The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Music therapy, as provided by a certified music therapist, can be effective in helping persons with autism achieve expressive and receptive communication goals. This session will provide an overview of music therapy in general as well as information on why music therapy is effective and a description of benefits available from specific music therapy techniques. The presentation will include examples of communication successes the presenter has seen in her own music therapy practice when working with persons with autism. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a general overview and introduction on the use of music therapy to address non-musical goals and to specifically discuss how music therapy techniques can be used to increase communication skills of persons with autism. Session concepts will include a general introduction to the principles and practices used in music therapy, the education and training of a music therapist and examples of typical music therapy goals. The clinical process will be discussed, including the purpose and explanation of the following: referral, music therapy assessment, treatment, documentation and evaluation. Reasons music therapy is effective and benefits of using music therapy with persons with autism will be presented. Specific music therapy techniques used to achieve communication goals will be discussed and examples of music therapy activities used to improve expressive and receptive communication goals will be demonstrated. The presenter will also cite examples of successes she has seen in her own practice using music therapy techniques to achieve communication goals of children with autism. Persons attending this session will receive an increased awareness of how planned music activities can be used to address specific communication goals.

Learning Objectives: