...The Effectiveness of Music Therapy in Treating Children with Autism: A Literature Review Abstract This literature review explores the use of music therapy in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its degree of effectiveness in helping children to better develop social and communication skills. All of the sources discussed used improvisational music therapy to conduct different types of studies that address the usefulness of music therapy. Researchers used different methods of measuring children’s responsiveness to music therapy. A majority of the authors claim music therapy has a considerably positive effect in treating children with autism; however, some results indicated there is not enough evidence to confirm music therapy has a significant impact or that it is the best form of treatment for autistic individuals. There is a need for further research in order to determine whether or not music therapy is the most effective form of therapy. Future studies may be more strategically designed to minimize the difficulty in analyzing such complicated results. In addition, there should be studies that have clinical value and contain a larger number of participants so that the results may be better generalized. Introduction For years, scientists, doctors, psychiatrists, and several others have been trying to determine the cause of autism as well as a cure for the disease. Autism is a type of Pervasive Developmental Disease that is characterized by an inability...
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...the regular development of the brain in the areas of social interactions and communication abilities. Music therapy is one of the many ways to help enhance the skills that these children have trouble with. Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program (American Music Therapy Association, 2012) .There is research that shows that children with autism show an interest and positive response to the music. Many people with autism show a natural talent for...
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...Review on Autistic Spectrum Disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has become a widespread and familiar disorder in the 21st century. ASD is defined as an impairment of cognitional and emotional functioning. People with ASD will have difficulty interacting socially with their peers, and many struggle with developmental delays such as speech. Autistic children will often be less responsive to their caregivers than children without the disorder. In the research article by Tong &Brereton two important areas of difficulty for children with ASD is the ability to speak clearly, and the lack of skills needed to play and have an imagination (2010). Children with autism are very matter of fact, and rarely understand any metaphors. They may also be ritualistic and have compulsive behaviors. The cause and effect of ASD is still unknown, many researchers believe there are biological and genetic factors that play a role (Tong, Brereton, 2010). Since ASD as a behavioral disorder, can autism be cured? Will children who are diagnosed with the disorder live with the same delays and rituals as they did as a child? After reviewing many journals, I have failed to find any evidence of cures; I have however come across different therapy’s in there preliminary phases. Music and dog therapy are being used across the country. Gold, Wingram and Elefant explain in their article that music helps people who are non-verbal interact without the use of words. (Gold et al., 2006) Children are able to...
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...2013) The Elderly: Therapies like dance movement, drama and art when used recreationally can help improve the positivity, physical and mental health of the elderly social care service users. Engagement with art therapies can further the emotional progression and psychological well-being of these individuals. (Zeltzer et al 2003) The elderly can enjoy the arts and being creative just as much as service users younger than them. In art for example, water colour painting can be used as a more mature version and method of paining rather than finger painting which can be used for younger service users. Water colour painting is more complex and more of a challenge. Young children: There is so much evidence now-a-days about how children’s brains develop and the effect of creativity and the arts on this...
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...Specific Goal: I would like the audience to realize the therapeutic effects that music can have. Introduction Music therapy is the use of music by health care professionals to promote healing and enhance quality of life for their patients. The use of music for medicinal purposes began thousands of years ago. Thesis Statement: Music therapy is currently used to treat three types of ailments. Body Physical ailments are among the first of the three to be treated through the use of music therapy. Cancer patients have benefited from its use. It helps with nausea and vomiting. It also helps with pain control. Music therapy is also very effective on heart patients. It decreases heart rate. It decreases high blood pressure. (Now that we have seen the positive impact that music therapy has on physical ailments, we will next see how other ailments benefit.) The second of the three ailments to be treated through the use of music therapy are emotional. Music therapy can change the mood of a person. Music therapy can also motivate an individual. (There is one more ailment left to discuss.) The last of the three ailments to be treated through the use of music therapy are psychological. Music therapy is also used in the treatment of mentally ill patients. Depression has been known to benefit from this. Autistic children have also benefited through the use of music therapy intervention. Music therapy is also used effectively with newborns. Premature newborns experience increased...
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...Autistic spectrum disorder, otherwise known as autism, is a complex disorder of the central nervous system and a developmental disability that comes from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. (Dowshen, 2008). It is not something one can catch or pass along to someone else. It makes interacting with other people incredibly difficult. Autism was first identified in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanner of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Autism spectrum disorder can usually be reliably diagnosed by age 3, however new research is pushing back the age of diagnosis to as early as six months. Autism is a developmental disorder that makes it very difficult for one to communicate with others and live a normal life. (What is Autism? An Overview, 2008) The cause of autism remains undiscovered, however many researchers believe autism is linked to differences in brain chemicals and neurotransmitters. No one has yet to have a definite answer as to where these differences come from, however; many believe the differences are in our genes. Some also believe that maternal rubella, PKU, encephalitis, and meningitis may predispose a child to it. It is somewhat more common in particular families, but not inherited in any recognizable pattern. Doctors often tell families who have one child with autism that research shows they have a very high risk of having another child with autism or a similar disorder. (eMedicineHealth, 2009). According to the statistics provided by the...
