(1) Music therapy can develop correct social and emotional behaviors in children

Children usually have difficulties in acquiring correct social abilities. Organized musical activities such as singing, rhythm and movement can provide them with an environment in which to learn social behaviour. Group music therapy can enhance the experience of cooperation, sharing, observing order, correct polite behavior, etc. For example, "making friends" allows children to learn the courtesy of making friends, correct polite behavior (such as shaking hands), and observing the music order activities. The sense of pleasure is a powerful reinforcement for the children's participation and cooperation, and can usually attract the children's attention. Incorrect behaviors, such as disobedience, aggressive language, random activities, etc., are problems for many children. Because for most children, participating in music is a happy activity, and those incorrect behaviors are usually significantly reduced or even completely eliminated. During treatment, therapists can skillfully turn various pleasant musical activities, such as musical instrument playing, singing, listening, music creation, and exercise with musical accompaniment, into reinforcing stimuli to enhance correct social behavior.

(2) Music therapy can develop children’s communication skills

Low language communication ability is the most prominent problem for children. Children with mild and moderate disease may develop basic language skills through music therapy, but children with severe and very severe disease must learn non-verbal communication methods such as sign language or the use of pictures. Musical activities are an ideal way to learn communication skills. Therapists use the melody, rhythm, speed, pitch, dynamics, and lyrics of music to develop the child's expressive language (the ability to convey verbal or nonverbal messages), receptive language (the ability to understand information), and the ability to receive instruction. In addition, music activities can help children expand the range of speech, improve pitch discrimination, and improve speech clarity and speech quality.

Accepting sounds from the environment, or auditory sense, is the prerequisite for understanding language. Children often lack the ability to distinguish meaningful auditory stimuli from irrelevant auditory stimuli in the environment, and thus are unable to acquire and communicate information. Therapists can help children enhance the function of their auditory system through the practice of various musical activities, such as locating, tracking, identifying and distinguishing sounds. Every music therapy session should include many language experiences, such as the use of repeated melodies and lyrics, or appropriate songs that emphasize certain important lyrics, to help children enhance their memory of the content. The therapist should speak as clearly as possible, using simple sentences, and give the child enough time to respond. In addition, it is advocated to use visual cues to promote the learning process, such as using fallen leaves, fruits, agricultural products and other items commonly seen in autumn when learning songs about "autumn".

(3) Music therapy can develop the learning ability of children

Music activities can be used to teach knowledge concepts, such as recognizing colors and shapes (classification of objects); through volume, quantity , features to classify objects (order arrangement); learn the spatial relationship between up and down and inside and outside; identify the difference between "first", "second" and "last" (time relationship), etc. Colors can be identified by instruments painted in different colors, and "high and low"

can be expressed by the volume of the music. Children with the disease usually have difficulty in short-term memory, and their ability to recall information shortly after it is presented is very limited. Music can help children with the disease remember important knowledge content. For example, matching a nice and familiar melody with the learning content is an effective way to enhance memory. The learning content is presented through two or more sensory forms, that is, compound sensory activities can also effectively promote the retention of short-term memory learning content. For example, songs about animals paired with pictures of animals, etc. Of course, the ability to use music to enhance information retention requires multiple repetitions and slower speeds.

(4) Music therapy can develop children’s preschool abilities

Before entering the learning stage, there are some behaviors that must be learned, such as attention, concentration ability, following instructions, and eye contact wait. Children often lack these abilities, and musical activities can help children develop these preschool behaviors.

Such as concentration: Because of the lack of the ability to "filter" irrelevant stimuli, many children with this disease have difficulty focusing on a simple operation. Therapists use auditory, visual, tactile and other sensory signal prompts to help children strengthen their concentration. For example, group music activities require children to follow the music signal prompts, such as starting to play the musical instrument when they hear music. Music must be performed at the right moment, which is the ability required for a successful musical performance.

Therapists often have to consciously extend the waiting time for children before playing to improve their attention and concentration abilities. Another example is following instructions: For children with disabilities, following simple instructions is a prerequisite for learning. In order to improve the child's ability, the treatment activities divide a more complex guidance process into several simple steps. First, let the child learn to "stand up". When he does it well enough, he will be taught the second step. The first step: "Stand up, pick up the snare drum", and the third step: "Stand up, pick up the snare drum, and pass it to the child next to you." After integrating these instructions into the song, you can effectively help children with music problems. Learn to follow continuous instructions during activities. Another example is eye contact: the ability to initiate and maintain eye contact will directly affect the development of concentration and communication skills. Many important information is conveyed through non-verbal forms, so if there is no eye contact, these important information will be lost. information.

Fun musical activities can help maintain eye contact between therapist and child. The period of eye contact can be gradually extended through behavior modification or other methods.

(5) Music therapy can develop children’s motor skills

The development of motor skills is closely related to learning. The essence of music is a time art that is completed in a time sequence without any interruption, so it is an ideal tool to stimulate and train children to perform sports. All human movements are related to the central nervous system, which awakens and controls muscle activity. This highly complex system is immature at birth. Usually the baby's central nervous system develops very quickly and can complete complex activity skills such as running and jumping by about 6 years old. However, children whose central nervous system develops slowly or who do not have complete voluntary movement may have difficulty or even impossibility. Movement to music is an important part of music therapy. Musical activities can help children develop fine and gross motor skills. The rhythm factor of music provides children with movement structure and motivation, helping children learn to walk, run, jump and other movements. In turn, these movements promote children's body awareness, balance, space, agility, mobility, strength, direction and other basic learning abilities. For children with more severe disease, it is more important to try rhythmic exercise in the early stages than to successfully complete the exercise.

When the child can move more freely, the therapist begins to encourage the child to move according to the rhythm of the music. Gross muscle group exercises, such as dancing, can help strengthen children's muscles and help develop agility, coordination and balance. Playing musical instruments, such as piano and guitar, can improve children's fine motor control ability, which in turn promotes children's learning abilities, such as writing and painting.

(6) Music therapy can use music as an entertainment activity

If children do not receive correct training, their leisure time life will be meaningless. Therapists can encourage children to engage in musical activities in their leisure time, and children can learn how to use audio equipment and participate in community activities; they can also learn to play musical instruments, which is also an effective way to help them gain satisfaction in their leisure time. The therapist must adapt the instrument to suit the child's special needs. As a meaningful form of leisure life activity, music can help children adapt better and successfully to community life.