Music is a pervasive presence in life, so much so that conceptualizing ways to integrate music into the lives of individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication or into one's clinical practice can be overwhelming.
This paper reviews a framework for conceptualizing musical involvement based on the distinctions of appreciation, recreation, and creation of music. In terms of integration into the therapeutic process, music therapy is explored as a discipline. Some of the barriers music therapists have noted in collaborating with speech language pathologists are discussed along with potential proposed solutions.
Finally 4 case studies are presented to outline ways in which music therapists and AAC specialists can collaborate with children with complex communication needs.
