Publication date: Jan 01, 2025

During the COVID-19 pandemic we implemented a partially online music intervention to examine the feasibility, experiences and short-term outcomes on the challenging behaviour and well-being of adults with intellectual disabilities. This mixed-methods study included 10 participants with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities who received 16 one-hour individual music sessions in 10 weeks, either face-to-face or online. Data on feasibility and experiences from participants and music workers were collected and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Challenging behaviour and well-being were measured before and after intervention. Overall experiences were positive and concerned appreciation, positive feelings, musical abilities, attention span, relatedness and personalisation. Online experiences varied, but most participants preferred face-to-face over online sessions. After the intervention, challenging behaviour scores were better than before. Engaging in a partially online music intervention is feasible for people with intellectual disabilities and seems to improve challenging behaviour. Experiences are discussed and recommendations for future online sessions are provided.

Semantics

Original Article