Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT)

Adults diagnosed with severe Aphasia & Apraxia can utilize singing to improve their expressive language skills (Sutton, 2021).

Through a study regarding the effectiveness of Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) on adults with Aphasia, Crutchfield and Jeske determined that MIT is effective in improving a client’s cognitive language skills, naming, and repetition (Crutchfield & Jeske, 2016).

Potential Goal: By December 2023, the client will sing complete sentences with an appropriate word at 80% accuracy given frequent maximum verbal and frequent maximum phonemic cues as measured by SLP data tracking. 

Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) is used to engage the right hemisphere that is usually undamaged for clients with Aphasia or Apraxia (Sutton, 2021). Implementing a melodic prosody along with slowing down articulation helps the client’s brain depend more on the right hemisphere than the left which allows them to better communicate expressively (Sutton, 2021).

Materials Needed: Phrases for stimuli that should be less than four syllables long and then up to five syllables over time. The stimuli should be personalized to something the client would say in everyday life (Sutton, 2021). Melodic patterns consisting of two to four musical notes should be used as well (Sutton, 2021).

How to:

Step 1: Humming: Have the client listen while the clinician hums the targeted phrase, then have the client rehearse it in their head.

Step 2: Unison Intoning: Have the client join in unison while repeating the targeted phrase and incorporating hand-tapping with their left hand. 

Step 3: Unison Intoning with Fading: Continue step 2 but fade clinician participation while continuing the hand-tapping. 

Step 4: Immediate Repetition: Have the client listen then have them repeat the target alone. The client can give a phonemic cue if needed. 

Step 5: Response to a Question: Intone a probe question and have the client answer by intoning and tapping if needed. 

Data Tracking: Data can be tracked by making note of each successful attempt at each step and noting which words/sounds the client had trouble producing. 

Resources:

Sutton, M. (2021, October 30). Melodic intonation therapy (MIT) for aphasia & apraxia: A 'how to' guide. Tactus Therapy. Retrieved December
18, 2022, from https://tactustherapy.com/mit-melodic-intonation-therapy-how-to/ 

Crutchfield, R., & Jeske, A. (2016, December 16). The effectiveness of melodic intonation therapy on English speaking adults with expressive
aphasia. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-effectiveness-of-melodic-intonation therapy-on
english-speaking-adults-with-expressive-aphasia-2375-4427-1000167.pdf

Resource Shop Melodic Intonation Therapy: A How To Guide . (n.d.). Melodic intonation therapy: A how-to guide. Neuro Speech Solutions.
Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.neurospeechsolutions.com/shop/p/melodic-intonation-therapy-guide