The Magic of Music for Your Child with Special Needs

Have you ever felt very relaxed when listening to music? Have you listened to music that instantaneously brought up strong feelings, or brought you back to a special time in your life? Have you felt a sense of inner strength or spirituality when listening to music? Have you sung a lullaby to help comfort a crying baby, or the alphabet song to teach a young child? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s because you have experienced the power of music.

Music can evoke emotions, memories, spirituality, social connections, a sense of security, and comfort, as well as provide a means of expressing feelings. Music also provides a fun way for children to learn. Music has a powerful impact on people, and for those reasons music therapy has served as a healing method for physical illnesses for generations. Music has the ability to neutralize negative feelings and enhance the body’s natural stress tolerance level. People of all ages are candidates for music therapy.

Traditionally, music therapists work in institutions, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and schools for children with special needs. Music therapy uses music as a vehicle to achieve non-musical goals. When a child has special needs, music may be one of the most powerful ways to reach him or her (we’ll use him from here on), and help him function at his full potential.

Music therapists work with individuals of all levels of abilities and challenges, including disorders such as autism spectrum, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, developmental disorders, ADD and ADHD, to mention a few. Common music therapy goals include improving motor skills, communication, academic skills, social skills, attention span, improving behavior and mood, following directions, and eye contact. Music therapy can sometimes be covered through the I.E.P. (Individual Education Plan), Medicaid waiver reimbursements, and sometimes must be paid out of pocket.

Both sides of our brain experience the benefits of music, it bridges the gap between our brain’s right and left hemispheres, appealing to the whole mind. Music has the power to stimulate the senses, because when we experience music almost all our brain’s functions work at once. Children can more easily absorb information, and communicate better through music or song, and improve cognitive activity and self-awareness—which is a neurological dream come true, and which also helps explain music’s soothingly therapeutic benefits. While music has long been recognized as an effective form of therapy, parents, caregivers, and family members can use it to treat physical ailments, reduce stress, and to do a whole list of other things.

Listening to music helps develop the brain.Popular songs can be used to teach. You can take the song “BINGO” and change it to spell the child’s name. The tempo of a lullaby matches the tempo of a heartbeat. Lullabies can be used to comfort crying babies and help them feel secure. Incorporating lullabies into a bed-time ritual can help children make the difficult transition into sleep. Calm, quiet music can be used to reduce stress and enhance relaxation. Simply having relaxing music in the background can change the way you feel. Play relaxing music in the morning to reduce the stress of the morning routine. Even around dinner time, it can calm children, and help them unwind from school. This will help you relax as well.

Relaxing music can be used to reduce anxiety prior, during, or after surgery or in any medical situation where you or the child feels anxious. As children grow older and listen to more music, they will begin to have preferences. We all have favorite songs that we identify with. These songs may express an emotion that we feel, or talk about an experience we are coping with. Music is an expression of emotion and the words an expression of thought. Periodically, listen to your child’s favorite music with him.

This is a good way to communicate with your child. Asking why he enjoys a certain song can help you get a sense of things that you may not be aware of, or know about your child. Singing or playing music as a family can be a fun way to enjoy being together. Where words fail, music speaks. Music can change the world, because it can change people. It’s the one language we all speak.