Can Children Benefit from Music Therapy?
7/10/2013
If you want to help a child improve their cognitive skills as well as their psychological, physical and communication skills, there is no better activity than music therapy. A research based profession that has been established for many years, music has long been known to have therapeutic value and music therapy gives a child the opportunity to acquire skills that will help them throughout their life.
Music therapy, when used as an intervention option for children, can also foster skills for the special needs child that will help them throughout the entire spectrum of development. Through music therapy a child is encouraged to follow their natural sense of exploration and to focus on the wonder that they feel. For some children, music is like a sixth sense that can help them to see the world more clearly and give them a stronger connection to it.
With music therapy, the words and language that are incorporated into the songs give children functional verses and also phrases that they can use and also then generalize, helping them in other areas of their young lives. Music that’s written for music therapy is intricately and carefully crafted so that it provides not only motivation but encouragement and positive emotional feedback.
When involved with music therapy a child will learn to sing songs and use different types of musical gestures as well as be taught to play basic instruments. In this way a child will learn to meet their own goals and objectives and the music therapist will be able to teach them about specific academic concepts, how to interact properly with other children, why cooperation is so important and how they can use music for communication, among other things.
In many cases a child will gain self-confidence and organization skills while also improving motor skills and increasing their competence overall. The fact is, learning to sing and play music can be extremely motivating, lots of fun and set up a child for success later in life.
Music therapy can be provided in a wide variety of different locations and settings and, depending on your child’s needs, is usually easy to find with a little bit of searching online. Local libraries, school classrooms, daycare sites and even some music stores provide music therapy and, if you have a special needs child or just a child who’s curious about music, music therapy is an excellent choice. If you live in the Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, or Austin areas and have questions or comments please let us know and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
Southwestern Music Therapy, L.L.C.
Visit us at www.southwesternmusictherapy.com
