Musical Abilities of Autistic Children as a Manifestation of Expression Occurring during the Process of Musical Therapy – a Case Study
Abstract
Music therapy is a young and rapidly growing discipline, especially in Western culture. It is a form of therapy that makes use of the comprehensive impact of music and its elements to fulfil the social, educational, emotional and cognitive needs of the individual. In music therapy, each and every participant is subjected to the influence of a range of methods and techniques, regardless of age, origin, sex, disturbance or disabilities. Music therapy is a therapeutic process, and it also supports other forms of therapy and/or rehabilitation. One of the disturbances which music therapy might be particularly helpful for is autism. Children with autism have problems with verbal and nonverbal communication: they are not able to sustain and initiate interactions with others. What is more, they have behavioral disturbances based on repetitive, stereotyped patterns of behavior, and cognitive problems. Thanks to music and music therapy, children with autism can acquire communicative, cognitive, social and motor skills. Music promises to be a source of interest for them – something that may help to improve their emotional side, in particular by sensitizing them and helping them let off tension. This article examines the list of qualitative research relevant to the issue of the effectiveness of musico-therapeutic interventions, and of such music therapy techniques as songwriting and improvisation, together with their influence on development, especially in the communicative area and with respect to the musical abilities of three children with autism who participated in the music therapy process conducted by the author. Each case is described along with all details pertaining to abilities and disturbances resulting from autism. The presentation includes resulting improvements to both the communicativity and the musical abilities of the children in question, as these emerged during the music therapy process. The article ends with an analysis and conclusions drawn from the research.References
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