Music And Children With Autism

Many treatment approaches have developed different ways of dealing with the challenges of autism. First, there is the theory of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which consists of giving a child a specific task, which teaches skills from basic ones to more complex ones, such as social interaction. Children taking this approach, work 30-40 hours a week with a trained professional. (West 66) It may be emotionally difficult for the child, and his/her parents to dedicate so much time, yet it is worth it. However, it has been proven that ABA methods have shown consistent results in teaching new skills and behaviors to children with autism. (West 68)

Music being a lifeline for individuals with all types of isolating emotional, physical, neurological and psychological conditions, has incredible effect to the autistic children. It enables the autistic children to interact and communicate to others and have improved learning

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.

Autism is a developmental disability that significantly affect a person's verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and educational performance. This developmental disability affects the brain, communication and interaction with others. People with this disability often have trouble relating and forming relationships with other people. Autism occurs very early on in the development of the brain. The most obvious signs can be found at the ages of two or three years old.

There are a lot of different problems and difficulties that comes with an autistic person. Every person with autism is different and unique in their own way if it is how he or she speaks, acts or even what they wear; they all have something that is not the same. A frequent difficulty for students with autism is to pay attention to what their teachers want because they are focusing on sensations which to them are more interesting or important. This leads to a lifelong problem with lots of possible causes but has no cure. What can the American society do to help them though?

This article defines music therapy and how it makes an impact for individuals with diagnoses on the autism spectrum. It also explains the job of the therapist and how they work with their clients.

Autism a disability,it starts from a young age, Autism,it is also called or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences.   Autism is a developmental disability that appears in children during their first three years of life. Autism affects the development of social and communication skills. Autism is a developmental disability that appears in children during their first three years of life. Autism affects the development of social and communication skills. From a very early age, children with autism demonstrate a fundamental difficulty in properly orienting towards other people

The word “autism” was first used by a Swiss psychiatrist Eugene Bleuler in an article written in the American Journal of Insanity in 1912. It comes from the Greek word meaning self. Bleuler used it to describe the schizophrenic’s seeming difficulty in connecting with others (“Autism”).

Children who are diagnosed with ASD have many treatment types available to them. Most of these treatment options are centered on the development of the autistic children’s social and behavioral skills, which can help them achieve as normal of a life as possible. Without treatment, most children with ASD will

There is no a single cause for autism, Scientist and experts believe several factors may contribute to this developmental disability, one of the possibilities of this mental disorder may be by the family genes, for example: If one of a family members has Autism spectrum disorder there is the possibility that in the future another family member born with this mental disability

Symptoms and behaviors of autism can combine in many ways and vary in severity. Also, individual symptoms and behaviors often change over time. For these reasons, treatment strategies fit to individual needs and family resources. But children in general with autism respond best to highly structured and specialized treatment. A program that addresses helping parents and improving communication, social, behavioral, adaptive, and learning aspects of a child 's life will be most successful. (“ASD Treatment & Management, par. 1, 2)

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 a special therapeutic that does not require verbal abilities or social interaction. Through research, scientist have tested and proven that music therapy increases the response of social interactions, motor- skills and speech naturally in autistic children. Although many people feel that music therapist are bias and have no control of an autistic child’s brain, music therapy has proven to guide autistic children through various modalities and auditory processing. Therefore, music is a more primal and natural patterned way of communicating.

Those affected by a mental disorder, such as autism might perceive music therapy as negative environmental stressors. Sensory processing can be a tremendous factor because, the music therapist might get delayed responses from the patients. According to Autism Speaks, "[the autistic patient] might have difficulty processing and integrating sensory information, or stimuli, such as sights, sounds smells, tastes and/or movement. They may experience seemingly ordinary stimuli as painful, unpleasant or confusing." Music becomes a invalidating experience for the patient and therapist. However, some interactions with music therapy may not be pleasant at times, ultimately interactions are healing physically, mentally, and socially in patients with autism.

10. Heaton, P. (2009). Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants. Philosophical