Posted: December 17, 2015
Wherever we go, it feels like we cannot escape the sound of music. In the car, elevators, stores, and in our homes, we are constantly affected by music. Many families are realizing the effects that music has on their children. Between music therapy, instruments, and education, music is becoming apart of special needs children’s lives. Music therapy may be able to increase your child’s quality of life and there is an option of adding it to your child’s IEP. There are also tools that can be used by children with special needs to create music. Knowing how important music can be, we summarized past music blogs to get the conversation started again.
Music can be used as a therapy to help children improve certain areas of their life. Music therapy may be able to improve speech, cognitive skills, and motor coordination and range of motion. Singing can help improve the rate of speech while teaching the child about a certain subject. Music can also be used with exercises. It is a different way than traditional physical therapy and it can be a fun change to help develop muscles.
When it comes to finding a therapist in this realm, you will want to look closely at the individual’s education. Specifically, you want someone who has a degree in music therapy and understands the value it can have for your child’s ongoing development and ability. Also, you want someone who understands your child’s condition and specific needs. If you would like to read more about music therapy, you can check out our blog post on it here.
Music therapy can be added to your child’s IEP if it is necessary for your child’s education. An assessment will have to be conducted by observing your child in a non-music setting and then a music setting. Differences will be documented and talked about with the IEP committee. There are different types of assessments that can be utilized, but they all hold similar information and have the goal of determining rather or not music therapy can be added as a related service to your child’s IEP. It can be a long process, but it could be the right choice for your child and improve their education. For more information about adding music therapy to your child’s IEP, read the post here.
A child with special needs may not be able to play a regular instrument, but may still have the interest in creating their own music. With so many advances in technology, there are now options for those children to experiment with music. Three products include Skoog, Touchtone, and Soundbeam. Skoog and Touchtone are similar and uses pressure from touch to create music. Children will learn how to make certain sounds with different movements and therefore be able to create music. Soundbeam doesn’t need touch to create music; it uses movement. This encourages children to use their arms and other body parts to make sounds. If you would like to learn more about these three products, click here.
Overall, music is apart of our lives and may be able to help your child. Even if it can’t be used as a therapy, it can be used for fun activities. There are tools and options out there so your child can create their own music and find a passion in a new activity. This unique form of therapy may be able to help your child improve speech, cognitive abilities, and motor coordination and range of motion. Music has and will always be in our lives, so why not see how it effects your child. It may just end up helping create a new passion or improving your child’s quality of life.
If you have any questions about Cerebral Palsy, call us at (800) 692-4453 or fill out our contact form on Facebook or our website.
