Music therapy Autism is a very important part of the treatment for this serious disease. Most the music therapy autism patients are children and this makes the application of the treatments even more integral to the successful results of the therapy. Since Autism is generally discovered in children three years old or younger, many Autism patients begin treatment at a very young age. This is quite beneficial as there is some research to suggest that early treatment of Autism can greatly improve the child's ability to function on his own in a more "normal" way. Music therapy autism is generally used with children – and even sometimes with children as young as three to five years of age – because a child can appreciate music at a young age.
Of course, not all types of music therapy can be used in young autism patients. Those treatments that require coordinated actions and activities might be too advanced for young children. But other types of music therapy can be used to treat autism in children. For example, some methods of music therapy for Autism patients are used to engage the patient; some children respond well to this type of music therapy autism.
The reason music therapy autism is used with children is because there is a very high success rate. Autistic children tend to have extremely high aptitudes for music. They are unusually talented in the music area, and many are natural instrument players and singers. By using music therapy to treat Autism, music therapists can help the Autistic child build his or her language skills.
Music therapists will play a musical note and the child will respond by singing the same note. There has been extensive research on this phenomenon and some of the research even shows that some of the children in the studies even progress past just singing a solitary note. Music therapy autism treatments are used to teach autistic children who cannot communicate in more than grunts or hums to form small words. This technique was researched in one study where a therapist matched combinations of consonants and vowels to musical notes and taught an Autistic child to speak simple words by singing them.
Similar techniques are used to help Autistic children to communicate in more complex ways as well. Music therapy autism professionals will create repetitive songs that they teach to the child. The words of the song create a way for the child to communicate his wants and needs through singing. The repetitive nature of the songs works with the way the Autistic mind understands and remembers things.
Like all types of therapies, music therapy cannot begin until the patient has been assessed by the therapist. Music therapy assessment is similar in theory to the assessment done by any other medical practitioner: the therapist evaluates the patient, determines the patient's needs, addresses the patient's concerns about the therapy process, and then creates a therapy program tailored to that specific patient.
But music therapy assessment differs from medical assessment in many ways as well. Whereas a medical doctor asks about the patient's symptoms, decides on the cause and suggests a cure or treatment, the music therapist cannot quickly determine the needs of the patient based on a simple conversation. Many music therapists need more than just a few minutes with a patient; they require extended exposure to the patient in the form of conversation, observation and sometimes even analysis of the patient's environment before they can accurately determine what type of treatment would work well for the specific individual.
Once the music therapist has determined the needs of the patient, they still have to create a treatment plan. Music therapy assessment plays into this step as the therapist uses what he or she observes and learns from the patient to adjust the treatment plan accordingly. Music therapists often create completely unique treatment plans for each patient because each patient has specific, distinctive traits, symptoms, and needs that are different from those of any other patient. Rarely will a music therapy assessment lead a music therapist to exactly the same treatment plan that he or she has used before.
This is not to say, however, that a music therapy assessment and treatment plan will not lead the therapist to specific treatment tools. In fact, there are methods of treatment in music therapy – as there are in psychiatric therapy or any other therapy – that are used to treat certain illnesses. For example, an Autistic patient can expect his therapist to use treatment methods that have been found to be successful in Autism patients. However, there are many different methods for each illness and the combinations of these treatment methods will differ with each patient.
The multitude of treatment methods for each illness and ailment is wonderful because it allows the music therapist to choose from a wide range of possibilities to treat each individual. However, the sheer number of potential treatments makes it even more important that the music therapy assessment is performed by a qualified music therapist who has extensive experience with the patient's type of illness. The more experience a music therapist has with Autism, for example, the better he or she can treat the many different types of Autism that affect the population.
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