Benefits of Music Therapy for Special Needs Children

Music therapy can promote learning and skill acquisition to help the child attain educational goals. According to the American Music Therapy Association, music is processed by a different area of the brain than speech and language, so a child may be able to absorb information when associated with music.² Connecting an educational concept to music can serve as an initial assist in teaching the new concept. How many of us learned the alphabet by singing our ABCs?

Rhythmic movement to music is a fun way to develop gross motor skills such as mobility, agility, balance, and coordination. And it can help reduce muscle tension. 

Music therapy can also have psychological, social, and emotional benefits. Music may provide a distraction from physical discomfort or anxiety associated with physical, mental, or emotional disorders. 

Listening to preferred music can enhance mood, attention, and behavior to optimize the student’s ability to learn and interact with others. Because music is reinforcing, it can be used to motivate students with special needs. Singing Jack Hartmann’s “Good Morning Song” to my stepson always gets him excited to go to school. 

With evidence-based outcomes like increased attention and auditory processing, improved behavior, language, and cognitive functioning, decreased self-stimulation and agitation, increased socialization, and enhanced sensory-motor skills, music therapy is a fun way for special needs students to meet their educational goals.³

^{[1] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/8817-music-therapy}

^{[2] https://www.musictherapy.org/assets/1/7/bib_Special_Education.pdf}

^{[3] https://www.musictherapy.org/assets/1/7/bib_Special_Education.pdf}