The Power of Music - Musical Therapy to Treat Autism

The Power of Music - Musical Therapy to Treat Autism

Musical therapy is a relatively new treatment method for autism patients, but one that should not be overlooking when discussing options. Patients who receive musical therapy often should great improvement in temperament and learning skills. Music connects to the non-verbal part of our brains, making it a perfect therapy for disorders in which the patient has trouble communicating, such as autism. Research this innovative treatment method if you are looking for some help with autism and haven't had much luck in the past.

Musical therapy is effective because it can be used in conjunction with learning social skills. Music is a very non-threatening medium for patients, and many games can be played using music to help improve social and behavioral skills. By encouraging eye contact while singing or using instruments that need to get close to the face, musical therapy can help autistic individuals break social barriers.

The number one way that musical therapy can help children, as well as older autistic patients, is by helping with the development of speech skills. Music is a way to connect the verbal and non-verbal functions in the brain. Autistic individuals may have various forms of speech problems. Some can only hum, grunt, or make other non-word noises, while others babble nonsensical phrases or cries. Still others gain the capability to put together phrases and sentences to communicate with the world, although these usually lack emotion. Autistic people are known for monotone voices. However, no matter how skilled the individual is with speech, he or she can participate in musical therapy by clapping rhythms, humming along, or doing simple echoing songs.

Autistic individuals are commonly found to be particularly good at music. Some, for instance, have perfect pitch. Others can play a particular instrument very well, with little instruction. Even if he or she shows no genius musical ability by normal standards, you may find that a particularly hard to deal with autistic person has abilities in music that exceed his or her other abilities. A musical therapist can use music as a way to link this kind of learning with other kinds of learning, not only as speech development and social behavioral development as previously discussed, but also as a way to communicate emotions and develop memory.

By using all of these techniques in conjunction with one another, musical therapy can work wonders with people who are autistic. Trained professionals can use music to teach children and others how to communicate in nonverbal ways, making it easier for patients to learn. Research the musical therapy option to provide you or your child with another choice when treating autism.

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Autism Therapy Is A Lifetime Of Work

Autism Therapy Is A Lifetime Of Work
by Kerry Ng

 The Real challenge for my dad and mum!

Currently, there is no known to cure for autism known to man. Little is known about why it affects some people. Diagnosing autism can be a challenge because initially the disorder is taken as 'bad - behavior 'another corrective measures are applied. Some people believe that if autism therapy it started early in a childs life, there is some hope for amelioration in some children. Still, for parents and caregivers of an autistic child, it can be a real challenge at the best of times.


Autism can be a Very Painful Predicament for Parents


It can be very challenging as well as very painful for some parents to learn that their child is affected by autism. What makes this even more painful is the fact that there it is no cure yet for this disease and there are no guarantees that the future will bring some change. Autism therapy basically involves a series of exercises to bring the child out of his or her world. However, many parents are disappointed when it seems that their child has a door that which they shut against the world and no one can seem the open it again regardless of what they do or say.


When autistic children shut the door and close themselves off from their environment, it can be very difficult to teach them because they stop observing and observation is an important tool for learning. What autism therapy involves is working around this obstacle through various approaches based on applied behavioral analysis. However, progress can be very slow in many cases, simply because the child doesnt react to their outside environment. Even with powerful reinforcement and encouragement - which in itself is a very powerful tool - does not apply in this case.


There Are Some Small Rays of Hope


There are cases of children with autism that have made a total transition. With these cases, the autism therapy started when the children were very young, usually between two to three years old. Such cases act as inspiration for both the parents and caregivers of the autistic child. Unfortunately, the educational facilities available for autistic children are very limited and extremely expensive. Obviously, this is very frustrating on the part of the parents with limited resources.


Most parents of these children opt for home schooling. In most cases, these parents find it easier to home school their autistic child, rather than fight the million and one obstacles they will encounter when they ask for state education facilities. Currently there is a shortage of specialist for autism therapy, which stacks the odds against these children.


However, not all is doom or gloom. There is a flicker of hope still. There are a number of cases showing that when autism therapy has been started at an early age, there has been a total turnaround where the child became almost normal. Though nobody knows exactly how or why these turnarounds happened, it still does hold a glimmer of hope and promise for both the parents and the autistic child that there might be a potential cure somewhere down road.



About The Author
Kerry Ng is a successful Webmaster and publisher of The Autism Blog. For more great helpful information about Autism visit The Autism Blog.

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