Aanchal Shah

This study aims to investigate the clinical collaboration between a musician in residence and speech-language pathologists. For the first time in Arts in Medicine history, a musician in residence at the UF Shands Rehab Center has developed a practice specifically in collaboration with the speech-language pathologists to address clinical care goals. In this collaboration, the clinician guides the musician to sing certain songs to the patient with tempo, repetition of the chorus, or other key artistic factors altered to facilitate speech therapy goals. These songs are based on the patients’ preferences so that the patient can connect with the song on a deeper level. This clinical intervention is designed to enhance the effectiveness of speech therapy amongst linguistically disabled patients. As this collaboration is the first of its kind, I aim to conduct a qualitative study to identify the impacts and components of this innovative clinical intervention.