ENN researchers have been working diligently to find meaningful answers to clinically relevant need areas in the early childhood population. A variety of studies have, or are currently being conducted and expected to be published within the next year.
- Detmer, along with his team of music therapy research assistants and a NICU pharmacist recently completed a groundbreaking clinical trial using the Pacifier Activated Lullaby with infants who were exposed to drugs in-utero. Preliminary findings reveal the experimental infants were less symptomatic and required less medication, which is consistent with the first music therapy with NAS study.
- Detmer and Petra Kern, Ph.D., MT-BC, MTA, DMTG are in manuscript preparation with their co-authors, a director of an early childhood program and a health and sport sciences professor, for their innovative intergenerational music therapy study involving 3-4 year old children and older adults. Multiple positive outcomes were found related to physical activity, literacy, intergenerational interactions, and perceptions of the program. Stay tuned for the publication coming soon, but in the meantime, check out this article on how to implement a successful intergenerational program.
- A group of Neonatal practitioners and researchers led by NICU Music Therapist, Michael Detmer, recently completed what is believed to be the first longitudinal NICU-MT study, exploring the effect of a neurodevelopment-focused music therapy intervention on post-discharge development outcomes. Preliminary findings are positive and suggest NICU-MT protocols, such as Multimodal Neurologic Enhancement, not only have the ability to improve infant behavior state and their tolerance to stimulation while in the NICU, but may facilitate improved long-term developmental skills seen as early as three months after discharge from the NICU.
Stay tuned for the latest research updates from ENN.