Resources Used 

Book Chapter

Cevasco-Trotter, A., & Wilhelm, L. (2018). Music therapy with older adults. In. Knight. A,   LaGasse. B & Clair, A (Eds.), Music therapy: An introduction to the profession (pp.373-389).  American Music Therapy Association, Inc.

Cevasco-Trotter and Wilhelm provide insight into the lives of older adults, including information about changes that occur in their lives as a result of the aging process, common treatments and professional services available, and music therapy treatment outcomes. In addition to the information presented about treatment outcomes, there are several types of common music therapy interventions listed as well and how to implement them and the intended results of the interventions. 

This chapter gives an easy to understand overview on the lives of older adults and how music therapy can be used with this population. I will use this chapter when designing my service-learning activities. The section of the chapter on common music therapy interventions is going to be helpful to refer back to. 

Ted Talk 

Lodge, A. (2019, June). POURing over your website: An introduction to digital accessibility [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/ashleigh_lodge_pouring_over_your_website_an_introduction_to_digital_accessibility

Web designer and disability self-advocate Ashleigh Lodge speaks on how to design digital resources to make them more accessible. Lodge gives her audience four ways to help guide the creation of digital content in the form of the acronym POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust). To make a resource perceivable one must take into consideration how users are able to see all of the information. Making a digital resource operable involves making sure that the links and places the user is to click are large enough and noticeable enough to be completed. To make a digital resource understandable, it is important to be aware of vocabulary throughout the resource. Finally, in order to make sure that a resource is robust, it is necessary to make sure that the digital resource will work on all devices and browsers. 

Because I am going to be designing online resources for older adults, I am going to need to make sure that my materials are accessible for this population. This TED Talk provides helpful information on how to make my digital resources accessible. 

Video Podcast

Full Transcript Available 

Smith, A. (Host). (2021, August 19). Loneliness and social isolation: Podcast with carla perissinotto and ashwin kotwal. [Video podcast episode]. In GeriPal. https://geripal.org/loneliness-and-social-isolation-podcast-with-carla-perissinotto-and-ashwin-kotwal/#transcript

GeriPal is a geriatrics and palliative care podcast, and the topic of this particular podcast was loneliness and social isolation and how that is impacting older adults. The podcast hosts present data on social isolation and how that is affecting the health and well-being of this population. Because the hosts are all in the medical field, there is substantial conversation on how to help the physical and mental side effects of social isolation. There is also discussion on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted older adults and the nuances surrounding ageism in our society. 

My main goal for my service-learning project is to help combat the effects of social isolation and help to promote social engagement amongst older adults in rural central Illinois. This podcast is going to be a helpful resource to refer back to in order to ensure that my activities I plan align with the needs of the older adults as determined by healthcare professionals.