Several researches have proven, time and again, that music
therapy can benefit individuals of all abilities and ages. Such therapy
has been used to support cognitive, social and emotional development in
people across races, countries and communities. It can also help promote
wellness by enhancing memory, improving communication skills and
managing stress. Researchers have also shown that children and
teenagers, who have been suffering from autism, can benefit a lot with
music therapy. It helps improve their social behavior, better their
communication attempts in terms of gestures, verbalizations, vocabulary
and vocalizations, reduce their anxiety, increase their attention and
focus, and even improve their body coordination and awareness. A few
studies even show that both adults and children with autism spectrum
disorders or ASD respond very well to music. This is why music is
considered to be a potential therapeutic tool for treating autism.
Here's how it can help children with autism:
Music encourages social interaction-
Kids, who suffer from autism, show more social engagement and emotional
expression during music therapy sessions, as compared to the play
sessions, without music. They also respond to the requests of the
therapist if there is music in the session. Moreover, a trained and
experienced therapist can use music to improve the social skills and
increase the social interaction of these kids. Playing different types
of movement and music games, passing and sharing instruments, learning
to listen, singing greetings songs and gathering around a central
instrument are some of the ways that a therapist can use to increase
such interactions.
Music helps improve communication -
Almost thirty percent of kids with autism are non-verbal. Again, there
are many kids who can't follow verbal commands or understand body
languages. Studies have proven that music improves the mapping of sounds
to actions. This is done by connecting the motor and auditory sections
of the brain. This helps improve the understanding of verbal commands.
With the help of repetitive training and by pairing music with actions,
the speaking skills of these children can be improved.
Music helps improve one's behavior
- With some studies conducted over a span of ten months, it has been
proven that weekly music therapy sessions improve overall behavior of
kids with autism, especially when it comes to dealing with inattentive
behavior. In a particular study, children were exposed to hour-long
sessions of music therapy, once in a week, and their conduct was tracked
against a checklist of certain behaviors. The results showed
significant improvement in their observable behavior.
Surely, music therapy can be very useful and rewarding for children with autism.
