Children with Special Needs

Music has proven to be an effective therapeutic and learning tool for individuals with special needs.

Neurologic Music therapy ® can be used to address a number of goal areas such as: cognition, movement , social interactions, communication, and creativity.

The positive experience of music is both motivating and rewarding for the child in reaching their goals.

Cognition/ Learning

Music can be an effective tool for learning. Songs provide opportunity for repetition of lesson objectives in a fun and motivating way. Music also allows for multi-sensory learning. 

The melodic line and rhythmic patterns in music encourage focused attention and can aid in improving attention span.

Movement

Music activities, using a variety of instruments, can be designed to encourage and support the development of fine and gross motor skills.

Melody and rhythm can be used to cue and support movement.

The playing of instruments and engaging in music- making provides opportunity to practice purposeful movement and to improve co-ordination.

Social

Engaging in music-making with the music therapist provides the client with the opportunity to develop social skills such as turn-taking and sharing.

Communication

Music can be used to encourage and support verbal communication. Singing and vocalizing can be used to practice target phonics or words, to increase vocabulary, and to support the development of sentences.

Music can also be a wonderful form of non-verbal communication and self-expression. The music therapist and child can engage together by playing various instruments. By responding to the child's musical expressions, the music therapist can dialogue with him or her non-verbally, within the music.

Creativity

Through vocalizations, singing, instrument choice and playing, music therapy provides an opportunity to be creative and to enjoy self-expression.

I Can!

Music therapy provides a motivating and rewarding experience for the child as they work towards their goals. Through their experiences in music therapy, the child can enjoy a sense of achievement and celebrate success.