Music Therapy and Autism - Term Paper Example

Music and Autism Introduction Autism is a brain development disorder normally seen among some children. Children with autism will haveproblems in their social interaction and communication. They will live like mentally retarded people with fewer activities and reduced social life. They will never interact freely with their peers and may have always an introvert anture. Autism believed to have strong genetic basis, although it is a much debated topic among medical professionals. Most of the children with autism have some family history associated with this disease. Music plays a very valuable role in helping children with special needs especially those who have problems like autism. Musical therapy is found to be effective in many psychological problems. Music can influence the mind positively and hence the defects associated with mind can be treated using music. “Music therapy has become accepted as a useful intervention for people with autism since it was introduced to the UK in the 1950s and 60s by practitioners like Juliette Alvin, Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins. Although music therapy can be used with people with other physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities, it has particular benefits for people with autism.” (The National Autistic Society) “Music Therapy is the unique application of music to enhance personal lives by creating positive changes in human behaviour. It is an allied health profession utilizing music as a tool to encourage development in social/ emotional, cognitive/learning, and perceptual-motor areas.” (Staum)Music is a powerful instrument which can make the agitated minds calm and quiet. It can help a person to avoid his personal worries and can contribute peace of mind at least for the time when he hears the music. Music can lead a person from the real world to an imaginary one. “Music is an idea in the mind of the musician which is translated into sound. Communication is a translation of sound back into an idea in the mind of a listener.” In order for translation to occur, communication must be orderly, which is to say: The content of the communication must be intelligible and "make sense" to the listener. (AutisMusic: Autism + Music) This paper briefly explains the importance of music therapy in special need children especially those who have autism. Music therapy and autism “Music-making involves many of the fundamental elements of social interaction - self-awareness and self in relation to another. Because of this, the musical aspects of interpersonal timing attuned reciprocity in shared play, turn-taking, listening and responding to another person can be augmented in music therapy with people with autism to accommodate and address their frequently idiosyncratic and avoidant styles of communication.” (The National Autistic Society) Most has a strong relationship with the society in which the composer lives. He will compose the lyrics based on his own personal experiences either in the family or the society. If the musician succeeded in giving proper tunes to the lyrics with the help of suitable instruments, the listeners will be transformed from the current agitating world to another peace world of music. Children with autism normally will shy away from social life. Their communication skills will be less than that of average children because of their introvert nature. Music therapy can help them to get in touch with the social aspects of life. Music therapy increases the self awareness and hence the covert nature will gradually give way for over nature as far as children with autism are concerned. Through music such children will understand the importance of communication and also the social life. Since music follows a pattern and rhythm, it may not be disturbing just like noise. Noise doesn’t have any pattern or rhythm and hence it will be always disturbing for even normal persons. For example consider the noises made in an open fish market where people often make many noises to attract customers. The sounds of different horns made by different vehicles in a street or junction are another example for torturing noises. Music on the other hand does not have any language. Even an English man can enjoy the Hindustani music of India because of the rhythm and pattern of composing. “It is argued that participating in music therapy allows the person with autism to experience and explore a wider range of emotions.”(The National Autistic Society) Music involves different emotions. Some music may have fast numbers which often reflect the brighter side of the life. On the other hand some music may be slow which reflects the darker side of life. In any case irrespective of fast or slow numbers, music can immensely influence a person irrespective of their mental status. Children with autism will be more attracted towards music since they may find and angel or savior in music compared to other things in the external world. “The therapist uses percussion or tuned instruments, or her own voice, to respond creatively to the sounds produced by the client, and encourage the client to create his or her own musical language.” (The National Autistic Society) In music therapy the therapist’s main aim is to create positive response from the patient. Moreover the therapist encourages the patient to make his own effort to either compose or play music or musical instruments. Such conscious attempts by the patients will provoke his obscure mental faculties unknowingly which will enable him to change his behavior more positively.  “Case studies published over the years by therapists themselves (Alvin and Warwick, 1991; Nordoff and Robbins, 1985; Nolan 1989, and others) describe significant changes in the communicative and social behavior of individuals with autism who have taken part in music therapy.” (The National Autistic Society) Theory behind music therapy The music therapy treatment is based on the understanding that all people have an innate responsiveness to music, that this instinct can remain in spite of physical, cognitive or emotional disability, and that it can be used to build a relationship between the therapist and the client. (The National Autistic Society) Music is a universal thing which may not be affected by the region, religion, culture or language. Irrespective of rich or poor, male or female, children or elder people, mentally stable or retarded, music can influence the mood of all the living things in the world. Even our heartbeats have certain rhythm similar to musical rhythm and hence nobody can deny the influence of music on life. Music provides the structural regularity that children with autism need. Within that structure it is possible to expand that childs repertoire of functioning. In addition having value in an educational sense for children with autism, music has value in a physiological sense too. Research done in 1995 by Dr. Gottfried Schlaug of the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, who is himself a musician as well as a neurologist, shows a