Music Therapy and the IEP Process

This article describes the development of a music therapy assessment form for use with hospitalized children. Assessment is an important aspect of the music therapy process because it helps the therapist to identify patient needs, communicates to other parties the rationale for music therapy treatment, and guides the choice of objectives and the on-going evaluation of treatment benefits. The steps taken to develop the assessment tool are described, including determining the needs of the target population, examining existing assessment tools used by music therapy professionals, determining format and content, piloting the form with patients and revising initial drafts based on feedback, and determining the validity and reliability of the form.