Music Activities as Therapy for Children with Autism - Research Paper Example

Music Activities as Therapy for Children with Autism Name Institution Introduction Autism is a mental or neurological disorder which affects the neurological development of a child. This condition is characterized by poor social and communication skills among the patients. The children with autism also show restriction in interest and behaviors. The characteristics of the disorder vary from one child to the other depending on the range of severity and problems that are exhibited by the autistic child (Solanki et al., 2013). According to the center for disease control and prevention, there is an increase in the prevalence of autism among children in the United States. It is estimated that one out of 88 persons in the United States is autistic. This is an increase from previous statistics that indicates the prevalence of autism I the country to be 1 out of 150 persons. The increased prevalence in autism has triggered the search and development of evidence based practices that will help diagnose and treat the disorder. This means that there is a need to develop best practices that will act as best interventions for autism. Since the children with autism present several difficulties in communication and social skills, these children have challenges in social performances (Simpson & Keen, 2011). Different therapeutic interventions have been used to treat autism among children in order to improve on their social skills as well as their communication skills. These therapies and interventions are designed specifically to address different issues and challenges that are faced by children with autism (Kokina & Kern, 2010). Music therapy is among the intervention that has been found to improve the challenges faced by autistic children. The use of the psychology music forms the basis for music therapy in individuals with autism. This is because human beings show a positive response to selected sound stimuli (Whipple, 2012). This research paper focuses on the use of music therapy as an intervention for children with autism. History and Development of Music as a Therapy Music as a therapy has been used since time in memorial since it is a blessing and divine gift from God. Music is among the primitive form which has been intertwined in several human cultures and the human psyche (Reschke-Hernandez, 2011). Thousands of years ago music has been used way of expressing the feelings of an individual and elevation of the human despair and aggression. The use of music therapy dates back in the early civilization of the Greeks and Indians where music was believed to have curative and healing powers t psychological problems of human beings (Simpson & Keen, 2011). The people in ancient Greece used music to calm down individuals who were mentally ill. Music as a therapy has also been understood by western philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras who has shown a clear understanding of the healing power of music which they used to bring harmony to the people hence curing the body and mind. The philosophers such as Aristotle who were also psychochatharsis believed that individuals who suffered from uncontrollable emotions can get cured when theylistened to music. The argument was ha music is able to elevate their ecstasy. During the Second World War, music was used to hasten the recovery of the soldiers who were injured at war. Hence, the development of music therapy was best understood in terms of psychology of music (Solanki et al., 2013). Rationalefor Music Therapyas an intervention technique in Children with Autism Music therapy is a psychological therapeutic approach which involves the use of controlled music which is used by the therapist to achieve positive changes in behaviors of the patient. Just like other psychological therapies, music therapy is carried out in several sessions which are carefully planned and carried out by the therapist. Patient with neurological problems experience different social issues and challenges. The use of music therapy is designed differently for different patients and is evaluated to suit their independent needs. There are children with autism who are threatened by human contact. This means that they show the problem in human communication (Wigram & Elefant, 2008). When music is included as part of the communication process, autistic children have shown positive responses. The children seem more focused, relaxed and have improvement that parents and medical experts find surprising. In other research studies, the use of group music has been found to improve the social relationships and communication skills of psychological and neurological ill patients. The several dramatic improvements in skills of autistic children who receive music therapy has triggered more research on finding ways in which music can be used effectively as an intervention technique against autism in children. The results of these research studies have resulted to increased demand for music therapy among therapists who deal with autistic children. In addition, music has been introduced in academic learning institutions and treatment schools that deal with autism. Therefore, music therapy is used in autism since human have different positive responses to selected sound stimuli (Whipple, 2012). Music Activities Used as Therapy for Children with Autism Musictherapy consists of a number of activities that are conducted in several controlled sessions by a therapist. The activities include listening to music, as well as creation of music, , playing musical instruments to the autistic children, moving to music, singing and creation of music. Singing music allows autistic children to improve on their communication skills (Solanki et al., 2013). Listening to music: the music helps the children to learn words, and behaviors. For example, a therapist may present a ball to an autistic child and then decides to bounce the ball as he sings "this is a ball". The ball is bouncing". This teaches the child about nouns and verbs which are useful in understanding language. When the therapist sings the music and the patient listens, he learns the useful verbs in the song as the therapist words in the song corresponds to the activity which is bouncing the ball. The understanding of the child is based on relating the activities of the therapists and the words hence condition the mind of the child to learn through actions and singing as they listen. Creating music with instruments: when a therapist plays musical instruments, they stimulate that an autistic child. This provides an emotional and sense of fulfillment in the child. In addition, the therapist can build the child self awareness ability by letting the child play the musical instruments. This makes the child to be able to realize his ability to create sounds as he sings which is helpful in speech development (Lanovaz et al., 2012). Dancing to Music: dancing involves the movement of the body. Dancing to music helps the children with autism to express their emotions. As the children dance to the music, they create a stimulation that is useful in self stimulatory behaviors. This means that the child is able to learn