The Benefits of Music Therapy for Autism

The Benefits of Music Therapy for Autism

A professional who specializes in autism can suggest other treatment for autistic people that can have a significant positive impact on their behavior. One such treatment is music therapy.

Music therapy is a controlled musical experience designed to facilitate positive changes in human behavior. Each music therapy session is carefully planned, conducted and evaluated to meet the specific needs of each patient. Music therapy can include any of the following musical activities:

o Listen to music and/or create music

o Play musical instruments (any instrument can be used)

o Switch to music

o Singing

When it comes to autism, studies have shown that music therapy has a significant positive impact on the treatment of autistic individuals. Participating in music therapy offers autistic people the opportunity to experience non-threatening outside stimulation since they do not have direct human contact.

As already mentioned, music therapy is designed individually. This is extremely important because what may be perceived positively by one autistic person may be negative for another. Let's take a look at the positive impact music therapy has had on autistic people.

music therapy –

Improved socio-emotional development: In the early stages of a relationship, autistic people tend to physically ignore or reject attempts at social contact made by others. Music therapy helps to stop this social withdrawal through an initial object relationship with a musical instrument. Rather than seeing the instrument as threatening, autistic children are usually fascinated by the shape, feel and sound of the instrument. Therefore, the musical instrument provides a first point of contact between the autistic person and the other individual by acting as an intermediary.

Supporting both verbal and nonverbal communication – When music therapy is used to support communication, its goal is to improve the production of vocalization and language, as well as to stimulate the mental process of understanding, conceptualizing, and symbolizing. A music therapist will attempt to establish a communicative relationship between an autistic child's behavior and a particular sound. An autistic person may have an easier time recognizing these sounds or being more open to them than a verbal approach. This musical awareness and the relationship between autistic people's actions and music has the potential to promote communication.

Another form of music therapy that can help with communication is playing a wind instrument (IE flute). By playing such an instrument, it is believed that you become aware of the function of your teeth, jaws, lips and tongue. Playing a wind instrument thus almost mirrors the functions required to produce speech vocalizations.

Encouraged Emotional Fulfillment – ​​Most autistic people lack the ability to respond affectively to stimuli that would otherwise allow them to enjoy an appropriate emotional charge. Since most autistic people respond well to musical stimuli, music therapy has been able to provide autistic people with an environment free from fear, stimuli that are considered threatening, etc.

During a music therapy session, an autistic person has the freedom to behave in certain ways that allow them to discover and express themselves when they want and choose. They can make noise, beat instruments, scream and express themselves and experience the pleasure of emotional satisfaction.

Music therapy has also helped autistic people through:

o Teaching social skills

o Improving language comprehension

o Encourage the desire for communication

o Enable creative self-expression

o Reduction of non-communicative language

o Decreasing echolalia (uncontrolled and immediate repetition of words spoken by another)

Remember that while music therapy can have positive effects on autistic individuals, it is important that an autistic person receives such treatment from a trained and experienced music therapist.

Inspired by Rachel Evans