The SingWell Project: The promise of singing-based interventions to support people living with communication challenges

Increasingly, older adults are discovering group singing as a meaningful social activity that has the power to build community, improve mood, and decrease stress. But what about group singing in adults who suffer from communication disorders, like aphasia or stuttering? A communication challenge (CC), which affects the ability to produce, perceive, or understand vocal aspects of speech, might be considered an anti-requisite to participation in group singing.  The SingWell Project challenges this stigma by encouraging group singing for all, focusing on the potential of singing to support the development and improvement of communication skills, in addition to benefits for psychosocial wellbeing.  The SingWell Project (www.singwell.org) is an international network comprised of researchers, practitioners, and non-governmental organizations and choirs.  The initiative focuses on five communication disorders, including aphasia, lung disease, hearing loss, Parkinson’s disease, and stuttering. Together, we have found promising preliminary results that group singing can improve various aspects of communication that are affected by each disorder, as well as overall psychosocial wellbeing. A second aim of this project is to clarify the sociobiological underpinnings of these social benefits. Over the long term, the project aims to engage in knowledge mobilization through the dissemination of best practices, and to develop policy initiatives for the social prescription of singing.