physical change in the brain structure in people who started music training at an early age. He reported in a study in the journal Neuropsychologia that a bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum, which carries signals between the two brain hemispheres, is about 12 percent thicker among keyboard players who started training before the age of 7, compared to keyboard players trained later, or to non-musicians. When working with a group of children, music can be used to organize childrens behavior by having them move to the music. (Shore) “Leanne Belasco, a music therapist at the Kennedy Krieger Schools Montgomery County campus in Rockville, says music gives structure and a predictable rhythm to verbal directions”. (Hwang) Music can indirectly give directions to the children with autism in order to change their behaviour. Direct instructions through verbal communication may not be effective for such defective children since they may create a psychological barrier against any verbal instructions. But the instructions through music may be indirect and hence they cannot deliberately block such instructions. All the conditioned behaviours will be de-conditioned by the instructions through music therapy. “Music therapy techniques also can be used as a proactive approach or reward system for children whose behaviours interfere with their learning and participation in other therapies or programs”. (Music Therapy Benefits Children With Various Special Needs) “For the moderately involved child, music can serve as a carrier signal for verbal communication.” (Music for the Child with Autism, Music enhances communication) In radio communication, the audio waves cannot travel long distances and hence it will be superimposed with carrier waves to transmit the audio signals to long distances. Same way children with autism cannot transmit their verbal communication waves for long distances and hence music can serve as a carrier wave to propagate the communication waves of such children. “Providing musical opportunities to those with autism is a great way to improve motor skills. Holding an instrument, clapping hands, and moving to the music all increase dexterity and muscle coordination. (Lee) Most of the children with autism may have underdeveloped motor activities. Normally they will not have much interest in physical activities which is essential for greater blood circulation and mental development. Increased physical activity will increase the oxygen consumption and hence the blood circulation to brain. Increased blood circulation to brain may cause increased brain function and hence the mental faculties will be developed more. Music is a great motivator too for children with mental defects. “Precision Songs has a unique offer of a personalized song for each individual child. By repeated listening to his or her own customized song, a child can learn to answer basic social questions like What is your name? and How old are you?” (What is Precision Songs?) Each defective child may have specific interest in some particular type of music. So in music therapy it is possible to customise the music based on the individual taste of each defective child. Since the response of the child can be measured directly and instantly, music therapy is more effective than any other treatment methods for children with autism. I have found, through experience, that the calmer the style of music, the calmer the child is. This is especially important with children on the Autism Spectrum. Oftentimes, children with Autism have problems with aggression and are prone to fits of violence. (Tabian-Sosin)   Though musical therapy has many advantages in treating children with autism, it has some disadvantages as well. Some defective children may be sensitive to music or some specific kind of noises and hence the therapist needs to analyse the response of the children to music therapy before starting the actual treatment. The therapy should be started only after the concerns of the defective children (patients) were solved. Otherwise it can create negative impacts in the minds of the children. The therapist must test different types of music before customising one for the patient. Each patient may have different choices as far as the musical styles and rhythms are concerned. The proper evaluation of each patient will give the therapist proper insights about the requirement of each patient and hence he can customise his therapy for each patient. Conclusions Music is a powerful mean for calming agitated minds irrespective of the regional, religious, or gender differences. Music does not have any language and hence all the living things can enjoy music irrespective fast or slow numbers. Music therapy is found to be most effective in the case of children with autism. Music therapy can improve the communication and social skills of such defective children. Music can penetrate through the barriers created by mentally retarded children. It can serve as a carrier wave for communication by such defective children. Musical therapy can change the behaviour of defective children. The main advantage of music therapy is its ability to customise treatment options based on the individual differences of the patients. Some patients may have some initial problem in responding to music therapy which can be rectified gradually by applying proper methods and treatment options. Works Cited 1. The National Autistic Society, 2008, About Autism, Causes, Treatment and Research Approaches, Therapies and Interventions, Standard Therapies, Music therapy, Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=528&a=3348 2. Hwang Jean, Music Wins Applause for Addressing Autism, Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/02/AR2009030201759.html 3. AutisMusic: Autism + Music, Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.autismusic.com/ 4. Shore Stephen, Music for the Child on the Autism Spectrum, Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.autismtoday.com/musicspectrum.htm 5. Music Therapy Benefits Children With Various Special Needs, Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.coastmusictherapy.com/odiagnoses.html 6. Music For The Child With Autism, Music Enhances Communication, Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.mkdowney.com/music.htm 7. Lee Deborah, Autism Symptoms & Music - 5 Ways Music Can Make a Difference With Autism, Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Autism-Symptoms-and-Music---5-Ways-Music-Can-Make-a-Difference-With-Autism&id=2266385 8. What is Precision Songs?, Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.precisionsongs.com/ 9. Tabian-Sosin Elizabeth, Autism and Music Therapy: Ideas and Theories of a Parent Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/313637/autism_and_music_therapy_ideas_and.html 10. Staum  Myra J., Ph.D., RMT-BC Director and Professor of Music Therapy, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, Music Therapy and Language for the Autistic Child Retrieved on May 18, 2009 from http://www.autism.com/families/therapy/music.htm Read More