Music Therapy Part 1

                Why Music Therapy is a Good Choice for your Child 

• Can help improve skills in areas such as communication, social skills, sensory regulation, behavior, cognition, perceptual/motor skills, and self-reliance 

• Reduces anxiety 
• Builds stronger parent-child bonds 
• May be used as a natural “reinforcer” for desired responses 
• Helps with sensory aversions to certain sounds to cope with sensitivities or individual differences in auditory processing 

Individuals help to promote wellness by managing stress, enhancing memory, and improving communication. Music in interventions used with children and teens with ASD can improve social behaviors, increase focus and attention, increase communication attempts (vocalizations, verbalization, gestures, and vocabulary), reduce anxiety, and improve body awareness and coordination. Many studies have found that children and adults with ASD respond well to music. Often, individuals with autism respond positively to music when little else is able to get their attention, which makes music a potential therapeutic tool.   One of the reasons that music has quickly become a tool used in autism therapy is that it can stimulate both hemispheres of the brain, rather than just one. This means that  a song or instrument can support cognitive activity to build self-awareness and improve relationships with others. Music therapy is able to bring about changes in social behavior and cognitive ability through repeated and prolonged sessions.  

                               Recommended Ideas for Parents:

• Sing, Sing, Sing! No matter how you feel about your own voice, singing to your child is a great way to establish a bond Share educational musical toys with your child Sing educational songs to encourage learning in a fun and interactive way.
• Make reading fun and interactive through musical song/story books, such as “Wheels on the Bus” or “Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
• Ask questions or point to objects in the pictures to further encourage engagement and communication.
• Playing music in the car can encourage arousal and learning at any age. Encourage word retrieval by pausing at the end of a song phrase to allow your child to fill in the blank to song lyrics. For example, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little____.