Music Therapy to Help People with Special Needs

Music Therapy to Help People with Special Needs

Several major studies have suggested music can be good for one’s health. The research has shown that listening to music or playing instruments can help heal both physical and mental conditions.

In the United States, there are more than 6,000 trained music therapists. Many of them work with people with special needs to help improve communication skills and social connections.

One such example is Lucas, a 3-year-old boy from Virginia who has autism. Autism, also known as Autism Spectrum¹ Disorder², is a complex developmental disability. It affects a person’s ability to communicate and do things with other people.

Katey Hernandez is Lucas’s mother. She told VOA that her son’s condition can cause him to react strongly to loud noises or bright lights. “And he really likes to jump and swing and climb, and anything active,” she said.

Lucas is currently³ receiving weekly one-on-one music therapy treatments. His therapist, Dixie Mazur, visits Lucas at home and brings along several musical instruments. During the visits, Mazur plays music and sings. Her goal is to help increase Lucas’ attention span⁴ and improve his communication skills.

“I brought in piano today because I’ve found that piano can be a great tool to work with anybody - I provides a lot of independence.”

Mazur also brought in drums, which she said can be effective tool to engage a person or redirect their attention. She likes to work with as many different instruments as possible. This gives the individuals “the freedom and ownership” to take the therapy in any direction they want it to go, Mazur said.

Lucas’ mother says Mazur’s therapy has so far been very helpful and she is happy with the results she sees.

“Ms. Dixie has come up with a few songs to help him with social dialogue. So it helps him communicate with us a lot more, when we can’t figure out exactly what he needs.”

Zoe Gleason Volz is another music therapist. She works in a group setting with people who have different cognitive⁵ disabilities.

“A lot of my work is trying to slowly get them to positively⁶ engage with their fellow group members, as well as actively⁷ engage with me.”

Gleason Volz says scientific research has shown that when a person is listening to music, the entire brain “is lit up” with activity. “Whereas, when you’re talking with somebody, you’re probably more into one hemisphere⁸ of the brain rather than both,” she said.

Music therapist Kelsi Yingling founded the company NeuroSound Music Therapy, where Gleason Volz and Mazur work. She says that, in addition to training, music therapists also need personal qualities to help them connect with the people they work with.

These include strong musical and personal relationship skills, as well as the ability to work well with many kinds of individuals and in different situations. Yingling says that for her, using music to help people reach their goals and improve their lives “is really one of the most rewarding things I can be doing in my life.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

therapist – n. person who helps people deal with mental or emotional problems

swing – v. to repeatedly move from side to side or backward and forward

attention span – n. the period during which someone can stay interested or listen carefully to something

engage – v. cause someone to become interested or involved in an activity

dialogue – n. speaking with someone in conversations

cognitive – adj. relating to or involving the processes of thinking and reasoning

hemisphere – n. used to describe half of a ball-shaped object

adapt – v. to adjust to different conditions or situations

1 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

4 span   

n.跨度，跨距，范围；vt.持续，贯穿，跨越

参考例句：

• The time span of these documents from 1954 to 2009.这些文件的时间跨度为1954年至2009年。
• The measurement span is determined by the higher and lower range values.测量量程由上限值和下限值决定。

5 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

6 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。