Linn is currently working as a university teacher at the Department of Education and Special Education at Gothenburg University, where she is teaching students at both undergraduate and advanced level. She is teaching at the Special eduaction teacher program and at the Special educational needs coordinator program, as well as at the teacher program.

The PhD project aims to scientifically try out a partly new pedagogical approach – MultiSensory Music Drama (MSMD) together with school children with severe or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (S/PIMD) and their teachers.

In the  PhD project,  which consists of three substudies, investigates if an intervention with interactive music activities and MultiSensory Music Drama, potentially can enhance attention, initiation and engagement in children with S/PIMD. These behaviors are considered to be important prerequisites for considered to be a so-called pivotal behaviour for  development and learning.

Main Supervisor: Associate Professor Jenny Wilder (Department of Special Education, Stockholm University)
Supervisor: Professor Simo Vehmas (Department of Special Education, Stockholm University)

Supervisor: Professor Shakila Dada (University of Pretoria) https://www.up.ac.za/centre-for-augmentative-alternative-communication  

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Multisensoriskt musikdrama - Ett pedagogiskt arbetssätt för personer med flerfunktionsnedsättning

  2022. Linn Johnels. Socialmedicinsk Tidskrift (5-6), 733-743

  Article

  Multisensoriskt musikdrama (MSMD) är ett pedagogiskt arbetssätt där element från musikterapi, så som lyhördhet, musikaliskt samspel och utforskande, kombineras i en berättelse som förstärks med multisensoriska föremål. Arbetssättet är utvecklat för elever med flerfunktionsnedsättning, dvs. den elevgruppen som har de största svårigheterna och där såväl internationell forskning som svenska skolmyndigheter har pekat på behovet av kunskapsutveckling och mer pedagogiskt material. Motivation och engagemang är en viktig förutsättning för utveckling och lärande, och detta gäller inte minst den här elevgruppen, där stunder av vakenheten och engagemang förekommer mer sällan än hos typiskt utvecklade elever. Arbetssättet utvärderas för närvarande i två forskningsstudier inom grundsärskolan med lovande resultat. I den här artikeln beskrivs bakgrund och syfte med arbetssättet, samt hur man kan skapa ett MSMD för individer med omfattande funktionsnedsättningar i alla åldrar.

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• Musical interaction with children and young people with severe or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities: a scoping review

  2021. Linn Johnels, Simo Vehmas, Jenny Wilder. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities

  Article

  This scoping review addresses peer-reviewed research on musical interaction with children and young people with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (S/PIMD). Twenty-five articles published between the years 2000 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was used to summarise and evaluate different features, including participant characteristics, study design and methods, type of musical interaction, the abilities and behaviours in focus, reported benefits, promising components of musical interaction, and quality appraisal of the studies. The results revealed a variation in participant characteristics and study designs, where small-sample descriptive case studies were most common. In terms of the type of musical interaction, active music therapy was the most commonly used approach, followed by technology-mediated and multisensory musical activities. In terms of abilities and behaviours, a large majority of the studies focused on social interaction and communication, followed by engagement, attention and affect. Six categories were identified as promising components of musical interaction: the responsivity of the interaction partner, singing songs, structure and predictability in the activities, long-term interventions, technology-mediated and multisensory musical activities, and a therapeutic alliance between interaction partners. Based on this review, we discuss future research and practical implications for musical interaction and music therapy for children and young people with S/PIMD.

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• Interactive Music with Children and Youths with Severe or Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities

  2020. Linn Johnels, Simo Vehmas, Jenny Wilder.

  Conference

  Introduction: It has been proposed that interactive music and music therapy not only develops musical abilities but also more general developmental abilities such as social and communicative abilities in children and youths with intellectual disabilities.  However, previous research on music with children with disabilities is rather scarce, particularly when it comes to children with severe or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Method: The aim of the current study is to identify and systematically review research on interactive music with children and youths with severe or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (S/PIMD) in peer-reviewed articles written in English during the years 2000-2020. Research questions focuses on participant characteristics; research purposes, methodologies, findings and effectiveness of interventions. The searches in the databases will be performed through various combinations of search terms. Given the heterogeneity of the included studies’ methods and data, the included studies will be summarized using text and tables to compare and contrast findings across studies. The quality of the evidence (risk of bias) will be assessed. Discussion/Conclusions: Preliminary findings will be presented which may reveal implications for practice and research concerning effectiveness of interactive music interventions and research designs together with children with S/PIMD. It will potentially contribute to the evidence based knowledge of how to support development and education for the target group.

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• A Scoping Review of Aided AAC Modeling for Individuals With Developmental Disabilities and Emergent Communication

  2023. Helena Wandin (et al.). Current Developmental Disorders Reports 10 (2), 123-131

  Article

  Purpose of Review Aided AAC modeling is an umbrella term for when communication partners model language on an aided AAC system to support an individual’s comprehension and/or communication development. This scoping review aims to provide an overview of aided AAC modeling studies targeting individuals with emergent communication and describing features and findings from these studies.

  Recent Findings Research on interventions that includes aided AAC modeling is growing. Recent studies cover interventions for individuals that previously were excluded, such as individuals who use alternative access methods to select symbols.

  Summary A search yielded 29 studies that encompassed a total of 237 participants using emergent communication. Positive outcomes from the aided AAC modeling interventions were reported in the majority of the studies. In future research, a clear description of the different components of the interventions and their expected effect on the outcome may assist in comparing the effect of different types of aided AAC modeling interventions.

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• The effect of MultiSensory Music Drama on the interactive engagement of students with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities

  2023. Linn Johnels (et al.). British Journal of Learning Disabilities

  Article

  Background: Interactive engagement, specifically attention and initiation, are considered important skills for facilitating development and learning in students with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Prior research has suggested that music therapy and multisensory storytelling are two promising interventions for supporting interactive engagement in this population. However, there are no known/published studies that have investigated the effect of combining relevant elements from musical interaction and multisensory storytelling for this group of students. This study aims to determine the effect of a novel educational approach-MultiSensory Music Drama (MSMD)-on the interactive engagement of students with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.Methods: A single-case experimental design, specifically an ABAB design across three participants, was used to describe the effect of MSMD on interactive engagement when compared with a control activity. School staff members' perceptions of student interactive engagement and social validity were obtained.Findings: Coded video observations showed significantly higher levels of interactive engagement during MSMD for all three participants when compared to the control activity. Furthermore, the ratings on the interactive engagement from school staff members improved for two of the three participants. Finally, school staff members scored the social validity and perceived educational usefulness of the MSMD as very high.Conclusions: The findings provide initial evidence that MSMD may be effective in supporting the interactive engagement of some students with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.center dot Engagement in activities is important for development and learning.center dot Many people enjoy music activities and taking part in storytelling.center dot In this study, a combination of music, drama and sensory stimulation was tested with three students with intellectual and multiple disabilities.center dot The activity was engaging for the students and was positively viewed by their teachers.

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Show all publications by Linn Johnels at Stockholm University