Many people functioning within ACL 1.6 enjoy listening to music and are able to tolerate headphones for a limited amount of time.
A word of precaution needs to be passed on to all caregivers because their sensory awareness often receives a message from the tone of voice but not the content of the words spoken. Angry and negative tones of voice are frightening. Shouting at them to hurry up is also frightening. Saying nice things loud and fast can be worse than saying nothing at all.
Within ACL 1.6, fear can quickly turn into a startle or combative reaction. The best verbal communications contain three words or less, spoken in a clear, calm voice and followed by 20 seconds of waiting quietly for a response. Learning to be quiet and observe is very difficult for some people, and a stop watch really does help.
Songs & Instrumentals
Neither songs nor instrumentals have demonstrated much effectiveness this low in the scale so far. What we have learned is that the music that people listened to as teenagers and in their early twenties, when the hormones were flowing, is usually the best for capturing and sustaining attention and producing pleasure. If those do not capture attention, nothing else will.
Instrumentals might capture attention better than songs with lyrics, but the effects of memory are ambiguous. The instrumentals that are effective have a strong, steady beat similar to the person's heart rate. I suspect the tempo is responsible for the sustained attention.
Talk Radio
A surprising number of people within ACL 1.6 enjoy listening to talk radio, for a limited amount of time. Even though they do not understand the words, they seem to be listening to the "music" of the conversations. If so, shows that have happy, animated sounds would be better than monotone discussions or angry protests. These same people were able to listen while wearing headsets, so the noise did not bother other people.