voluntary behaviors that are helpful in the development of social behaviors. Singing: children with autism have communication skills problem. Singing helps the child to improve on their grammar and pronunciation of words. During the therapy sessions, the therapist holds an object as he sings. This makes the child to repeat the words in the song hence helping there construction of grammatically correct sentences. General Importance of Music Activities to Autistic Children The music activities have a number of benefits to the children who suffers from autism. a) Improved Social and Emotional Development Music activities such as playing instrumental music to children with autism improve the social development and emotional development of the children. This is because, during the initial steps of a relationship, children with autism have a problem with human contact and tend to ignore and rejects any attempts of social contacts that are made by others (Reschke-Hernandez, 2011). This is because these children have poor social development skills that make them unable to embrace any kind of social contact. The music therapy activities help the children to stop the social withdrawal by any initial object that is related to a musical instrument. In the case of musical instruments, the autistic children are fascinated by the shapes and sound of the instruments hence responds positively (Simpson & Keen, 2011). This means that instead of the child seeing the instruments as a threat, he or she becomes fascinated. This shows that the musical instruments and the sounds from the musical instruments provide and initial point in which social contact is developed between the autistic children and the other individual who act as the intermediaries. During this session, the therapist the withdrawn child to a musical instrument and bridges the connection between the child and the therapist, and the musical instrument that is played by the therapist. The connection of the child to the therapist allows him or her to connect to parents and other patients. This aim is to create a bonding between the child with autism and the therapist. This bond is used by the therapist to teach the child social skills (Solanki et al., 2013). b) Improvement in Non-Verbal And Verbal Communication Music therapy has been proved to improve the communication skills of children with autism. This is because the music therapy improves on their speech and vocals. In addition, music therapy increases the comprehension, symbolization and conceptualization abilities of the autistic patients. During the therapy sessions, the therapist establishes the communication relationships between the child and the sound from the musical instruments he plays (Schwartzberg & Silverman, 2013). This is because children with autism are more responsive and recognize sounds as compared to verbal approaches. This means that the child with autism becomes musically aware hence encouraged to communicate. When a therapist plays an instrument in from of an autistic child, the child becomes aware of the ability to use some parts of the body for other functions. For example, when the therapist plays a flute, the child becomes aware on the use of hands to communicate. Therefore, playing the instruments acts as a mirror for the functions required in making a speech which is vital in communication and social behavior (Solanki et al., 2013). c) Emotional Fulfillment Most of the autistic children lack the ability that can effectively allow them to respond in a positive manner to any kind of stimuli that would help them to enjoy changes in emotions. Hence, the ability of children with autism to respond to music stimuli offers them with a chance to respond to an emotional charge. In addition, it has empowered them to respond positively to environmental fear, a stimulus that has always been threatening to them. During the music therapy sessions, a child with autism is able to express himself or herself in such a way that they appear free. This is helpful to the child as it allows him or her to choose what he or she wants. Therefore, music therapy has helped children with autism by teaching them different social skills, improving their communication skills by encouraging their desire to communicate (Solanki et al., 2013). Models of Music Therapy According to the world congress of music therapy, there are five internationally recognized models of music therapy that can be used in children with autism. The models used in music therapy are all aimed at improving different skills in children with autism. This means that different models apply to different children who present different challenges of the disorder. Some of the models are designed to improve on social behaviors of the children with autism while some are designed to improve the emotional and communication skills of the children with autism. The models of music therapy used in children with autism are also applicable to other neurological disorders. The five models of music therapy include guided imagery and music model, analytical music therapy model, creative music therapy, Benenzon music therapy and behavioral therapy (Chan et al., 2011). a) Guided Imagery and Music This is a music therapy model in which imagery is evoked at a time when an individual is listening to music. The processes in guided imagery and music last for about v90 to 120 minutes and involved four steps namely prelude, induction, music travel, and postlude. The therapists in this model are able to guide the child with autism through a process of deep explanatory in order to allow them to allow them recognize their own emotions and process them productively. The kind of music used in guided imagery and music models is classical music. However, modern therapists have adopted other kind of music depending on the specific needs of the autistic child. The model assumes that the child with autism will create an imaginative experience in his mind that would help them realize their emotions (Solanki et al., 2013). b) Analytical Music Therapy This is a model that is commonly used in Denmark and involves a session in which the child with autism is actively involved through tonal and atonal improvisations of different music. The aim is to use the music improvisations to help the child with autism to understand and interpret their unconsciousness. In this model, music expression is not fundamental but the growth and fundamental development of the child are paramount (Kim et al., 2008). Improvisational music in analytical music therapy is effective in facilitating the joint attention behaviors of autistic children. In addition, they have been proved to facilitate social behaviors and nonverbal communication among children with autism. This implies that the model is useful in helping children with autism to engage in music activities that help them develop their social and communication behaviors. Hence, music offers the children a means of expressing themselves and interacts with others (Solanki et al., 2013). c) Creative Music Therapy The model was developed by Paul Nordoff and Clive Robins in order to improve social expressions and communication skills in children who have emotionally and mental