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Music Therapy
Today
WFMT online journal
Volume 14, No. 1

Music Therapy Today publishes ar%cles that are related to music therapy
educa%on, prac%ce, and research. Categories may include, but are not li-
mited to Editorials, Presiden%al Notes, Posi%on Statements, Curriculum
Reports, Clinical Case Studies, Research Reports, Service Projects, World
Congresses Proceedings, Interviews, Book Reviews, and Online Resources.

2018 WFMT. All rights reserved. ISSN: 1610-191X

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Implementing a Song as a Reward for
MUSICTHERAPYTODAY, Volume 14, No. 1, 2018
Transition from FreeAPlay Time to a
Group Activity
Kumi Sato
Shigeki Sonoyama
Abstract
Even though there are substantial numbers
of studies investigating transition strategies,
there is still an interest in and the need for
research on transition due to its frequent oc-
currence in everyday life. Research suggests
implementation of music as a prompt effec-
tive to promote smooth transitions; how-
ever, the effect of music implemented as a
reward has not been discussed yet. Since re-
wards are used as commonly as prompts in
educational settings, the current study exam-
ined the effect of a song as a reward for
younger children with developmental disabi-
lities during transitions, in comparison with
the effect of a song as a prompt. The parti-
cipants were three children at the age of 3 or
4, who required support to initiate and com-
plete transitions, especially from free-play
time to a group activity. The result indicates
two of the participants initiated the transi-
tion faster when the song was implemented
as a prompt (Intervention A), whereas the
time they took after initiation of the transi-
tion was reduced when the song was imple-
mented as a reward (Intervention B). For the
other participant, implementing the song as
a reward was effective to decrease the time
needed for initiating and completing the
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Resumen
A pesar de que hay un número considerable
de estudios que investigan estrategias de tran-
sición, todavía existe un interés y la necesidad
de investigar sobre la transición debido a su
frecuente ocurrencia en la vida cotidiana. Los
estudios existentes sobre este tema sugieren
la implementación de la música como un
medio eficaz para promover transiciones sin
problemas; sin embargo, el efecto de la mú-
sica implementada como recompensa no se
ha discutido aún. Debido a que las recompen-
sas se utilizan con tanta frecuencia como pau-
tas en entornos educativos, el estudio actual
comparó el efecto de una canción como re-
compensa para niños con trastornos del desa-
rrollo durante las transiciones, con el efecto de
una canción como aviso. Los participantes
eran tres niños con edades de 3 ó 4 años, que
requerían apoyo para iniciar y completar las
transiciones, especialmente del tiempo de
juego libre a una actividad grupal. El resultado
indica que dos de los participantes iniciaron la
transición más rápidamente cuando la can-
ción se implementó como aviso (Intervención
A), mientras que el tiempo que tomaron des-
pués del inicio de la transición se redujo
cuando la canción se implementó como re-
compensa (Intervención B). Para el otro par-
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transition. The effect of these interventions
MUSICTHERAPYTODAY, Volume 14, No. 1, 2018
on their independence during the transition
will be discussed also.
Keywords: song, reward, transitions, children
with developmental disabilities, single-sub-
ject research design
Implementing a song as a reward for transi-
tion from free-play time to a group activity as
interest in and needs of therapeutic use of
music is growing in the area of education, re-
searchers have investigated its effect to teach
children, especially individuals with disabili-
ties who need special support. Since learning
in a similar environment, which children with-
out disabilities have, is one of the general
goals for children with disabilities, research in
music therapy has shown how music can as-
sist them acquiring necessary or expected
skills (Katagiri, 2009; De Mers, Tincani, Van
Norman, & Higgins, 2009; Register, Darrow,
Standley, & Swedberg, 2007). Some studies
were conducted in a school or home setting
so that the participants can maintain the skills
after termination of the music therapy inter-
vention without additional training (Kern,
Wakeford, & Aldridge, 2007; Kern, Wolery, &
Aldridge, 2007; Pasiali, 2004; Register &
Humpal, 2007). Music was used to deliver a
cue or create a structure in these studies; in
other word, music was provided to promote
specific behaviors before the target behaviors
occur.
In practical educational settings, however, re-
wards are selected and offered as much as
prompts, depending on social context and
environmental conditions, to enhance appro-
priate behaviors of children. Therefore, ha-
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ticipante, la implementación de la canción
como recompensa fue efectiva para disminuir
el tiempo necesario para iniciar y completar la
transición. También se discutirá el efecto de
estas intervenciones en su nivel de indepen-
dencia durante la transición.
Palabras clave: canción, recompensa, transi-
ciones, niños con discapacidades del desarrollo.
ving a larger selection of alternative rewards
would be beneficial for practitioners because
they can attempt to find which type of re-
wards is suitable for the child and provide the
best support. Contrary to importance and
popularity of rewards in educational settings
(Hoffmann, Huff, Patterson, & Nietfeld, 2009),
research on use of music as a reward is limited
in music therapy literature. Lim (2010) stated
that music stimuli worked as both a prompt
and an automatic reward, but the function
of music as a reward was not directly exa-
mined in this study. Although research has
explored effective use of music as a prompt,
potential effect of music as a reward has not
investigated yet.
Research on effective strategies incorpora-
ting rewards is needed in other area of dis-
ciplines also. Sterling-Turner and Jordan
(2007) conducted a literature review of re-
search on interventions to support transi-
tions in individuals with autism, and they
pointed out most of the available studies exa-
mined interventions using some kinds of
prompts including verbal prompts/audio
cues, visual support, and video priming.
They argued the need for further studies in-
vestigating consequent components in tran-
sitions. Even though there is a substantial
number of empirical studies about promo-
ting smooth transitions, interest in research
49

