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Background: Many non-linguistic factors are important for children's language acquisition process including joint attention, imitation, acoustic differentiation, triangulation, and positive communication experiences. The concept “MusiKeK - Children Discover Communication Through Music” was developed on this basis. Musical stimulation is used to help late talkers catch up in their language acquisition.

Methods: The effectiveness of MusiKeK was evaluated in an observational study with a pre-post design with follow-up measurement. Seven children (4 female; Mean age 25.3 ± 1.4 month) participated in the study. 20 music therapy sessions twice a week for 30 minutes each were applied: five sessions focusing on rhythm, five on melody, and ten on communication/interaction. The children's language skills were assessed using the Early Childhood Language Development Questionnaire (FRAKIS) and the Language Development Test for 2-year-olds (SETK-2). In addition, standardized video analyses of music therapy were used to record musical aspects.

Results: Video analysis revealed a significant increase in vocal and instrumental expressions during music therapy sessions. The duration of free play also increased significantly. Word and sentence comprehension in late talkers showed a statistically significant increase from below-average values at start of therapy to values within the normal range at follow up. At baseline, children were able to produce 36 of the 600 words, which was below the normal range (percentile rank: 1-10). After music therapy, the average was 288 words, which corresponds to the lower normal range (percentile rank: 11-25).

Discussion: The results of this pilot study show encouraging findings that are consistent with other results.