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...Symptoms can arise at any moment in a child's early life. For infants, symptoms would be not responding to their name by the time they are one. For children over one, symptoms included not show interest in things, unusual behavior, does not play pretend, wants to be alone, avoids physical and eye contact, trouble understanding, and has a hard time learning to interact with other people. Children might be late on learning language skills, reverse pronunciation, and uses little to none gestures. Some children show the signs and symptoms of autism but tend to grow out of the signs and symptoms. People with autism have abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters. Serotonin acts as a neurotransmitter that helps a person brain relay signals. Someone who is autistic will contain a poor level of serotonin. Serotonin controls behaviors, memory, sleep, and learning. According to Peter Reuell (2015), a research team from Harvard was the first to link a neurotransmitter with autistic behavior, as well as show the differences in the breakdown in the signaling pathway used by GABA. (Reuell, 2015) GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a neurotransmitter that sends messages throughout the brain and plays a major role in behavior. Researchers believe somewhere throughout the neural pathways there are intermittent and is the cause of unusual behavior. The neurotransmitter findings are what made the "refrigerator parenting" a myth in causing autism. Over the years, diagnosing autism has not really...
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...of Autism. Bringing awareness to Autism is the main focus of this speech. III. (Credibility) The credible resources I have found include, A. Interview with the parent of an Autistic child. (G. Bennevich, personal communication October 22, 2014). B. “What is Autism” (Autism Speaks, n.d.). C. “What is Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder” (Achievement Centers for Children [ACC], 2014) D. “Autism Spectrum Disorder: Data and Statistics” (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2014) IV. (Preview) Today I will talk more in depth about the Signs, Statistics, and Support of Autism. (Transition: Although Autism can have a wide range of symptoms a child with Autism can be a huge asset to society.) Body l. Autism is a complex disorder of brain development according to Achievement Centers for Children, (2014). It has been found Autism is noticed around age two or three. A. The first thing I will talk about today is signs of Autism. 1. Health issues, difficulty sleeping, motor skills, attention and coordination 2. Children on the Autism Spectrum excel with art, music and /or visual skills. (Transition: Symptoms and signs that one may have Autism are sometimes difficult to decipher but research has revealed some astounding statistics.) ll. Autism may found in children and previously undiagnosed adults. B. During my research I have found Statistics Stated in Autism Speaks...
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...The Value of Music in Basic Education “Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.” Herbert Jeffrey Hancock, famed American musician, defined music’s transcendental nature very aptly. Music is now widely recognized as a learning medium, an educational tool, and a means of expressiveness of creativity. Modern education emphasizes the importance of using learning methods that will effectively teach children having a variety of learning needs. The old “one size fits all” education system is rapidly being overcome by a more flexible and welcoming system that caters to each child’s individual learning needs. Elementary education is the first level of learning children are exposed to so it is imperative that their foundation is concrete and long lasting. Contrary to rote memorization techniques of the past, modern teaching techniques let children learn at their own pace. In some cultures inclusion of music as a learning element from an early age is not an alien concept at all, e.g. in ancient Indian, Chinese, and even African American cultures. It has been a part of everyday cultural and religious learning for young children. In his paper “The History and Development of Multicultural Music Education as Evidenced in the Music Educators Journal, 1967-1992”, Terese M. Volk sheds light on how music educators were initially encouraged to adopt a multicultural music perspective and include all kinds of music in their curriculum. The paper describes in detail the struggle...
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...Genetics, Brain Structure, and Behavior Evaluation Over the years autism has been measured a mental illness, a personality disorder, an emotional disturbance, a communication disorder, a developmental disability a mental handicap, as well as, more recently, an information processing problem (Williams, 2006). Autism carries on to be classified as a all-encompassing developmental disorder, a term which mentions children and adults who have severe enduring difficulties in social plus communication skills beyond those accounted for by general developmental delay. Increasingly children are being diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder. It is significant that teachers are aware of the features of the disorder and have an understanding of its implications for learning, as well as being able to identify the disorder in its early stages so that appropriate help may be given. Autism is a complex disorder that may not be due to a single cause. It may be that a variety of influences affect neurological development at an early stage (Humphreys and Ramm, 2003). The factors that have been implicated are outlined below. Methodical research has failed to support any more than a small role for the social environment in the development of autism. The conviction that faulty parenting or family factors are implicated has now been discredited, even though raised anxiety levels within the family can lessen children's ability to cope. It is thought that a basic cognitive deficit to do with the...
