Music Therapy Application

Music Therapy Application

Nicolas ArnoldAoife Clarke Aoife Deegan

Down Syndrome • Down syndrome is the most common cause of a learning

disability.

• A genetic condition, Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder affecting one in every 546 births in Ireland.

• People with Down syndrome have an additional number 21 chromosome, so their chromosomal count is 47 instead of the usual 46.

Down Syndrome and Music Therapy

• Music therapy has been used in the past four decades as a treatment for children with disabilities (Nordoff & Robbins, 2007; Wigram, Pederson & Bonde, 2002)

• Wigram et al. 2002 Reports that children with Down Syndrome seem specifically responsive to music and show potential to be part of group who are making music.

• Some children respond naturally to music (Sunder, 2002)

• Research demonstrates the effectiveness of music to enhance literacy and memory skills.

• Selected verbal language and speech skills are enhanced through musical activities.

Everyday Difficulties • Down Syndrome children have distinct mental difficulties

which hinder them in everyday life

1. cognitive 2. speech/ communication 3. motor skills 4. social

• A limited verbal short-term memory affects the child’s ability to process, understand and assimilate spoken language long enough to respond to it.

• Acting out can sometimes be a child’s only means of communication, given his/her limitations in speech and language.

• Occasionally, a child with Down syndrome will misbehave due to anger or frustration.

• A child with Down syndrome may experience difficulties understanding the concept of staying within boundaries and obeying by rules.

Product Research• Proloquo2Go (AAC)

• Virtuoso Piano (App)

• iPrompts (App)

Proloquo2Go• Designed for people with speech difficulties or those who cannot

speak at all

• Literacy Levels

• Multi-user support

• Over 14,000 symbols

• Features many different voices and accents

Virtuoso Piano App• App designed to teach people how to play the piano

• Features different kinds of pianos to practice on

• Can purchase upgrades for other instruments and songs

• Keys are colour labeled

• Supports Airplay

iPrompts App• Scheduling app designed for children special needs

• Created by parents of a boy with Autism

• Uses visual prompts to transition children from one activity to another

• Caregivers can save their own images from the internet etc.

Technical Feasibility • Similar Apps already exist

• Our app is designed for tablet computers particularly the iPad

• iPad has larger screen than iPhones

• iPad has better graphics and processing power

• iPad is easier to handle

Psychology Research• Studies on children with down syndrome have found that, in

the early stages of their development, many are slightly behind normally developing children in relation to learning ability (Cuskelly, Jobling & Buckley, 2008)

• Despite this researchers found that they also actively avoid learning in comparison to normally developing children

• In comparison to people who suffer from other intellectual disabilities, people with down syndrome have particular difficulty performing tasks involving the perception, organisation and production of verbal material.

• Studies have also shown that people with down syndrome have either a left ear/ right hemisphere superiority for speech perception. Whereas typically developing people display a right ear/ left hemisphere superiority.

• It was put forward that people with down syndrome were processing sequential language material with a processing system (right cerebral cortex) that that was not optimal for managing that type of information.

• Also it was found that people with down syndrome perceive speech with their right hemisphere but rely on their left hemisphere for the organisation and control of movement.

• Further studies showed that people with down syndrome scored equally well on a simple limb and oral movement test, in comparison to people without down syndrome but suffered from other intellectual challenges, when the instructions were given through physical or picture demonstration. But the down syndrome group faired significantly worse in the tests when the instructions were given verbally.

• The number of errors also increased as the number of elements in the movement sequence increased.

• A follow-up study also found that individuals who had the strongest left ear/ right hemisphere superiority for speech perception also exhibited the greatest difficulty in with this type of verbal-motor task

Sample User ProfileName- Laura Murphy Age- 11 Gender- FemaleOccupation- Primary school student Goals- To progress into a main steam

secondary school. To become a teacher.

To meet Justin Bieber Favourite Justin Bieber, One Direction Music/artist

• A day in the life- Laura awakes at 7 every morning dresses in the clothes her mother lays out and continues downstairs to have her breakfast. Being lactose intolerant, Laura has toast and peanut butter. Following her routine she makes sure her lunch is in her bag and all her school books are packed. With her sisters she is dropped to school. Whilst there she works with her assistant on her adjusted curriculum. Using alternative learning methods she gets her work done. After school she attends homework club where teachers help her with her homework. Laura finds concentrating difficult and often forgets her school books needed for her work. Collected by her dad, she returns home where she is allowed play with her siblings until dinner is ready. After dinner her mum goes over her spellings and as a reward she is allowed play the Wii. At half 9 after showering Laura goes to bed.

