COMMENTARY A commentary on “The Communication -Relationship Outcome Matrix (CROM): A tool for measuring communication outcomes in everyday music therapy practice” written by Jenny Kirkwood

This commentary on the article “The Communication -Relationship Outcomes Matrix (CROM): A tool for measuring communication outcomes in everyday music therapy practice. ” The present publication, written by music therapist Jenny Kirkwood, presents a communication assessment tool developed within a service assessment protocol proposed by the author in 2015 to complement a master's degree in music therapy. In recent years, there has been a significant expansion of the field of assessment in music therapy, and different assessment tools or outcome measures have been created explicitly for the diverse needs of music therapists and their clients (Gattino, 2021; Lipe, 2015; Spiro et al., 2018; Waldon, 2016; Wheeler, 2013). This expansion is critical in order to specifically target assessment practices that benefit each music therapist and the quality of services offered to their patients. This is the focus of CROM: to ensure that music therapy services focusing on communication goals and outcomes reach the highest possible standards .. This tool was developed for use when working with children with disabilities who have "severe communication difficulties" and "challenging behaviours" (criteria defined by the funder).