Article Critique #2 KIN 3132
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University of Minnesota-Twin Cities *
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Health Science
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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Group 21: Michelle Nemech, Noah Browne, Gwen Bellomy, Ally Collins
Article Critique #2 - KIN 3132
When combined with physical therapy, music therapy helped enhance physical
performance while transforming physical therapy into a positive experience rather than a
negative one. Music helped Talia by allowing her to freely express her emotions in ways she had
never been able to before. Listening to music while performing her exercises allowed for Talia to
express feelings such as frustration and fear of movement. Besides Talia’s improved attitude
about physical therapy when combined with music, this dual intervention also allowed a
shortening of treatment time Talia experienced per week. The addition of music opened up new
therapeutic possibilities to be explored that were not possible prior to the introduction of music.
The treatment was able to ramp up in difficulty allowing Talia to do more advanced movements
such as move her hands without external support due to the dual intervention. The music
correlated to an improved ability in Talia’s communication and decision making. The skills from
therapy were clearly transferred to Talia’s classroom and home life. Because of the introduction
of music therapy, Talia has experienced improved self esteem, independence, quality of life, and
self confidence.
The main subject example in this article was a 9 year old girl named Talia who had been
diagnosed with Rett Syndrome at the age of roughly 1 and a half. Talia was also diagnosed with
mild scoliosis and suffered epileptic seizures. The main research method used to collect data was
a dual intervention plan of physiotherapy and music therapy. Talia first had evaluations done
separately by a physiotherapist and a music therapist. It was determined that providing a safe,
comfortable, and motivating environment would help with improving Talia’s concentration,
emotions, and physicality. After the initial evaluations, the dual intervention was spread out over
12 different phases. Both the physiotherapist and music therapist each had different goals that
they’d hope Talia would be able to achieve. The first and second phases included assessing
Talia’s condition and verbally preparing Talia for the treatment. By the end of phase 12, the
therapists hoped that Talia would be able to choose songs to sing based on a presented picture or
symbol. The therapists were able to work together in order to achieve separate goals. For
example, the physiotherapist would roll Talia while the music therapist describes the rolling
movement through singing. Each therapist was able to do their part with respect to their
specialties. Talia attended these treatment sessions 2 times a week for 45 minutes. The
researchers and therapists were able to evaluate the progress by advancing the difficulty
throughout each phase. Talia was able to improve on physical skills such as using her hands
without support and making communicable decisions like choosing between 2 objects or making
choices based on symbols and pictures.
The results showed that it was beneficial to do a dual intervention of physiotherapy and
music therapy for patients with Rett Syndrome. For the 9 year old patient Talia, dual intervention
was able to shorten the treatment for her condition. The treatment regime also allowed for new
therapy possibilities that were not possible before. Talia had more physical improvement with the
dual intervention which meant that she could move around more smoothly. An example of this
was during music therapy, Talia did not need an external source to help when using her hands.
Another example was that she was able to do protective extensions on a physiotherapy ball when
doing the dual intervention but was able to only do the extensions on a mattress while only doing
physiotherapy. Her communication skills also improved while doing both types of therapy. It can
be seen as improved because at the beginning of the study she was not able to choose between
objects such as honey and a lemon but she was able to choose from picture symbols after the
dual intervention treatment. This result was not just a one time phenomenon but in fact helped
her in the classroom and at home. There were significant effects that Talia showed in her
development such as having more independence, self-esteem, self-confidence, and quality of life.
This outcome has shown correlation with the rationale that initiated the need to study the effect
of dual intervention using music and physical therapy. All findings for this specific study have
been seen as significant towards the purpose therefore meaning there are no nonsignificant
findings. Using the results, the authors have made an observation that video films, food, and
animals can be great motivational factors for kids with disabilities but there was a significant
difference showing that music was the best factor.
The researchers found that music provided the best improvements in symptoms for girls
with Rett Syndrome. Often, when girls go through a physical therapy treatment with Rett
Syndrome, they can be partially or nearly full rejective to the treatment. But, when adding a
stimulus like music, it provided both physical and mental improvements. The researchers
hypothesis was met in this study. As there is not a cure for Rett Syndrome, adding music to a
physical treatment plan resulted in many improvements the researchers were hoping to observe.
This research has implications for the field of motor development as there are many benefits that
came from this study. Improvements in areas such as concentration, communication, and
physical motor skills were improved upon. There is a need for this research to be further studied
as there could be other mental and physical disabilities where symptoms could be improved with
dual intervention of physio and music therapy. Music therapy alone can help reduce muscle
tension, anxiety, and serves as a mental stimulus.
The purpose of this article was stated clearly to examine the experience of combining
music therapy with physical therapy to combat the aspects they both lack with individuals who
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experience RS. The methods used in this were studies that involved a physical therapist and a
music therapist working together. The positive atmosphere of the music was used to help aid
with the difficulty and frustration that was previously experienced through physical therapy. The
conclusion of the article was stated clearly, finding that this treatment proposed can open up
opportunities to advance treatment options for children exhibiting RS and other difficulties as
well. We think that this article is useful to the field of motor development. This article takes a
look at how to combine different types of therapy to allow for a better overall setting for the
patient to have structure and cooperation to improve their mood and in turn ability to complete
exercises. We think an obvious “hole” that this article is missing is the lack of participants who
experienced this type of treatment. In the article, they focused on one girl, Talia who has RS and
her experiences. There was also a limitation with only looking a girl and not looking with the
gender. With this, the conclusion that was made generalizes the successes of this article to be
able to be applied to other RS patients along with patients who experience other difficulties with
movement, speech, sensory, and motivation. Without evidence from a larger group of success,
these conclusions should not be made. This article connects to this course in multiple ways. The
first is through the development Talia experienced, or lack thereof that resulted in her diagnosis
of RS and other conditions. This relates to the discussion of how development milestones are
achieved at different ages, and when interrupted or not achieved result in another problem
occurring. Another way this relates to the course is the focus on the movement that RS and Talia
this is working to increase. Movement is something that takes time to learn and focus on. In
Talia’s case, as she experiences deterioration more movement needs to be implemented into her
life to help prolong the loss of these functions.
References
Lotan, M. and Elefant, C. (2004). Physiotherapy and music therapy for a girl with Rett
Syndrome.
Nordic Journal of Music Therapy.