Genetic Disorders: The Impact Of Music Therapy On Children

It is surprising to realize the practice of one small therapy could impact the world in a big and positive way. Music therapy is the practice of using music to better the lives of people with motor, cognitive, and speech disabilities, along with surgical patients. This is achieved by redirecting neural networks in the brain with certain types of music selected for that specific patient. This is not a field for every musician however, only educated students who are board certified should practice music therapy for the safety for the patients. Although many people believe music therapy should not be considered a therapy, it should be considered a mainstream beneficial medical practice and used worldwide. It greatly increases the education of mentally disabled children, surgical patients have a safer option for pain reduction, and it creates employment for people who are interested in a career dealing with music.

There are several therapies that have been developed throughout the years to help children with the disorder. The Applied behavioral analysis (ABA); the educational therapy, which focus on educational and cognitive skills; the medical and related interventions, and the Allied health therapy, that focus on language development, it includes: “speech/language, occupational, and physical therapists, including auditory and sensory integration, music therapy, and language therapies (e.g., Picture Exchange Communication System [PECS])” (Agency for Healthcare research and quality, 2014). However, the main idea of this research paper is to focus on the music therapy approach, which can serve as an important tool to develop basic verbal and nonverbal communication in

From 1997 to about 2007 the number of children with autism spectrum disorder has increase from 42,517 to about 258,305 and has risen since (Reschke-Hernández, 2011). With this rise of children who have autism, the rise of music therapy has since appeared greatly. When music therapy was first documented, the music was used in both group and individual settings. It was used with those who lacked social skills, those who needed rehabilitation, for self-expression, for psychological improvement and also recreational purposes (Rescheke- Hernández, 2011). Music therapist use techniques such as improvisation music therapy, dancing and singing, speech dynamics, and rhythm to help clients with social skills, body awareness and communication skills (Rescheke- Hernández, 2011). Children who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder can be treated through music therapy to enhance their social skills, learning skills, and coordination.

Shortly after the birth of our little Christmas present, one of her doctors told my parents that children who are born with Down syndrome have a great love of and appreciation for music. The doctor encouraged my parents to play music for Kathryn as often as possible. My mom did what the doctor told her to do and played soothing music as often as possible, especially when she was trying to calm Kathryn down or put her to sleep.

The American Music Therapy Association defines music therapy as "the prescribed use of music by a qualified person to effect positive changes in the psychological, physical, cognitive, or social functioning of individuals with health or educational problems."(Patterson, p1) Today music therapy is used in hospitals, prisons, and schools. Though it is mainly used for people with disabilities, it also provides for people with other health concerns.

Through musical participation in the therapeutic environment, clients ' capacities are reinforced and conveyed in other areas of their lives. Additionally, Music therapy also offers ways for communication that can be accommodating to the people who find it challenging to express themselves in words. Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in many areas such as: overall physical rehabilitation and facilitating movement, increasing people 's motivation to become engaged in their treatment, providing emotional support for clients and their families, and providing an outlet for expression of feelings (Gregory59). Whether it is apparent at first or not music therapy interventions help the patient improve their diminishing cognitive function ability with the music that is selected as well as the intervention applied, which plays a major role in the process.

Music also helps with learning and autism. Music is sometimes used in classrooms to help aid with reading and language skills, and helps with creative insight. Music not only helps normal people learn, but it especially helps autistic people learn. People with autism often respond to music, and it can aid with communication skills, verbal and

This article described music therapy observations between two children, 3-year-old Jason and 9-year-old Sophie, who were both diagnosed with Down Syndrome (DS). The observations were taken over a music therapy session in the Creative Learning Centre at the University of Limerick in Ireland. Sessions lasted around approximately over a month, but more specifically, a course of six weeks; Jason attended approximately five music therapy sessions, while Sophie attended six. What also assisted in the process of this observation was the environment of the therapy rooms, ranging from different colors on the walls which stood for distinctive and significant symbols. The color blue was for music, red for regular playing, and yellow for art. In addition

