationships in this population. Additionally, Matthew has an interest in facilitating cross-disciplinary dialogue and learning between the fields of music education and music therapy.
Dr Breaden is a Board Director of the Australian Music Therapy Association, and is past chair of the Special Music Education and Music Therapy commission of the International Society for Music Education.
Abstract:
Music therapy is a field of allied health utilising the affordances of music to address functional goals for people with a wide range of conditions. This presentation focuses on music therapy interventions with two children with childhood dementia. Both children have JNCL, a juvenile form of Batten Disease, a neurodegenerative condition affecting approximately 1 in 100,000 children in Australia. Music therapy has proven to be highly beneficial for both children, improving function, and impacting quality of life for the children and their families.
The presentation rakes the form of two interpretive case studies. Data was collected in the form of session recordings and notes, parent interviews, and therapist reflections and discussions. An inductive approach to thematic analysis allowed results to be obtained in two areas of focus: communication and quality of life.
In communication, themes identified were pacing and clarity of speech, and singing as a communication tool. In quality of life, the themes were memory, family involvement, and relationships.
The results provide evidence of the potential for music therapy to impact the lives of children with Batten Disease. They also point to a need for interdisciplinary work allowing music therapy to complement the approaches taken by other allied health professionals – particularly in the context of music providing a safe, accessible mode of communication for children and families dealing with the impacts of childhood dementia.