Musical Therapy to Treat Autism

Musical therapy is a relatively new treatment method for autism patients, but one that should not be overlooked 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 behavioural 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 behavioural 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.

Speech and Communication Problems of Autism

Autism affects the speech and communication to some degree of all autistic people. The communication varies and is usually contributed to the actual mental process of the brain to translate the communication and what social development the child has had. If parents of an autistic child learn and practice methods that encourage the full use of the communication skills that the child has, then the child will develop faster to meet their mental ability.

Some autistic children will never gain a voice. Some are silent and rarely utter a sound while others know a few words or use grunts and noises in their effort to communicate. On the opposite end of the autistic spectrum an autistic child may have a very rich vocabulary and are able to discuss some subjects in depth and with a great deal of intellectual insight. Others will be able to only discuss specialised subjects that either they have a great interest in or they have mastered the ability to communicate about that subject.

No matter what the severity of autism is, it is not the words that they have trouble with. Most autistic children can pronounce words correctly but it how the language is used to make a coherent thought.

The language that you hear coming out of an autistic child’s mouth may be incoherent to you. The rhythm of the words or the order of the words might be totally mixed up. As the listener you would assume that the child didn’t know what they were saying, but in the child’s mind the message is clear; there is just a short between the brain and how the words come out of the mouth.

If a child asks for a glass of water, he or she may have the sentence formed in their head, but a grunt or dislocated words will come out of their mouth.

The autistic child may repeat a phrase that they have learned to associate with a physical action. The child may have heard, “Do you want a sandwich,” from his mother and will then associate that phrase every time they are hungry. Instead of saying ‘I am hungry’ the child will used the same associated phrase, ‘Do you want a sandwich?’ They may even use this phrase for multiple purposes.

It may be used when they have to go to the toilet or they are thirsty. The language can be learned by a caring parent but all to often the child becomes frustrated when adults or peers do not understand them.

Another trait of language in the autistic child is the use of key phrases or key sounds. For example, an autistic child was witnessed starting every sentence with the words, ‘I like fruitcake.’ No matter what he wanted or what he was trying to say, he would start the conversation with ‘I like fruitcake, what is your name. I like fruitcake, where do you live?’

This seems humorous at first but the child needed the phrase that he knew to facilitate the other message he was adding to it. Other autistic children will spell out a word they know like their name. For example they will say, ‘M-I-K-E, that spells Mike, what is your name. That one bit of ingrained information that seems disjointed is all they need to pull out the complete thought that follows.

Remember when dealing or communicating with an autistic child, have an open mind to what they are communicating. Their words can or can not be taken literally and their meaning may be the total opposite of what you are thinking.

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