Music therapy is the planned use of music to assist with the healing and personal growth of people with identified emotional, intellectual, physical or social needs. Quoting the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) “clinical music therapy is the only professional, research-based discipline that actively applies supportive science to the creative, emotional, and energizing experiences of music for health treatment and educational goals”.
What is the difference between Music Education & Music Therapy?
The goal in music education is to acquire musical knowledge and skills, while in music therapy the primary goals aren’t musical but therapeutic.
Who can benefit from Music Therapy?
Anybody can benefit from music therapy, but it is an especially interesting resource for individuals with: Developmental and learning disabilities Mental health needs Alzheimer’s disease or other aging-related conditions Brain injuries Physical disabilities Substance abuse problems Acute or chronic pain
What are some of the Music Therapy techniques?
These are some examples of music therapy techniques that are used to achieve healing, personal growth, or education goals: Music listening Singing improvised music Instrumental playing Songwriting Lyrics substitution Lyrics discussion Music and movement
Music Therapy in Special Education
Music therapy in special education is the functional use of music to achieve special education goals. There is an important body of research that supports the use of music therapy to support developmental and educational goals in kids with autism or special needs. The programs can be structured to complement a student’s Individual Education Plan goals, aiming to assist students’ cognitive, psychological, physical, and socio-emotional development.
Music Therapy for Autism or Special Needs
Research has identified a number of educational or developmental goals that music can facilitate. The benefits of music therapy that I list below are just the ones I read about researching for this post, but I´m sure they are not the only ones.
Benefits of music therapy for Autism or special needs
- Practice and introduction of academic concepts
- Cognitive skills improvement
- Aid memory recall
- Improve attention span
- Decrease anxiety
- Improve pre-academic skills (on-task behavior, turn-taking skills, eye contact, skills of initiation, attention span)
- Improvement in motor skills, posture, and sensory perception (rehabilitative goals)
- Development of auditory skills and ability to follow directions
- Improve use of their residual hearing in students with hearing impairments Reduced motor activities in children with attention deficit disorder
- Gross motor skills improvement (coordination, locomotion, agility, flexibility, balance, strength, laterality, and directionality in movement )
- Fine motor skills improvement
- Develop skills of self-expression and creativity
- Development of social skills and improvement of peer relations Assist integration into regular classes Development of leisure skills Enhance group participation skills ( cooperate, share, take turns, and interact with others)
- Improved behavior in social and emotional domains
