Can Music Therapy Be Beneficial
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Individuals with autism have difficulty with social skills, communication abilities, and behavior.
Many therapies are aimed at improving these conditions.
However, music therapy is particularly helpful for autism since most everyone responds well to some type of music and since music is non-verbal and non-threatening.
Many individuals with autism are even gifted in music and relate exceptionally well to music. They may even be an autistic savant ! And they should definitely be encouraged to develop their talent!
Music therapists are trained in psychology and special education in addition to music. They apply their core knowledge from course work to their clinical internship. They must also pass a written board certification exam and maintain continuing education credits.
So, what does a music therapist actually do with your child during a therapy session?
Sessions will vary for each person since each person is unique.
For example, the child can be drawn socially outward by first engaging them with an instrument, then with the music, next to the therapist, and finally to other clients.
The child can begin to understand the reciprocity of conversational skills by exchanging musical sounds.
They can even learn speech and vocabulary through singing questions and answers.
In addition, they can play musical games with others to enhance social skills.
When you add dance and movement to music, you have dance movement therapy which is also beneficial and fun for individuals with developmental disabilities.
You can even use some of these techniques at home, too!
My son with Asperger’s syndrome is taking piano lessons from his grandmother. We have noticed tremendous improvement in his dysgraphia and handwriting skills. He is even spacing his written work and algebra solutions on paper significantly better.
My daughter with PDD-NOS loves to make up her own simple compositions on a toy keyboard. She works diligently to find just the right melodies that sound particularly interesting to her.
We have also noticed significant improvements from The Listening Program which is a specialized type of music therapy. Actually, The Listening Program is the single most beneficial autism therapy for our family.
In addition, we also play applied music recordings called Sound Health throughout the day to help with stress, relaxation, focus, concentration, thinking, learning, productivity, performance, inspiration, and motivation. These CDs provide the optimal sound environment. We can all use help in these areas!
If we had babies in our family, we would also use Music for Babies as much as possible to further benefit brain development.
Music therapy is a particularly effective and enjoyable autism therapy for many individuals with autism.
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