Just like any other children, children with disabilities that hinder their learning capability still have a right to education. Unfortunately, learning disabilities make learning for such children quite difficult. A few examples of these disabilities include autism, Down’s syndrome and even Rett syndrome. Such disabilities may lead to anxiety, frustration, and behavioral difficulties during the course of learning for children which greatly disadvantages compared to other children without such hindrances. Music therapy for a long while has been shown to counter the challenges that children with learning therapies face. This form of therapy often results in learning becoming more enjoyable and manageable for children with learning disabilities (Ducharme, 2013). To properly understand this phenomenon it is important to evaluate what exactly music therapy is and its consequent benefits.
Music therapy is just like any other form of therapy and at the same time, it is something entirely different. The reason for saying this is that while music therapy borrows greatly from traditional counseling practices it varies quite a bit with regards to the fundamentals (Ducharme, 2013). In succinct terms, music therapy can be defined as an interaction (s) between a client and a therapist through the use of music. Normally a music therapist is tasked with designing a clinical treatment plan to correlate with the client’s goal. This helps direct the course and effectiveness of the whole sessions. Music therapy has been shown to be positively impactful regardless of age and, thereby, it is a good and safe way to aid kids with learning disabilities.
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With that said it is prudent to look into why music therapy is important or effective. For one, the thing about music therapy is that it is nonverbal. A lot of children with learning disabilities may find it hard to fully communicate with others. Music therapy eliminates that barrier as it only requires one to listen to music which may be anything from listening to instruments or other people singing (Judd, 2014). Moreover, music can evoke both light and strong emotions and music therapy helps children who have trouble communicating to convert them in a right manner. When a child learns to communicate clearly then certainly learning becomes simpler as well.
What’s more, music is a good motivator for many children with learning disabilities. For teachers and even parents getting children with learning disabilities to learn new thing and accomplish fairly tough tasks can be quite a challenge. According to Judd music therapy can be used in young children to prompt them to make requests or even fairly older children as motivation to help them complete a certain task (2014). For instance, singing through an activity has been showcased to inspire children to finish it gleefully. Lastly, music is a very effective and beautiful way to connect with just about anyone. Music therapy can aid in the creation of bonds with mainly the parent albeit at the supervision of a music therapist. As such it is often advisable that parents accompany their children.
In conclusion, music therapy refers to the use of music to assess and rehabilitate a person’s social, psychological, emotional or spiritual needs. Music seems to counter all the challenges that make it hard for children with learning disabilities to effectively learn. Some of these challenges include difficulty to communicate, behavioral difficulties, anxiety and even frustration. In brief, learning disabilities make both learning and teaching frustrations; if the right methods are not used then learning tends to be redundant. Music if used effectively can do a whole lot of benefit to children facing such difficulties. Music therapy aims to comfort, motivate and even soothe thereby making it a suitable form of therapy for children and such its use for recommendation. With such benefits, it is not hard to comprehend why music therapy is on the rise for children with learning disabilities. Therefore, parent should not shy away from seeking the services of a music therapist if they have a child who has a learning disability.
Annotated Bibliography
Ducharme, J. (2013). How Music Therapy Works . Retrieved from http://www.bostonmagazine.com/health/blog/2013/05/15/music-therapy/
In How Music Therapy Works, Ducharme gives an interesting insight into the happenings of music therapy. Using a rather easy to understand language and informative, this article is quite comprehensive. The entire piece is aimed at being informative which makes it rather casual.
Duffy, B., & Fuller, R. (2000). Role of music therapy in social skills development in children with moderate intellectual disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities , 13 (2), 77-89.
Duffy and Fuller evaluate the underlying intellectual disabilities that make learning a challenge for children. The study deduces the effectiveness of music therapy in curbing these disabilities. Following their 8 week duration, their findings concluded that music therapy was indeed effective improving the five target social skills.
Edwards, J. (2015). The Oxford handbook of music therapy . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Although written by Edwards, The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy represents the cooperation of 10 specialists in evaluating contemporary music therapy. Edwards’ book is ultimately completely with regards to music therapy as it details almost everything that there is to know.
Judd, R. (2014). 5 Reasons Why Music Helps Children with Special Needs . Retrieved from http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2014/01/13/5-reasons-why-music-helps-children-with-special-needs/
Judd gives a few examples of the benefits of music therapy to children with special needs in this article. Some of the reasons are well thought out; however, it is prudent to note that no real evidence or correlation with a scientific study is showcased. Thus Judd’s article, which is highly comprehensive, is good in terms of getting the gist of music therapy.
Gold, C., Voracek, M., & Wigram, T. (2004). Effects of music therapy for children and adolescents with psychopathology: a meta‐analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 45 (6), 1054-1063.
Unlike other researchers Gold, Voracek and Wigram analyze the effects of music therapy for children from a variety of other studies. Their method entailed evaluating eleven studies which in turn resulted in 188 test cases or participants. Their findings, in turn, showcased a positive correlation between music therapy and improvement in children with psychopathology.
Montello, L., & Coons, E. E. (1998). Effects of active versus passive group music therapy on preadolescents with emotional, learning, and behavioral disorders. Journal of Music Therapy , 35 (1), 49-67.
Montello and Coons’ study intended to contrast the effects of individuals who underwent active and rhythm-based music therapy versus those who underwent passive group music therapy. Their findings concluded that results varied on the hostility scale i.e. group music therapy was more effective in curbing aggression-related behaviors.
Oldfield, A. (2006). Interactive music therapy in child and family psychiatry: Clinical practice, research, and teaching . London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Oldfield’s book is both an essential tool for therapy students and novice music therapists. Her work is simply exemplary as she even develops various assessment tools which further explain music therapy. In succinct words, the book provides an outline for using music therapy and child psychiatry.
Oldfield, A., & Flower, C. (2008). Music Therapy with Children and their Families . London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd.
Music Therapy with Children and their Families borrows many concepts from Oldfield's prior book stated above. However, this book addresses the effects and importance of music therapy not only on the children participants but to their families as well.
Register, D., Darrow, A. A., Swedberg, O., & Standley, J. (2007). The Use of Music to Enhance Reading Skills of Second Grade Students and Students with Reading Disabilities. Journal of Music Therapy, 44(1), 23-37.
The purpose of Register, Darrow, Swedberg and Standley’s paper was to determine the efficiency of using music therapy to improve reading skills. The researchers implement their methodology in two public schools in the South East. Their findings were varied as they concluded that the research showcased no significant improvement in reading but made gains in controlling the class.
Standley, J. M. (2008). Does music instruction help children learn to read? Evidence of a meta-analysis. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education , 27 (1), 17-32.
Like Gold, Voracek, and Wigram, Standley also gives a meta-analysis on music therapy. However, Standley’s research is more recent and is focused solely on reading among children.
Outline
Introduction
Give background info on music therapy.
State thesis statement. This should serve as the main outline of the paper.
Information on learning disabilities
Example of some learning disabilities mainly in children and those that hinder learning.
Showcase how these learning disabilities make it hard for children to effectively learn.
Music therapy information
What music therapy is?
How it works/is done.
Comparison between music therapy and other therapy types.
Analysis of Music Therapy
Evaluate the effects of music therapy in children.
Correlate the effects or improvements with music therapy.
If possible evaluate real-life cases of music therapy.
Benefits of music therapy
Why is music therapy useful?
Reasons for applying music therapy to children with learning disabilities.
Conclusion
Affirms the thesis statement.
Close with a strong remark.
