The article Music Therapy Engages Children With Autism In Outdoor Play it talks about how children with autism and how music encourages them in outdoor play. in a study evaluation with 4 preschoolers with autism, researches developed an outdoor music center. where they could go and play with the musical instruments and the leader would compose a song. the article states that the music hut initiated play between two children with autism. prior to the intervention, all four boys had little interaction with their peers. Eric ranged from 0 to 18 percent positive peer interactions during a 10 minute daily observation time. Ben (a second child with autism) ranged from 0 to 13 percent. this shows how after music time in the music hut helped them improve their score. once it was introduced most kids experienced a slight increase in interactions. after the teacher became involved in the playtime the interactions jumped higher for Eric and Ben. Eric's score ranged from 33 percent to 68 percent. And Ben's score ranged from 53 percent to 93 percent. It shows how the Music hut helped improve the scores for the kid's interactions on the playground.
In my own words, I feel that music can be a big part of someone's life, it can be a mood booster or a stress reliever. But to see it being used for autistic children is something that just warms my heart. I wouldn't imagine that music would be something that would give them a good boost of interactions with other kids on the playground. I personally am always listening to music I always have the headphones in and it is something that helps me have a better day when things have gone south. I can say music has helped me find an escape to whatever I am feeling. And I can imagine how excited these children must have been playing with instruments and singing along. In conclusion, I'd like to say that I've seen music affect kids in many ways, but I never imagined it to be this powerful.
References
FPG Child Development Institute. (2007). Music Therapy Engages Children with Autism in Outdoor Play. FPG Snapshot. Number 39, February 2007. FPG Child Development Institute. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED496633&site=ehost-live
Very informative towards what advantages music holds.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of involving music into therapy. Music has many benefits as it has been seen to increase seratonin levels (the happy hormone). This is interesting how it ties into child development.
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