Children in the MTG displayed an increase in joint attention with peers and eye gaze towards a person (LaGasse, 2014, p. 250). Although there was a significance in eye gaze and joint attention between children who received music therapy group intervention and children who received social skills training, there was no significant difference in the response and initiation to communicate and social withdrawals (LaGasse, 2014, p. 250). In addition, LaGasse (2014) found significate interaction between time and each group, for SRS and not ATEC (p. 250). These results support parent’s decision to encourage music therapy intervention as it provides improvements in a child’s overall social

Music Therapy in the 1940’s began to expand and find its way into the way of treating various mental and physical disorders. Everett Thayer Gaston, also known as “the father of music”, was one of many that brought Music Therapy to the eye of clinical treatments. There are actually very few in the musical education and therapy field that do not know Gaston’s name. He and others also brought the importance of musical education to the eye of the community, enabling the use of music in elementary schools and colleges. Showing that the importance of music starts young and carries on into adulthood.

There are multiple ways to heal and multiple benefits that come out of healing. One of those healing methods is Music Therapy. Music Therapy has been shown to help many people of all age groups, a specific group being children with autism. It helps benefit children with autism by improving their communication and social skills. Just simply listening to music calms and puts the brain at ease. Music Therapy is beneficial to this specific group because though they may have deficits socially, they show none when it comes to musical affect. This form of therapy allows autistic children to improve those social skills in a fun and engaging way.

Music therapy is the adept use of music or music elements by a music therapist, to benefit, retain, and recover psychological, corporeal, emotional, and spiritual health. There are two different forms of music therapy, which are active and receptive. In active, the music therapist and patient play the music together. In recessive, the music therapist plays music to the patient.

Needle pricks, medicine, exhaustion, sickness, pain, feeling different ‒ these are just a few of the things that people with mental disabilities and serious diseases have to go through on a daily basis. But what if there was a different kind of treatment that could comfort them or reduce their pain even a little bit? Fortunately, for the people facing these issues, there is. Music therapy is a relatively new approach that doctors, teachers, and many others are taking to help heal and improve the quality of life for their patients and students. It’s starting to become more common around the United States and is expected to become even more popular in the future. Books like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart support the idea of music therapy by demonstrating how music can be used to soothe and improve the moods of individuals regardless of what they may be going through. Music therapy is an effective way to speed up the healing process and improve the emotional state of a wide range of people facing different obstacles in life.

The use of music for therapy has been seen to exist for almost as long as the start of therapy itself. At around 400 B.C., Hippocrates, a Greek physician known for his tremendous contributions to modern medicine, was shown to be the first human to use music as a way to therapeutically treat mental patients. Since then, records of other civilizations such as the Egyptians, Arabians, and even the Native Americans show signs of the use of music in medicine. This form of therapy was said to help align the soul and the body together. However, it was not until the 18th century that researchers have studied how music affects the nerves themselves (Gouk, 2004). The first signs of music therapy used in the modern world were predominantly in the United Kingdom after World War I (Degmecic, 2005). Musicians played to war veterans suffering from both mental and physical trauma to help alleviate their pain. As these veterans were seen having positive responses to the music played, doctors hired more musicians to help play at veteran hospitals. Seeing the positive feedback and recovery of the veterans prompted the use of music therapy to become an actual academic curriculum taught in college courses. Currently, the leading organization that focuses primarily on music therapy is the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) which was formed in 1998. Their team of music therapists has helped countless of patients improve both their physical and emotional help with the use of music.

Music therapy, a clinical use of music interventions to accomplish therapeutic goals, involves a broad range of activities including playing an instrument, singing, or listening to music. Similar to occupational and physical therapy, this expressive arts therapy remedies psychological conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or hypertension to maintain the well-being of an individual. Likewise, music has been a therapeutic tool that has shown positive effects to parts of the brain including regions involved in emotion, sensation, movement, and cognition. Although music therapy is a somewhat new-found treatment, it is used prominently today. Administered by a trained therapist, this type of therapy is used in correctional facilities, nursing homes, hospices, and special education schools.