Special needs children are quite different from the regular children and it is for this reason that different methods need to be adopted to help them to adapt with the regular lifestyle. This is especially true for the autistic kids who face problems in social contact and social mingling. Music therapy is one of the most recent forms of therapies which have been devised for the autistic kids. Music has proven to be a great medium through which the bridge of communication between the autistic child and the therapist can be easily made. However, music therapy is not only limited to playing a musical instrument or listening to music in the therapy sessions. Music therapies also involve singing or dancing to music at home and just get attached to music in such a way which will facilitate them to get better. So if you are a parent who thinks that they cannot help their autistic kid, just give music therapy a chance there are a variety of benefits of music therapy for an autistic kid.

It has been noticed time and again that autistic kids have a natural genius in music. Be it having a perfect voice or playing an instrument, most of the autistic kids are great in it. Learning music and playing instruments give them a chance at communication via music. Even if they do not have a great genius for music, autistic kids have been seen to enjoy music a lot more than the regular kids. Music helps them to feel emotionally grounded and make them much more relaxed. Generally autistic children feel threatened when they are exposed to a new environment or new stimuli. However, music creates a non threatening environment for them in which they can relax and learn new things.

There are a variety of benefits that an autistic child can get from music therapy-

• Group music therapies help an autistic kid in enhancing his social interactions. An autistic kid learns to share his music instruments and play when required in conjecture with his playmates. This helps him to ask for help, request for an instrument and build his sharing instincts. Therapists nowadays swear by musical therapies in group sessions. Even if your child engages in personal music therapy sessions, it is necessary to take part in group sessions too to improve his social development.
• Music therapy helps to develop the behavioral problems of an autistic kid. Most of the autistic kids have problem paying attention. During the music therapy class, the therapist stops the music suddenly in order to bring back the attention of the child. In a matter of a few months you can notice a distinct change in their behavior.
• Most of the autistic kids engage in non verbal communication. This is where music therapy comes to play. By playing instruments together or listening to music, the therapist can get the child to engage in basic communication. This will act as a base on which the child’s communication skills can be further developed.
• Music therapy helps an autistic child to get relieved of their anxiety issues. They can feel emotionally free and expressive when in a music therapy class.