Silent sounding: Communicability, musicality, and the use of music with nonspeaking individuals with cerebral palsies and multiple disabilities

ABSTRACT

Introduction

This study explores the intersubjective potentials of nonspeaking young individuals with the more severe forms of cerebral palsy through their musicality and appropriation of music. Here, these forms are called cerebral palsies and multiple disabilities (CPMD).

Method

A pluralistic research approach, specifically a combined qualitative approach was applied due to the sensitive and unexplored population. The philosophical framework was IPA, suitable for studying unique persons or phenomena in given contexts. A three-interview series was applied. First, the communicability, musicality, and the musicking of six individuals with (CPMD) were studied through two semi-structured life world interviews with their parents: five Israeli women and one man, religious and non-religious Jews in their 40s. Musical home videos were viewed during every second interview. Grounded theory (GT) coding took place with the transcribed interviews and the researcher’s journal. GT was not aimed to generate theory, but gain an additional perspective and thicker data. Subsequently, the GT findings were discussed with the parents through a third interview, and the results were finalized with IPA analysis.

Findings

Three superordinate themes emerged in relation to the musicality, appropriation of music in everyday life, and the parents’ low awareness of their children’s potentials.

Discussion

Parental-professional collaboration and a consumer-led approach are recommended in order to improve the parents’ low awareness of their children’s potentials, and to encourage more aware use of music’s affordances. The study’s limitations are discussed and future directions suggested.

KEYWORDS:

• Cerebral palsy
• disability rights
• musicality
• music
• professional-parental collaboration

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Notes

¹ The first author has family members with cerebral palsies.

² Our perspective on disability is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (UN General Assembly, 2006), asserting that cultural beliefs and state policies are central to people’s ability and freedom to participate.

³ Informed by ideas of the ICF-CY (World Health Organization, 2007), critical disability studies (e.g. Goodley, 2013), and the neurodiversity movement (Singer, 2016).

⁴ With this term, we refer to Small’s (1998) definition of the appropriation of music.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Notes on contributors

Efrat Roginsky

Efrat Roginsky is a certified music therapist, a supervisor and lecturer at the School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, Israel. She is also the regional coordinator at the Israeli Board of Education. Her professional focus: nonspeaking users, neurological diversity, music-therapy in education and community music therapy.

Cochavit Elefant

Cochavit Elefant is a music therapist and  Director of the Graduate School of Creative Arts Therapies, School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, Israel. Her research focuses on music therapy with children with autism, disability, mental health and community music therapy