Ashleigh Bell

Brooke Point High School

Pablo is eight years old and cannot read or write. Suffering from severe cognitive

disabilities, he also has difficulty following directions, yet he is physically active and has

outstanding hearing and vision. Rachel is in sixth grade and wears two hearing aids,

barely has the ability to hear, but dreams of being in the school band. Cory is fifteen

years old and has cerebral palsy, wishing he could sing and travel with his choir (Brown

1). All three children have disabilities that prevent them from being normal and doing

day-to-day things. But what can they do to overcome their disabilities? The answer:

music therapy. Music therapy is being used more actively to help disabled children

develop and enhance basic skills.

Music therapy, as defined by the American Music Therapy Association, is “the

prescribed use of music by a qualified person to effect changes in the psychological,

physical, cognitive, or social functioning of individuals with health or educational

problems.” (Brown 1). This idea of using music as a healing aid traces all the way back

to the writings of such philosophers as Aristotle and Plato, and has gained popularity

throughout history. In the eighteenth century, the writings of physicians became pivotal

in the development of music therapy. One such physician was the renowned Richard

Brocklesby. Brocklesby was the only doctor to ever write a treatise on music therapy in

eighteenth century England. In his Reflections on the Power of Music (1749), he

discusses musical remedies for subjects with various emotions and diseases of the mind.

He provides a lively account of the curative powers of music as viewed in those days

(Rorke 1).
 The history of music therapy does not stop there however. During the twentieth

century, music therapy was widely used throughout World War I and World War II.

Community musicians traveled around to different veteran hospitals all over the country

and played for the thousands of war veterans who suffered from physical and emotional

trauma. The veterans’ overwhelming responses led doctors and nurses to begin

requesting musicians as a part of the hospital staff. It soon became evident however, that

hospital musicians needed prior training to maximize patients’ responses, and the demand

for a college curriculum grew immensely. In 1944, the first music therapy degree

program was founded at Michigan State University, and continues to be a leading

program today (American 2). As the world and its people change and grow, music

therapy follows.

Originally stemming from behavioral and psychoanalytic roots, music therapy has

changed over the years in its approaches and methods, focusing more on behavior

modification. In its methods, music therapy is usually either active or passive. Active

music therapy involves the child playing an instrument or singing songs, while passive

therapy involves the child listening to music and discussing his/her thoughts and feelings

(Yeaw 26). In certain cases though, dance is introduced to stay connected with the child

nonverbally while he/she rides out a tantrum (Splete 2).

Active music therapy is used as a communicative function for the child to express

him/herself in a more therapeutic way. Playing musical instruments can help develop

gross and fine motor skills, as well as improve cognitive skills, such as language and

mathematics, in handicapped children (Yeaw 60). James Borling, the director of music

therapy at Radford University describes this idea-”Music and rhythm organizes and
energizes us in ways nothing else can. It makes us want to sing. It connects us with our

emotions, makes us think on levels that go beyond the ordinary” (Crumb E5). In New

York, Dr. Clive Robbins, head of the Nordoff- Robbins Clinic for handicapped children,

uses active music therapy to help the children maximize their potential and become more

aware of the world by learning and participating more freely in it. “You watch a child

who has been unrespons ive to anything, and you see them pick up a beat or a rhythm.

What we do here comes to the bedrock of human existence. Something about the way

music is constituted, the way it’s made, goes to the core of our very existence.” (Hinckley

1).

Used as a receptive component, passive music therapy is also used to help the

children at the Nordoff-Robbins Clinic. Dr. Clive Robbins describes it as such- “We’ll

play music, and even if a child just cries, it may be crying in harmony.” (Hinckley 1).

Music, known as a symbolic language, is the mediator between the conscious and

unconscious mind, helping children to communicate and discharge their feelings (Yeaw

11). Through listening, they can differentiate their thoughts without much energy,

helping them to release emotions bottled up inside.

Along with active and passive music therapy, dance therapy is used as another

means to communicate and respond to their environment through nonverbal actions. Dr.

