Cognitive and Affective Processes in Music Therapy with Individuals with Developmental Delays: A Preliminary Model for Contemporary Nordoff-Robbins Practice

Abstract

Research on contemporary Nordoff-Robbins clinical practice suggests that developmentally-disabled children exhibit a wide range of musical and expressive skills, from the ability to beat a melodic rhythm on a drum to being able to transform an habitual, pathological stance to the outside world through musical interaction. This article incorporates M. L. Serafine's (1988) cognitive theory of music to support the notion that these skills, rather than learned in a rote manner, indicate instead the presence of highly developed cognitive capacities. A 4-tiered model is presented in which these skills are organized according to the particular psychological domain for which they are most relevant. The proposed model integrates work in developmental therapy with areas of intervention that are more characteristic of music psychotherapy. Clinical examples of 2 autistic, severely developmentally-disabled, yet musically gifted children are offered to illustrate the underlying processes discussed in the model.