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How musical engagement promotes well-being in education contexts: The case of a young man with profound and multiple disabilities

MCFERRAN, Katrina S
SHOEMARK, Helen
2013

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Students with profound intellectual disabilities disorders (IDDs) have the right to participate in educational opportunities that recognize their unique resources and needs, as do all children. Because of their specific communication challenges, positive relationships with attentive communication partners are critical for success. In fact, the power of positive relationships in schools is recognized to be connected to student well-being more broadly. This article examines the case of one young man with profound IDD and his relationship with his music therapist using a duo-ethnographic informed paradigmatic case study. Video analysis based on multi-voice perspectives is used to generate hermeneutic phenome- nological findings to closely examine the relationship between a young man with profound IDD and a music therapist. The voices of four allied health researchers were also gathered to inform the authors’ construction of an informed commentary on the phenomenon. The results suggest that the essence lay in a combination of attentive, responsive and creative being with the other person over time. Four principles of musical engagement were identified in the video footage as critical to the meaningful relationships through music: the music therapist listens; the music therapist takes responsibility for structure; spontaneous initiation is sought from the young person; and the relationship is built over time. These concepts are contextualized within a discussion of student well-being that is underpinned by positive relationships and leads to students achieving their full potential within diverse school contexts.

Problem Behaviour and Academic Grade Level Performance of Adjudicated Children with Juvenile Delinquency

VENKATESAN, S
SWARNALATHA, G
2013

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Purpose: This paper attempted to profile the contemporary grade level academic performance as well as the frequency, spread and intensity of problem behaviour in relation to a few associated variables, of children adjudged as juvenile delinquents in India.

 

Method: A cross-sectional exploratory survey design was employed, with randomised convenience sampling of 66 inmates, between 9 and 18 years of age, from two representative Observation Homes. To ascertain their current grade levels, a criterion referenced ‘Grade Level Assessment Protocol’ was prepared exclusively for this study. Another standardised ‘Behaviour Assessment Scale for Indian Children with Mental Retardation, Part B’ was used to profile their problem behaviour.

 

Results: The contemporary academic performance results satisfy the conventional two-grade discrepancy criteria, usually postulated for identifying children with learning disabilities. Among the associated variables examined in this study, inmates who were booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code showed significantly greater academic grade discrepancy compared to the other children. Similarly, poorer academic performance, greater grade discrepancy, as well as higher frequency, spread and intensity of reported problem behaviour were found among children from intact family backgrounds, where parents were illiterates or educated below primary school level, and more among boys than girls, and among those in the 10-12 year age group.

 

Conclusions: While these are tentative findings, they call attention to the need for extensive research on the possible links between academic performance, under achievement and learning disabilities, and juvenile delinquency in this country.

Music as the Means to Stimulate Novelty and Challenge Seeking in Persons with Intellectual Disability

SOLTANI, A
ROSLAN, S
ABDULLAH, M C
JAN, C C
2013

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Purpose: The main aim of the study was to determine whether challenge seeking behaviour could be increased by stimulating persons with intellectual disability with music. The intention was also to evaluate whether the participants would attempt to seek challenges when they felt bored with a music experience.

 

Method: Thirty adolescents and young adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability were randomly selected to take part in a repeated-measure experimental design, under three different conditions. In the first condition, the participants were provided adequate challenges through teaching fundamental musical skills. In the second condition, no optimal challenge was provided, and in the third condition, using special strategies, the participants were stimulated to look for novelty and challenge through involvement in creative musical tasks. Level of innovation, as an index of challenge seeking, was measured during the 8 minutes of free choice interval at the end of each condition.

 

Results: Using Friedman’s ANOVA and Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the findings showed that the low and statistically similar levels of challenge seeking behaviour in conditions 1 and 2 significantly increased to a high level in condition 3. It confirmed that participants with intellectual disability are capable of demonstrating challenge seeking behaviour if they are stimulated to do so. The results also confirmed that the tendency to demonstrate challenge seeking behaviour during a boring musical situation was low.

A Framework for Healthcare Provision to Children with Intellectual Disability

NUJUM, Z T
ANILKUMAR, T
VIJAYAKUMAR, K
ANISH, T
MOOSAN, H
2013

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Purpose: The Kudumbashree mission, an initiative of the Government of Kerala state in India, has collaborated with Local Self Governments to set up ‘Buds’, a special school system for individuals with intellectual disability. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the structure and functioning of ‘Buds’ schools, to identify the healthcare needs of the students, and to conceptualise a framework for healthcare provision.

 

Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 202 children at 11 registered ‘Buds’ schools in Kerala. A multidisciplinary team consisting of a psychiatrist, public health personnel and a social worker from the Medical Colleges of Kerala, visited the institutions. Data collection consisted of abstraction from medical records, interviews with parents, and clinical assessment and prescription of intervention by the specialists concerned. A pre-tested semi- structured questionnaire was used for every child. Using both quantitative and qualitative techniques, the public health personnel in the team evaluated the structure and functioning of the schools.

 

Results: The most commonly associated condition was epilepsy, seen in 11.9% of the children, while 28.2% had behavioural problems. The medicines needed were mainly anti-epileptics and drugs for behavioural problems. Interventions for self help and social skill training were also among the important requirements. The infrastructure and other facilities were poor in many schools, with the average student to teacher ratio at 14:1. While these institutions were well utilised, functioning was good only in 27.2% of the schools. Healthcare services and visits by healthcare personnel were far from adequate. This study proposes a framework in which the Medical Colleges and Health Services can function together to deliver healthcare services to children at these schools, with linkages from the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP).

 

Conclusion and Recommendation: Evidence that these schools are well utilised indicates a need to propagate this initiative in other areas of the state, country and other countries. However, improvements in infrastructure, human resources and other logistics are required. Besides, the healthcare needs of these children have to be addressed. A comprehensive healthcare programme through the existing system, using a multidisciplinary approach, needs to be developed.

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