Our Research• To gather information on children with Down Syndrome and

their reaction to music we sent a questionnaire to people who are in constant contact with sufferers.

• From the research, we hoped to gain information on the child's memory, their reaction to music, colour and the type of music they like.

Survey • 6 male participants, 9 female participants• 15 is the average age• All participants have an interest in music and listen to it daily• 9/15 enjoy pop music• All of the participants react to the music, 9/15 dance, all

happy/excited• 11/15 participants are reported to have better long term

memory• 12/15 like bright colours, 4/15 like red, 4/15 like pink• 13/14 like computer games• 11/14 play regularly

Participant no.

gender age interest How often

type Reaction to music

1 m 10 yes daily Soft, chart Happy, too loud=uncomf.

2 f 22 yes daily pop Happy and calm3 m 21 yes daily everything Swings toy to the beat4 f 17 yes daily musicals Sings/dances

along ,excited5 f 16 yes daily pop Excited/happy,

sing/dances6 m 16 yes daily chart Good mood and

dances7 f 16 yes daily pop Happy, energetic8 f 16 yes daily westlife Excited, dances9 f 12 yes daily One

DirectionSings along

10 m 7 yes daily Barney, hsm

Starts to dance

11 f 15 yes daily Justin Bieber

Swings her arms and dances

12 m 16 yes daily Hip hop Bobbing head to beat, happy

13 f 9 yes daily pop Jumps around happy14 f 10 yes daily pop happy15 m 21 yes daily karonas Sings along

Music

Participant no.

Gender 

Age Stm vs.ltm

Fav colour/ bright colours?

1 m 10 short Yellow/red, yes.2 f 22 long Pink,yes3 m 21 long Black,no4 f 17 Long No fav, no5 f 16 long Purple, yes6 m 16 long Red, yes7 f 16 Equal Pink, yes

8 f 16 Don’t know Pink/purple, yes9 f 12 long Don’t know, yes10 m 7 Don’t know Red, yes11 f 15 long Pink, yes12 m 16 long Red, no pref.13 f 9 long Yellow, yes14 f 10 long Blue, yes15 m 21 long Blue, yes

Memory/ Colour

Participant no.

Gender age Like/dislike What type How often?

1 m 10 like Ipad, angry birds

daily

2 f 22 like wii Once a week3 m 21 dislike - -4 f 17 like puzzles Often enough5 f 16 like Temple run All the time6 m 16 dislike -  7 f 16 dislike -  8 f 16 like Wii fit 3 times a week9 f 12 like nintendo everyday10 m 7 like wii At night11 f 15 like xbox Twice a week12 m 16 like nintendo Every night13 f 9 like Angry birds regularly14 f 10 like Ipad sometimes15 m 21 like Fruit ninja daily

Computer Games

Computer Games

likedislike

Fig 1.1 13/15 participants like playing computer games

Memory

STM LTM Don't know Equal0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Fig 1.2 11/15 participants have a better Long Term Memory

The Game• Developing an application to help those who have Down Syndrome.

• Using music therapy the application aims increase their memory.

• Colour, sounds and different levels to entice the user to continue to play.

• The game will be based on sequences and sounds.

• The player will be asked to repeat the sequence, thus testing their memory and concentration.

• As the user progresses the sequence will get harder and faster.

• To attract the child to keep playing the game different and harder levels will become available.

• This will test their memory even further and also help their motor skills.

• We will use different instruments in different levels. This will expose the player to different sounds.

• Bonus games such as sing a long songs are available to help their speech and language as research has shown they have poor speech and communications skills.

• Although our application is aimed to benefit those with Down Syndrome, it can also be used by any individual even the visually impaired and deaf.

• A tap to the beat version can also be played

• Song options can feature their favourite artists, unlock song to get to the next level

Interface Accessibility & Design

• Features tap function for users with sight difficulties

• Picture sequence used to for instructions as opposed to verbal commands

• Use of bright colours to keep attention

• Reward system based on new songs to encourage continued use

• Keep design simple

Sketch