associated with transitions is ongoing due to
MUSICTHERAPYTODAY, Volume 14, No. 1, 2018
its frequent occu-rrence in daily life and the
likelihood that children with disabilities find
it challenging.
A few studies about the effect of rewards in
transition times include the research con-
ducted by Waters, Lerman, and Hovanetz
(2009). The participants were two 6-year
old boys diagnosed with autism, and they
had difficulty terminating a preferred activ-
ity and initiating a non-preferred activity.
The results indicate that a visual schedule,
which is a commonly used prompt, would
not be effective by itself, and it should be
combined with appropriate rewards and
limited access to preferred activities, that
is extinction. Cote, Thompson, and McKer-
char (2005) provided three typically deve-
loping toddlers with interventions for tran-
sitioning from the play area to the toileting
area. They found that the participants’
compliance increased if access to preferred
activities was not allowed after the initial
instruction; moreover, the effect was even
more significant when a reward (e.g. a toy
to carry with) was delivered with the ex-
tinction procedure, compared to when a
verbal warning was given 2 minutes prior
to a transition. Hanley, Tiger, and Ingvarsson
(2009) investigated strategies to increase
preschoolers’ selection of non-preferred
but academically important activities during
free-play time. Although their research was
not conducted in scheduled transitions,
they encouraged the participants to transi-
tion from a preferred activity to a non-pre-
ferred activity in the free-play period. The
results revealed embedded reinforcement,
such as decorating the activity area with
popular children’s cartoon characters, in-
creased and maintained the participants’
engagement in originally non-preferred ac-
tivities.
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The effect of music in promoting smooth
transitions has been examined also (Gad-
berry, 2011; Register & Humpal, 2007). The
results of these studies demonstrated musi-
cal interventions decreased transition times
as well as increased independence in the par-
ticipants during transitions. In the guideline
for identifying appropriate transition support,
music and singing are also listed as an exam-
ple of auditory prompts besides verbal war-
nings and timers (Hume, Sreckovic, Snyder, &
Carnahan, 2014). However, music was incor-
porated as a prompt in these models. There-
fore, the current study will examine the effect
of music provided as a reward in transition
times, compared to the effect of music pro-
vided as a prompt.
Furthermore, since transition requires a se-
quence of tasks including terminating an
engaged activity, physically moving or shif-
ting attention, and preparing for the next
activity, what part of transition a child find
it challenging should be different. Some
children might need support to start physi-
cally moving even though they can finish
the previous activity without any prompts
(Sterling-Turner & Jordan, 2007). Others
might need prompts to terminate an en-
gaged activity though they can quickly clean
up and move to a different area once they
finish the previous activity. Hume, Srec-
kovic, Snyder, and Carnahan (2014) argued
how important it is to individualize transi-
tion support because the best intervention
and when it should be implemented varies
depending on the child’s chronological/de-
velopmental age or abilities. In addition to
comparing the effect of music as a reward
and its effect as a prompt during transitions,
the authors will deeply discuss how diffe-
rently each participant in this study, who
had different learning needs, responded to
the interventions.
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