problems. This model argues suggested that a highly trained and qualified musical should be used in the creation of musical improvisations that are used in the diagnosis of children with autism. The framework developed by the musical should be able to incorporate all the subsequent musical expressions that are presented by the children with autism in order to creatively expand the improvisations to become the medium of the therapeutic alliance, Self-expression and communication (Lanovaz et al., 2012). d) Benenzon Music Therapy This is a music therapy model developed by Ronald Benenzon which is based on the psychological thinking of human beings. It’s a combination of different influences including philosophy. This model is mostly applicable in the development of interpersonal communication for children with autism. This is achieved through interaction of music sounds and nonverbal communication. In addition, the model is mostly used in Latin American countries where it is believed to improve the personal lives of patients. e) Behavioral Music Therapy This is a music therapy model which is commonly used in the United States of America. This method is based on the psychological, behavioral therapy in the treatment of Autism in children and other patients with neurological and psychological illnesses. This model is based on the fact that a person’s behavior can change when an individual is exposed to the desired behavior. In the case of autism in children, the model is used to improve the social behavior of the children with autism (Schwartzberg & Silverman, 2013). In addition, the model is used to change the communication behavior of the children and how they relate to other people. The therapists who use this model introduces to the children with autism behaviors that can be adapted by the children in order to improve on their interpersonal and social connections. The adaptive behaviors are introduced in progressive sessions until the children are able to learn and practice them. It is also used to ensure that the children with autism leave al the maladaptive behaviors that are associated with autism (Solanki et al., 2013). Critical Analysis of Studies on Music Activities Therapies in Treatment of Autism Based on the evidence presented in this article, music therapy is seen as a psychological therapy in the treatment of autism. This is because most children who suffer from autism are not responding to other stimuli and have problems in expression g themselves. According to Schwartzberg & Silverman (2013), a research carried out was able to show that music activities are able to improve the communication and social skills in children. However, the use of music therapy has been based on limited evidence in the treatment of other psychological and neurological disorders. This is because, the use of music therapy in promotion of social skills and communication skills was found to be ineffective in some patients since different patient who suffer psychological issues have different challenges. This means that, therapists must be able to identify the challenges in individual patients before engaging the patients in music therapy. In addition, music therapy has involved different activities which have shown different results in different patients suffering from autism and other mental issues (Lanovaz et al., 2012). Although most of the researches in music therapy were aimed at improving the social and communication skills, most of them were unable to clearly demonstrate the interrelationship between psychological behaviors and music therapy. This is because most research is based on the ability of music to stimulate responses that focus on social interaction but fail to explain the mechanism behind that stimulation. This is because children with autism have social interaction challenges and rarely respond o other stimuli (Chan et al., 2011). According to the psychology of thinking, the psychological basis of music activities as therapies for autism is that, the rhythms in sound and music is able to stimulate the structure and behavior of an individual patient. Hence, listening to music triggers emotional response that helps improve some skills in people among them social interaction skills in children with autism (Simpson & Keen, 2011). Conclusion Autism is a neurological problem that is characterized by challenges in social behaviors and poor communications skills among the patients. The increase in prevalence in children with autism in the United States and the world has promoted more research into different interventions and therapies that can address the challenges presented by children with autism. The ability of music to trigger stimuli in individual resulted into the use of music therapy in improvement of social and communication skills in children with autism. Music therapy is among the intervention that has been found to improve the challenges faced by autistic children. When music is included as part of the communication process, autistic children have shown positive responses. The children seem more focused, relaxed and have improvement that parents and medical experts find surprising. In other research studies, the use of group music has been found to improve the social relationships and communication skills of psychological and neurological ill patients. The use of the psychology music forms the basis for music therapy in individuals with autism. Music activities have been proved to increase the language comprehension in children with autism, encourage their desire to communicate, reduce the use of non-verbal speeches in children with autism and teach them social behavioral skills. References Chan, M.F., Wong, Z.Y., Thayala, N.V. (2011). The effectiveness of music listening in reducing depressive symptoms in adults: a systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine,19(6),332–348. Kim, J., Wigram., & Gold, C. (2008). The Effects of Improvisational Music Therapy on Joint Attention Behaviors in Autistic Children: A Randomized Controlled Study. Journal of Autism and development disorders, 38, 1758-1766. Kokina, A., & Kern, L. (2010). Social story interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 812–826. Lanovaz, M., Sladeczek, I., & Rapp, J. (2012). Effects of Noncontingent Music on Vocal Stereotypy and Toy Manipulation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Behavioral Interventions, 27, 207-223. Reschke-Hernandez, A. E. (2011). History of music therapy treatment interventions for children with autism. Journal of Music Therapy, 48, 169–207. Schwartzberg, E., & Silverman, (2013). Effects of music-based social stories on comprehension and generalization of social skills in children with autism spectrum disorders: A randomized effectiveness study. The arts in psychotherapy, 40, 331-337. Simpson, K., & Keen, D. (2011). Music interventions for children with autism: Narrative review of the literature. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 1507–1514. Solanki, M., Zafar, M., & Rastogi, R. (2013). Music as a therapy: Role in psychiatry. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 6, 193-199. Wigram, T. & Elefant, C. (2008). 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