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Music Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Julia Koifman

Music Therapy (MT) is a way of helping people with a range of disorders. It involves listening to music, talking about it, and singing, dancing, or making music. MT is a general psychotherapeutic help to people with different disorders. This article researches people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and music as a way of treating them. ASD children find it challenging to interact with others, and music, as an ancient form of communication, does not require people to have verbal abilities. Music is the language of art, which goes beyond words and speaks with commonly understood images and emotions, so it can be adapted to meet the needs and tastes of each person. MT is based on music's therapeutic effect on a person's psychological state. ASD is characterized by marked and pervasive deficits in social interaction and communication, limited interests, and repetitive activities. According to the research, it is correct to call autism not a disease or mental retardation but a developmental disorder. Among people with autism, the level of intelligence varies in the same way as among neurotypical people individually. ASD ones need more time and effort to reach their potential because their nervous system is constantly overwhelmed, and music is one of the ways to help them relax.