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Melodic-Based Communication Therapy (MBCT) was developed by Givona A. Sandiford, based on the evidence that shows that children with autism often preserve their musical abilities (Altgassen et al. 2005; Brenton et al. 2008; Heaton 2009; Molnar-Szakacs and Heaton 2012; Lai et al. 2012; Oimet et al. 2012). MBCT proposes to make use of the presumed musical strengths of the child with autism in order to increase verbal output. It utilizes standard melody for each target word. Each melody is specific to its target word. Pre-recorded melodies are used in combination with rhythmic clapping by the clinician and the child. Clapping has been found to be a more significant cortical activator than sequential finger movement and grasp release movements (Kim et al. 2011). Clapping also significantly improves syllable production of words in children with learning disabilities (Sandiford et al. 2013)
10 Steps to MCBT
Choose 3 strong rewards and target words.
Listen to the assigned melody (each word has an assigned melody), point to the picture, clap, and sing the word 3x.
Take the child's hands and yours and clap and sing the word 3x.
Immediately give the child the reward and give praise with enthusiasm
Remove your hands, point to the word, and sing it 3x
if the child attempts to clap give the reward
if child does not attempt to clap go back to previous step, don't give the reward
Stop the clapping, point to the word and sing it 3x without clapping. You want the child to clap without you.
if child attempts to clap, give them the reward
Sing the word again 3x, no clapping. Watch the child's mouth, if there is any attempt to make a sound provide the reward.
Continue singing the word until you are singing in unison.
Point to the word and sing it 3x (the goal is for the child to repeat after you)
if the child repeats the word, provide the reward
if the child doesn't repeat the word, go back to previous step
if the child gets frustrated at any point move the next target word and begin from step 1
The next step is to sing "what is this (target word)?" 2x and on the third time sing "what is this (child fills in the word)?"
reward for any attempt
After the child responds to singing, switch to speaking the phrase from the previous step, "what is this (target word)?" 2x and on the third time speak "what is this (child fills in the word)?"
The following video demonstrates the 10 steps.
This video demonstrates an SLP implementing MCBT
Prompt Hierarchy
No Prompt (Independent or only needed wait time)
Verbal Prompt (Say, "My name is..."
Visual Prompt (Model actions)
Physical Prompt (Hand over hand)
Listed Therapy Materials
List of 25 high-frequency words
25 pictures to represent target words
MBCT level 1 app
Example Treatment Goal
By 11/21/2023, using a scripted phrase with MBCT the student will speak in a 3-4 word phrase (e.g., state name, make a request, or greet) with a familiar communication partner, given modeling or verbal prompts as needed in 4 of 5 opportunities across three consecutive trials as measured by observation record.
Materials: Data Tracking Sheet by SpeechyMusings from TeachersPayTeachers
Speech-Language Therapy Data Collection Sheet
Date
Goal
Correct/Incorrect Responses (+/-)
Prompt Type Listed
20 Trials per Goal
References
Altgassen, M., Kliegel, M., & Williams, T. (2005). Pitch perception in children with autistic spectrum disorders. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 23(4), 543–558.
Brenton, J. N., Devries, S. P., Barton, C., Minnich, H., & Sokol, D. K. (2008). Absolute pitch in a four-year-old boy with autism. Pediatric Neurology, 39(2), 137–138.
Heaton, P. (2009). Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 364(1522), 1443–1447.
Kim, M. J., Hong, J. H., & Jang, S. H. (2011). The cortical effect of clapping on the human brain: A functional MRI study. NeuroRehabilitation, 28(2), 75–79.
Lai, G., Pantazatos, S. P., Schneider, H., & Hirsch, J. (2012). Neural systems for speech and song in autism. Brain, 135(Pt.3), 961–975.
Molnar-Szakacs, I., & Heaton, P. (2012). Muic: A unique window into the world of autism. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1252(1), 318–324.
Oimet, T., Foster, N. E., Tryfon, A., & Hyde, K. L. (2012). Auditory-musical processing in autism spectrum disorders: A review of behavioral and brain imaging studies. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1252, 325–331.
SpeechyMusings. (n.d.). Login: Teachers pay teachers. Retrieved December 21, 2022, from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/Speech-and-Language-Therapy-Data-Collection-Sheet-Freebie-2125576
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