Music Therapy for Autistic Children Essay -- Health, Treatment

II. History of Music Therapy Music Therapy originated in treatment hospitals for World War II Veterans. The doctors and hospital staff realized that the musicians needed training to interact with the patients. They originally had just played music in the hospitals around the patients and did not have any training other than their music training. These realizations lead to the creation of the first college degree program for Music Therapy at Michigan State University (A-9). Music Therapy is now used in many different venues, from children to Alzheimer’s Patients (N-2). According to the American Music Therapy Association â€Å"Music Therapy interventions can be designed to: Promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, express feelings, enhance memory, improved communication, and promote physical rehabilitation† (D-1). They also state that any types of music can be used for therapy and therapy can be used on any types of people including people with not existing medical conditions (N-4). A News Paper Article in New Jersey even states that Music Therapy has uses for anything from birth to adults (J-1). The AMTA States that â€Å"Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program† (D-2). Therapists are available through schools. They also have private pract ices. Depending on the state, there may be state funding for the programs (A-4). When a Therapist works with a child they began planning a treatment. This happens before any treatment is done as well as during the treatment process. They reevaluate during the treatment process to make sure that the treatment... ...n they see that they can do something, they are motivated both within the session and outside of the session (F-1). Research has shown that extemporaneous music attracts ADS children’s attention more than pre-recorded music (F-4). Children are surrounded by instruments throughout their therapy session and they learn about all of them because they are surrounded by them. They can even talk about the instruments outside of the Music Therapy Sessions (K-3). One Mother testifies that â€Å"Perhaps the best part is the carry-over effect† (K-4). X. What does not work When the Tomatis sound method, it was found to not work as well at music therapy (G-1). The research that has been done on Music therapy has been done mainly outside of the USA. The places include Turkey, Denmark, and many others. As of 2000 there were no controlled music therapy research being done (G-2).