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...said, "I would teach children music, physics and philosophy: but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning." Frequency, note progression in a scale, rhythms and beats, vibrations, composition, timing, expression, harmonies, tone, orchestration and melody all trigger different learning experiences within the brain. Clinical music therapy can be used as a vital tool, for improving the quality of life in individual's suffering from deficiencies in cognitive, motor, emotional and social behaviors. Music affects many parts of the brain. The auditory cortex disseminates volume, pitch, speed, melody and rhythm. Lyric memory and sounds, along with imagery associated with sounds, and...
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...Music is much more than idle entertainment. It affects the brain in physical ways, altering pathways and stimulating certain areas to grow. Listening to music provides a temporary rise in cognitive IQ levels and learning it actually changes those levels on a more permanent basis. Professional musicians especially show marked differences in physical brain structure and cognitive thought processes. In 1993, a study was done at the University of California, Irvine that showed a temporary improvement of IQ scores when students listened to ten minutes of a Mozart Sonata. The specific area of increased intelligence was spatial-temporal reasoning. This effect has since been dubbed “the Mozart effect” and has encouraged both further study and opposing views (Jones, “Introduction”). More recent and ongoing studies at the M.I.N.D. Institute have shown dramatic math and cognitive enhancements provided by simultaneous musical instruction. The institute implements a side-by-side program of cognition based math games with specialized piano instruction. Students are tested using nationally standardized tests and score an average of 20 percent higher than students not utilizing this type of program. Scores continue to rise the longer the student has been in the program (M.I.N.D. Institute). Spatial-temporal reasoning is highly developed and the music training provides a basis for the students to recognize patterns and symmetry as well as to understand certain mathematical concepts...
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...difficulty with language, abnormal responses to sensory stimuli, resistance to change and difficulty with social interaction. ?Other characteristics of autism may include: making the same repetitive motion for hours, repeating a sound or phrase, inability to hold a conversation, practicing unusual play patterns, and extreme sensitivity to sound and touch? (Riccio, 1999). Autistics can exhibit any combination of these characteristics in any degree. That is why autism is referred to as a ?spectrum? disorder, because at one end of the disorder a child may be inflicted with some symptoms, while at the opposite end a child may be inflicted with multiple symptoms with many areas in between. Children who display few symptoms may be characterized as ?mildly autistic?. Early signs of Autism may appear in the first months of life. Autistic infants tend to stray away from other people, avoiding touch and become limp or stiff when picked up or help. Autistic children don?t reach maturation as fast as normal children. A normal child will point to objects or smile when seeing their mother before the end of their first year, but children with autism develop this behavior much later. These symptoms may go on unnoticed by parents or doctors...
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...1. Description: Autistic disorder is categorized as a Pervasive developmental disorder, according to the DSM –IV TR; it is usually diagnosed in the toddler and/or early childhood years. According to Ben J. Atchison (2007), Autism falls in the Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) umbrella, alongside other developmental disorders such as Rett’s disorder, Asperger’s disorder and etc, each varying in the degrees of their severity. Autistic disorder is marked by detachment and impairment in social, communication and behavioral skills and development. Autism is usually detected by the age of three; however Atchison (2007) notes “characteristics of autism noticeably emerge between 12 to 36 months of age” when specific developmental mile stones are not reached or regression occurs. Regression involves the typical development of an infant/child followed by degeneration and loss of skills. Diagnosis can occur later in children for those who are labeled at a higher functioning form of autism. Autism is characterized by challenges and delays in language, social and behavioral development. Autistic children display impediments in verbal and nonverbal communication and interaction; according to Atchison (2007) “approximately half of children with autistic disorder remain nonverbal or struggle with severely impaired speech as adults.” Other core characteristics include difficulty with social interactions, lack or limited use of eye contact, and understanding and interpreting social gestures, facial...
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...paper serves to discuss the benefits of music therapy for special needs students, and propose a method of providing music therapy to special education children in the public school system. Music therapy has proven to be beneficial to special needs learners in that it promotes motor skills, academic skills, communication skills, and social skills. These skills are essential for special needs students to obtain in order to function in an academic environment and in the world around them. Music therapy provides methods of helping exceptional students develop these skills and use them in the school setting. It is necessary that music therapy be provided in the general special education curriculum because there are numerous benefits. It can...
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