Suzi Tortora, a certified movement analyst and dance therapist, works with a variety of

handicapped children in New York City. She uses a process of mirroring to relate to the

type and emotional quality of the movements made by the child, staying connected with

them nonverbally, even throughout tantrums. This helps them to learn to communicate

and regain control after their tantrums. With autistic children, Dr. Tortora finds this to be
very helpful, making a transition from an experience of physical dysregulation to

regulation. “The key is that children with autistic spectrum disorder have a difficult time

relating. They are idiosyncratic in their movements. They are sensorially over-or

understimulated, and they can quickly escalate to a place of total body dysregulation.”

(Splete 2).

Through these methods of therapy, it is evident that music therapy is very

beneficial to handicapped children. Bridging art with science in the unique use of music,

music therapy restores, maintains, and improves mental and physical health in disabled

children. It offers them a new way in which to excel, giving the child individual attention

and stressing repetition that is needed to acquire lacking skills. Therapy also helps them

experience pride and success through music (Brown 2).

Music, serving as a language of emotions, stimulates behavioral responses and

provides a creative outlet for disabled children. It gives them structure to focus on

specific tasks, while improving spatial task performance and enhancing their learning.

Music also becomes a source of motivation and reinforcement for children (Yeaw 64).

Instead of focusing on what they are unable to do, music redirects them to the abilities

they do have, which in turn helps develop the lacking skills without over-working

themselves. By developing special skills through picking up unusual signals, disabled

children learn unique ways of looking at things and indirectly bypass their handicaps

(Smith 61, 62).

Music therapy becomes an inherently non-threatening and inviting medium for

disabled children, offering a safe heaven to explore feelings, behaviors, and issues.

Developmentally, most children respond to music, which facilitates the development of

interest in children because they are occupied in stimulating motor and auditory

activities, which are more about play and fun instead of work and therapy (Hussey 3). A

survey was recently conducted with music therapists who worked with children with

developmental disabilities to observe what major skill areas were assessed through these

activities. Out of the 108 surveys received, 95 were used for the collection of data and

found the following most assessed through activities: motor skills (95%), communication

skills (83%), social skills (79%), and cognitive skills (64%) (Chase 1).

Other studies have been conducted as well, focusing on brain imaging. They

show that the auditory cortex, right frontal lobe, and temporal lobe regions are involved

in the complex interactions of melodic perception and musical imagery that occur in

music therapy (Yeaw 13). It is in these regions of the brain that the cognitive skills are

developed and enhanced.

Josh Clark, eight years old, has experienced the enhancement of skills within such

parts of his brain firsthand. Diagnosed with Down Syndrome, Josh regularly sees a

music therapist, Giannina L. Hofmeister-Connolly. They do different exercises

pertaining to the alphabet, numbers, and remembering names, such as his last name.

Giannina decided the best way to help him remember his last name was to sing it in a

familiar song. So she sang out each letter of ‘Clark’ through “Twinkle Twinkle Little

Star”. Josh immediately recognized the tune and sang the letters of his last name.

“Within a week, he learned how to spell ‘Clark.’ Without music therapy, it would have

taken several weeks or several months. One thing that we all take for granted is the speed

by which we learn,” said Josh’s mother, Connie. Hofmeister-Connolly also commented

and neurologists don’t know exactly how all the pathways to the brain process

information. But music can help enhance those processes.” (Schuckel 4, 5).

In another investigation on the benefit of music therapy on disabled children,

eleven autistic children were selected to participate in a study to determine the effects of

music therapy on communicative behaviors. Of these eleven children, ten were boys and

one was a girl, ranging from six to nine in age. Five of the children were nonverbal and

four had limited functional language skills (Yeaw 47). The therapist conducting the

study played and sang music to evoke communicative responses out of the children.

After measuring the difference of their communicative behaviors from the first session to

the last, the results showed the behaviors in the children increased, proving music therapy

to be effective (48, 49).

While there is evidence to prove music therapy to be very beneficial on disabled

children, much more research is still desperately needed. Much of the research on music

therapy has been historically focused on the adult population and centered on behavioral

medicine applications, ignoring the research on children for clinical treatments in

psychiatric and developmental problems (Yeaw 60). The studies that have been

conducted support developmental and physiological theories, yet have weak arguments.

Additional research is needed to confirm the limited data that is present (64).
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