Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone and winter is now in full swing. In my part of the country, it can be 40 degrees one day and 75 the next, so my family tries to keep our immune systems filled with healthy eating and vitamins to keep us going.
Now that our kids are completely back at school and immersed in their learning, it’s time to think about adding new therapies or revitalizing old ones.
As I said in my previous post, I am writing about a variety of therapies that my son and other families have found to be very helpful in their healing journey. I believe that many of them will work for you as well.
For this post, I want to sing praises to Music Therapy (MT). This happens to be my son’s favorite. He gets the best of both worlds; music and learning. One important point about MT is to make sure you have a licensed therapist. Many people claim to be music therapists, but you want your child to receive a professionally trained practitioner.
In music therapy, the practitioner utilizes a variety of instruments and songs to help your child with speech, focus, behavior and any other challenges they may be facing. The therapist will create a plan to tailor fit your child’s needs. It is never a one-size-fits-all in MT.
My son already loved music and playing with his keyboards at home. His therapist built on that and now he also enjoys strumming the guitar or hitting on the drums as well. My son’s focus, articulation and fine motor skills have greatly improved since starting MT. Needless to say his whole face lights up when the day comes for his music therapy session.
Many programs start at 3 years old (some even earlier) and continue into adulthood. My particular MT has a teen music band for kids on the Spectrum and they give performances throughout the year.
If you’re interested in music therapy checkout the link below or on my Resource page. Also, some schools incorporate music therapy in their curriculum, so talk with your special needs coordinator to see if your district has an MT program. If your child has never tried MT, it is definitely a therapy that is worth investigating.
Mama 4 Healing Autism 