10 Ways Playing Music Is Therapeutic For Special Needs Children

“Where words fail, music speaks.” - Hans Christian Anderson

The quote above speaks to the power that music has in the lives of many. Dozens of new studies on the developing brain show dramatic lifelong breakthroughs and improvements in language, math, spatial skills, memory and more by learning to play an instrument.

Caring for a special needs child can be a challenge for parents, teachers, and caretakers. But the rewards can far outweigh those challenges. We are always looking for ways to enrich our children's lives, which in return enriches our own. Music can help accomplish this and lead to a truly rewarding experience for the entire family.

While an active approach as in playing an instrument can provide the most benefits, passively just listening to music can help as well.

You may have tried to find a music teacher for your son or daughter only to find that most music schools refuse to teach those with certain special needs, such as autism, Down Syndrome and vision impairments. This is sad, and naturally this leaves you frustrated and your child feeling left out.

But if that's the case, there are still many solutions out there.

By definition, music therapy is an interpersonal process in which a qualified therapist uses music and all of its facets - physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual - to help clients to improve or maintain their health. In some instances, the client's needs are addressed directly through music; in others they are addressed through the relationships that develop between the client and therapist.

Private piano lessons or software learning methods for example are not by definition music therapy, but the benefits ARE therapeutic. Therefore, we can consider this a form of personal music therapy. Either way, if your special needs child isn't showing positive effects by engaging in a music learning program, you may wish to contact a professional. The benefits derived from either choose can be life-changing and no child should be left behind!

Music Lights Up the Brain

• The right hemisphere of the brain is activated when you hear melodies with a variety of pitch and timbre. It also “lights up” when people play music by ear.
• The Left hemisphere of the brain “Lights Up” when you learn to read music, understand key signature and notation, and follow the sequence of notes. Significantly, the brain is activated in the same area that is involved in analytical and mathematical thinking. So you can simultaneously stimulate the right and left hemispheres of the brain by playing an instrument or by singing.

That's all pretty cool science, but how does this “lighting up” benefit our children?

The most compelling evidence supporting the clinical benefits of music therapy lies in these 10 examples.

1. Behavior

We've all experienced bouts of bad behavior with our children – kicking, screaming, etc. Music is mood-enhancing, and children with disabilities often benefit greatly from upbeat, rhythmic music that they can sing or play an instrument with.
Music helps stimulate senses, focus attention, and redirect self-stimulating behaviors toward socially appropriate behavior. In addition, forms of music therapy show shown increased compliance by children.

2. The Calming Ability of Music

Anxiety is one of the biggest challenges facing individuals on the autism spectrum. When children with special needs listen to classical music, it provides a positive and relaxing experience. Remarkably, classical music can also reduce stress and ease frustrations. Furthermore, it can reduce muscle tension and slow down the heart rate. When these changes occur, the mind is more open to learning and also to communicating with others.

One study at the Baltimore St Agnes Health Care by Raymond Bahr, MD showed that when doctors played classical music for their heart patients, it had the same impact as a 10 mg dose of Valium!

The implications of this study for those with special needs are clear. When children with autism, cerebral palsy, ADD, ADHD, and mental retardation are able to relax and calm down, dramatic changes in their behavior become possible.

Music is tremendously helpful with stress-relief and anxiety reduction, and can be used with relaxation techniques.

3. Self Expression

Music promotes self-expression and emotional response. Children need opportunities for self-expression and creativeness. They require a “release” for their energies and inner thoughts. It is better that these necessary releases be obtained through music than other, often harmful, means. Possibilities for self-expression and creativeness through the playing of an instrument are endless.

4. Emotional Response

Playing instruments can stimulate senses and provide emotional fulfillment. It can also be used in a small structured group setting to build interpersonal relationships. For example, songs can be divided into separate parts that necessitate the participation of each individual to successfully bring the song to completion. Many children will feel more comfortable opening up about their feelings when they are exposed to music.

5. Social Interaction

A study by 2009 Kim, Wigram, & Gold found that children with autism showed more emotional expression and social engagement during music therapy sessions than in play sessions without music. These children also responded to the therapist’s requests more frequently during music therapy than in play sessions without music.

Individuals with autism show equal or superior abilities in pitch processing, labeling of emotions in music, and musical preference when compared to typically developing peers.

Additionally, a skilled therapist can use music with children to increase their social interaction and improve social skills. Passing and sharing instruments, music and movement games, gathering around a central instrument, learning to listen and singing of greetings are just a few of the ways music therapy sessions can increase interaction.

6. Communication and Language Skills

Music improves two-way communication: Music can help build social skills and encourage peer interaction and conversation.

Children who are musically trained are better at observing pitch changes in speech and have a better vocabulary and reading ability than children who did not receive music training.

Learning and mastering a musical instrument improves the way the brain breaks down and understands human language, making music students more apt to pick up a second language.

7. I.Q.

Music lessons may not only teach your kid how to carry a tune—they may also boost his or her I.Q. Children who study a musical instrument are more likely to excel in all of their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, stay in school, and pursue further education.

Many autistic children have already been shown to be highly intelligent, while other mentally challenged children struggle with low I.Q.
A study explored the impact of a music enrichment program on evaluative test scores in mentally retarded children. Twenty children were given the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and evaluated for the Trainable Mentally Retarded (TMR) Performance Profile, both pretest and post-test. Between the two tests, 10 of the children were assigned to attend 36 forty-minute music sessions, 2 each week for 18 weeks. The other 10 children had little music involvement in the classroom, if any. The study revealed a significant increase in test scores for basic knowledge, communication, and social behavior in both groups.

8. Memory

Students of all ages—that includes adults— generally find that music helps them focus more clearly on the task at hand and puts them in a better mood for learning g. Music learning is a creative output. Children learn to memorize songs, or parts of songs in a manner that keeps the brain stimulated, and through repetition, thus improving memory skills.

A recent study by found that compared to age and IQ-matched typically developing children, participants with autism demonstrated elevated pitch discrimination ability as well as superior long-term memory for melody.

The children with autism spectrum disorders demonstrated elevated pitch discrimination ability in the single-tone and melodic context as well as superior long-term memory for melody. Pitch memory correlated positively with scores on measures of nonverbal fluid reasoning ability.

9. Self-confidence / Self-esteem

Children with special needs often run into difficulty with self-esteem when they begin to realize that they are different from their peers. Sometimes this comes in the form of bullying whereby the child is told he or she essentially does not belong to the group and is not wanted. Sometimes this comes from the child him or herself identifying how different he or she is, and the child starts to isolate him or herself from the group out of fear of not belonging. Both of these scenarios create the feeling of unworthiness and thus hinder self-esteem.

Music is a wonderful way to address the many needs of children because music is nonjudgmental. There is no right or wrong, it just is what it is. Listening to different types of music nurtures self-esteem and encourages creativity, self-confidence, and curiosity.

10 Motor Skills

Many children with special needs have challenges with their fine motor skills. Therefore, it is important to incorporate fine motor skills activities for special needs children in their daily routine. Playing an instrument helps teach a child muscle coordination, rhythm, cause and effect, and improves fine and gross motor skills.

Conclusions

In our golden years, we may not be able to jog around the park, but we can still sing or play an instrument. Music is a gift you can give your child that will not only help now, but will last a lifetime.
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