What are the advantages and disadvantages of a musical education ...

How music can benefit children with learning disabilities
Music therapy is an important tool used to help children with learning disabilities. Music can
have a huge impact on areas such as reading, reasoning ability, language development,
feelings and response, communication, and motor control. Music therapy can help to capture
the attention of children with learning disabilities in a way that many other mental and
physical activities cannot. It can stimulate different parts of the brain and help children to
become more in touch with their emotions. When working with children with special needs,
the techniques that are used to teach children in mainstream schools may not be as effective.
This doesn’t mean that children with special needs aren’t intelligent or cannot learn the same
skills; it just means that the way in which they learn information is often different. Often
children with learning disabilities take longer to become comfortable in new surroundings,
and struggle to communicate their emotions, which can be very frustrating for them if they
are not taught in the correct way and in the right environment. Many special needs children
find it easier to communicate through music than they do through speech. Music therapy can
be used as an effective way to teach children with learning disabilities in a way that is easy
and clear for them to understand. There are various musical activities that can be used to help
these children. Singing can be used to help language development and playing a variety of
instruments or getting children to move to different kinds of music can help those with
physical difficulties. In an article written on music therapy for children with learning
disabilities, the writer, who is left unnamed, talks about the positive effects that singing can
have on children with speech problems: ‘Singing may help in the improvement and
maintenance of the pulmonary functioning and oral-motor skills. It also helps in improving
rate of speech, breath-control, pronunciation and articulation skills. It also enhances feelings
of self-worth, self- esteem and self-independence’ (admin, 2010). It is often the case that
children who suffer from stammers and speech impediments are able to sing fluently
although they have great difficulty when speaking. Many children and adults who stammer
find it easier to talk if they use a sing-song style of talking. The rhythm and pace of using a
sing-song technique makes it easier for speech to flow.
Music therapy can be extremely effective when working with autistic children, as they can be
extremely sensitive to music. Some autistic children are able to sing, despite not being able
to speak. In these cases, music therapy uses simple songs with repetitive phrases to help to
develop a child’s language and speech. Some autistic children have a remarkable talent for
music, for example, some have perfect pitch while others have an outstanding ability to play
a musical instrument. Vocal exercises can also help with listening skills, breath control and
articulation. ‘Music is a unique path to communication and learning for children with autism’
(King, 2004, P.5).
In her book ‘Music Therapy Group work with Special Needs Children’, the author Karen D.
Goodman talks about how different styles and genres of music can be used to help children
with particular disabilities:
Music Education in Regard to Children CM6002 Emily McGregor 163930
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