Date of Award

7-22-1996

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Myrna Olson

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic aspects of music and its effect upon a child with selective mutism. Selectively mute children are able to speak, but for a variety of reasons, refuse to do so. Music was viewed as a potentially non-threatening intervention appropriate for a child with a diagnosis of selective mutism. A qualitative case study design was chosen for the purpose of this study.One eight year old female child with selective mutism was selected as the subject for this study. Music interventions were conducted on school grounds and sessions utilized various musical activities. A variety of sources were used for data collection. These were transcripts of informants' interviews, observations from videotaped sessions, research data sheets, parent/teacher questionnaires, client self-report sheets, and field and journal notes.Results of the study indicated that musical interventions had an effect on the selectively mute child's willingness and ability to communicate in a number of verbal and non-verbal ways. From research questions answered and themes that emerged, the following conclusions were drawn: musical interventions were perceived as enjoyable by the child, encouraging non-verbal and verbal communication; communication increased as the child/researcher relationship developed; the child demonstrated a preference for certain musical activities (e.g., drumming to polka music) over others (e.g., singing); selective mutism appeared to increase and/or decrease across settings, being influenced by family stress and/or the child's perceived need to control her environment; affect was influenced by musical interventions, promoting positive feelings; and finally, it must be noted that the child demonstrated through various behaviors that she was aware of the videocamera, possibly inhibiting her somewhat.The study resulted in recommendations made concerning three general areas. Future research studies, generalizability to the classroom, and generalizability to the home were discussed and suggestions were presented.

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