Hello everyone! During lockdown, our family has noticed a lot of Anjali’s special personality traits on a day-to-day basis. One of these fun quirks is how much she likes to sing songs, and how she understands and memorizes songs that she has heard just a few times. Of course, we’ve heard Anjali singing the theme songs of her favourite TV shows for many years. However, something interesting that we discovered recently is that she has started memorizing the tune, rhythm, and lyrics of a few lines from songs that aren’t from her favourite TV shows, and instead they are songs that she might have heard in a movie that we were watching or on the radio. We’ve noticed her singing these songs on multiple occasions, and this ability really surprised and impressed us!  This got me thinking about the appeal of music for Anjali. Why is it something that interests her, and what general benefits or impacts does it have on special needs children? Let’s take a deep dive into this subject in order to find an answer to this question.

After reading a bit about this topic, it was fascinating to learn about the positive impact that music has on children with ASD, and other special needs. I got to learn about music therapy, and how it is a specific therapy type that utilizes music to produce cognitive and social growth in a special needs child. Music therapy has very a powerful and beneficial impact since “music has quickly become a tool used in autism therapy since it can stimulate both hemispheres of our brain, rather than just one . . . This means that a therapist can use a song or instrument to support cognitive activity so that we can build self-awareness and improve relationships with others . . . Music encourages communicative behavior and can encourage interaction with others, which is something that autistic children have great difficulty with,” as stated in PsychologyToday article that analyzes a National Institute of Health study.

This shows how music acts as a catalyst for growth for a special needs student.  Perhaps the cognitive benefits and appeal of music is the reason behind Anjali being most engaged in her therapy sessions during the portion of the session where music videos are played, and having a general interest in music. The NIH study, that was the focus of the PsychologyToday article, certifies the importance of music as a tool for enriching the lives and learning of special needs children, since the study concludes “that 8–12 weeks of music intervention . . . can improve parent-reported social communication . . . and intrinsic brain connectivity in school-age children, thus supporting the use of music as a therapeutic tool for individuals with ASD.” 

So what did we learn from all of this? Mainly the fact that music has been proven to be a positive influence and impact on the development of special needs children. Due to this, I think it is important for every parent or guardian of a special needs child to expose their children to music from a young age. By doing so, you’ll be increasing the likelihood of the child being drawn to music as a hobby, and music will definitely have a positive impact on the growth of the child. At the very least, they might expand their vocabulary, as is the case with Anjali who has learned some new Hindi words, due to some Hindi songs that she’s memorized, and greetings from multiple languages, due to a specific greetings song sung during her therapy sessions. Overall, it’s clear that music is a powerful tool for the growth of a special needs child.