MUSIC THERAPY FOR ENHANCING SOCIAL SKILLS IN A NEGLECTED CHILD :
A SINGLE CASE - DESIGN

Sasipim Setsathien¹, Natee Chiengchana², Ni-on Tayrattanachai³

¹spimm.np@gmail.com

Abstract

A number of studies have shown effectiveness of music therapy interventions for enhancing social skills of all individuals regardless of age and ability level, including child abuse and neglect. This study employed the A-B-A-B design combined with the qualitative single-case design that aimed to examine the effect of music therapy on social skills of an 8-year-old neglected child. The experiment was organized as two periods including baseline without music (A) and music therapy sessions (B). The Individualized Music Therapy Assessment (IMTAP) and narrative observation form were used as research instruments to assess and collect the social behaviors of the participant. The results of participant's social skills were illustrated using the visual inspection and narrative case study.

The results demonstrated that music therapy enhanced the social skills of the neglected child efficiently. The scores of social skills in baseline sessions (A1) were lower than the scores of music therapy session (B1). After withdrawal interventions, the scores went lower apparently again in the baseline sessions (A2). However, the scores increased again after providing the music interventions in music therapy session (B2).

Keywords: MUSIC THERAPY, GROUP MUSIC THERAPY, SOCIAL SKILLS, NEGLECTED CHILD