The development of the music therapy profile of children's abilities

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive music therapy assessment tool for children (MTPCA) to determine a) whether an individual would be a potential candidate for music therapy treatment, and b) the current level of functioning through responses to music activities in the areas: cognitive, affect and temperament, social and interpersonal skills, motor skills, and music skills and interests. Seven children, classified as autistically impaired, emotionally impaired, or learning disabled from two elementary special education classes participated in this study. The MTPCA was administered individually to each subject. Interscorer reliability and external source reliability were determined for the fifty-five scaled MTPCA items. Selected items showed significant interscorer and external source correlation. The scores supported the use of the MTPCA as an effective instrument to indicate whether subjects would be potential candidates for music therapy treatment and to obtain a current level of functioning in relation to music activities for each subject.

Keyword(s): Assessment, children, special-education, functioning.

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