While data collection and analysis are ongoing, interim thematic analysis reveals commonalities in leaders’ backgrounds, approaches and mindsets that we believe will help achieve two important goals. The first is shaping a Best Practices Guide for Singing Leaders that can be shared at conferences, in scholarly and professional publications and via organizations devoted to people living with communications challenges as a result of Parkinson’s, aphasia, stuttering, hearing loss and breathing disorders. The second is to provide an empirically and pedagogically sound singing leader accreditation program for groups that support people with communication challenges.

Knowledge dissemination will also be amplified through SingWell’s Speaker Series, comprised of six online conversations between researchers, practitioners, and singing group participants focused on a specific communication challenge, concluding with a final focus group on best practices for singing leaders.