Children with Down Sydnrome love to communicate. The connections between music and speech sparked the interest of the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee as they conducted a study in a local special education school for children with Down Syndrome. The study focused on the perceptions of music therapy as well as the overall effect therapy sessions had on the communication skills of children with Down Syndrome. Caregivers and teacher assistants completed a survey by rating 29 questions from 1-6. All adults participating in the survey had varying years of experience, but were familiar with the symptoms of Down Syndrome and recognized the strengths and weaknesses of children with the particular disability. Once the questionnaires were completed, music therapists interpreted and compared the data to their own observations and assessments completed during the sessions. The results showed comparable perceptions and a strong correlation between music and communication.
Music shares similar characteristics and elements to speech and language skills. As music is comprised of melodies, rhythm and harmonies, our speech uses a parallel dialogue of tone, pitch and fluency. At a very early age, infants explore musical elements of speech by exchanging vocal noises and imitating sounds and pitch. Many babies are
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Sequencing words and using syntax have been observed to be an area of difficulty. Often students with Down Syndrome will omit verbs and functional words, making their speech unintelligible to unfamiliar listeners. These impairments are likely a result of the mild to moderate intellectual disability caused by Down Syndrome. Just as we accommodate a child with disabilities in the classroom, music therapists have created an alternative method of communication for children with delays in speech and language
Lavoie’s workshop provokes an emotional response. After viewing life through the eyes of a child with special needs, I cannot help but have a more significant understanding of what people, especially children with disabilities, must deal with every day, everywhere. During the many years that I have worked with children with various disabilities, I have encountered each of the topics discussed in Lavoie’s workshop and agree with the points he makes regarding children with disabilities. Particularly impacting the way I interact with my students are the topics concerning: anxiety, reading comprehension, and fairness.
...o account that much of the evidence is the author’s own works, that a bias is present. Darrow strongly believes in the integration of students with hearing loss into the music classroom. She does however point out opposing views and successfully dismantles them with strong and sound reasoning. One of the points Darrow makes is that many people believe that music is a “hearing value” and that the ability to make discriminations about what a person might hear is solely a function of hearing, when in reality it is actually a function of listening. “Listening is a mental process; hearing is a physical process,” states Darrow. The music learning environment is a great place for these students to develop their listening skills. “The development of good listening skills allows students with hearing losses to use their residual hearing to the maximum extent possible” (Darrow)
A way that in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders is using music therapy instead of play therapy as it increases turn taking and eye contact more than when play therapy is used (E-4). Eye Contact was even proved to be held longer during this study when the child was participating in music therapy activities than when they were in regular play activities(E-1). When a mother was quoted on the British Columbian Music Therapy website, she stated that the “skills and abilities acquired in the music therapy setting generalize widely across situations.
"Having Down syndrome is like being born normal. I am just like you and you are just like me. We are all born in different ways, that is the way I can describe it. I have a normal life"(Burke, C., n.d.). Where special education is concerned, one must always remember that exceptional learners are different, not less. In the following studies, the various strengths and weaknesses of the language and communication of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is reviewed and discussed.
While Music Therapy has gained wide-spread acclaim for its effectiveness and garnered increasing attention in the fields of Medicine and Psychology, it has not quite effervesced into the level of popularity proportional to how effective it has actually proven to be. For the purposes of this paper, the focus will be restricted to Special Education. Specifically, what will be examined is the effect that underfunding of Special Education has on the children themselves and their ability to socialize and assimilate into society as functional members. Due to the nature of Special Education, the challenges it poses to teachers, parents, other students, and society at large are significant. This population represents neurological, physiological, and
We are all familiar with the way children interact and play together. Through these interactions, it is clear to see their curiosity, energetic attitude, and friendliness. However there is one important part of their interactions that is overlooked. We often do not think much of kids humming a tune or combining small syllables into a little song, but if we paid close attention, we could see how music is so thoroughly integrated into a child’s life. After reading “Songs in Their Heads: Music and its Meaning in Children’s Lives” by Patricia Shehan Campbell, it became clear to me how children have a concept of music from such a young age, and in a lot of cases, their knowledge of music is not taught to them through school.
Now employed at a local elementary school as a Special Education paraprofessional, I work with children possessing meager or no verbal skills, as well as children with Autism, Down Syndrome, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, and various other communication disorders. Observing speech therapy sessions where children from all aspects of the Autism spectrum are taught, as well as some students with Down syndrome, I acknowledge how divergent, tailored approaches can produce agile and further growth. Speech was a typical impairment in most of the children I worked with at the elementary school. Having the ability to work with them first-hand on improving their speech, motor, and developmental skills, enabled me to use multiple methods learned throughout my undergraduate education. Having spent several days shadowing numerous professionals within the school setting, I have discovered my passion for working with young
Music therapy is a strategy that can be tweaked and modified to fit each particular student and those student’s needs. Because every child who has ASD may not suffer with the same things. However, this strategy allows a teacher to differentiate the way it is administered to each student. A lot of students, who have ASD, struggle with communication. “MT is a non-verbal therapy;” (Kalyva, 2011, p. 91) “which is why the method is particularly effective for individuals with verbal expression difficulties, such as children with autism” (Landau,
UCP, . "Benefits of Music for Children with Special Needs: Tips for Parents and Educators." United Cerebral Palsy. N.p., 2012. Web. 12 Jan 2012.
Down syndrome is a medical condition where extra genetic material physically and mentally delays the way that a child develops (KidsHealth). Laws have been put in place to ensure that children with disabilities, including Down syndrome, are guaranteed to a free public education (National Down Syndrome Society). However, students typically at the elementary level, do not completely understand that other students with disabilities are just like them, regardless of their disability. It is more beneficial for students with down syndrome or those with other disabilities if teachers and administrators educated other students on how people with disabilities learn and function (National Down Syndrome
Communication is very crucial in life, especially in education. Whether it be delivering a message or receiving information, without the ability to communicate learning can be extremely difficult. Students with speech and language disorders may have “trouble producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, or understanding what other people say” (Turkington, p10, 2003) Each of these problems can create major setbacks in the classroom. Articulation, expression and reception are all essential components for communication. If a student has an issue with articulation, they most likely then have difficulty speaking clearly and at a normal rate (Turkington, 2003). When they produce words, they may omit, substitute, or even distort sounds, hindering their ability to talk. Students who lack in ways of expression have problems explaining what they are thinking and feeling because they do not understand certain parts of language. As with all types of learning disabilities, the severity can range. Two extreme cases of expression disorders are dysphasia and aphasia, in which there is partial to no communication at all (Greene, 435, 2002). Individuals can also have a receptive disorder, in which they do not fully comprehend and understand information that is being given to them. They can experience problems making sense of things. “Children may hear or see a word but not be able to understand its meaning” (National Institutes of Health, 1993, p1). Whether children have difficulty articulating speech, expressing words, receiving information, or a combination of the three, there is no doubt that the tasks given to them in school cause frustration. These children experience anxiety when...
“Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb; Mary had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow.” For centuries “Mary had a little lamb” has become one of the most universally recognized nursery rhythms since being published in 1830. Centuries later it is still one of the most popular songs of the world. Merriam Dictionary defines music as “the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity.” With that in mind, music is found everywhere. Whether it’s in the Great Wall of China to the jungles in Africa, music is found everywhere. The main purpose of this paper is to show that music is in fact a universal language by comparing music with other official languages, showing how music influences emotions and how music literacy and emotions helps people understand music as a language. In order to fully execute my purpose of proving that music is a universal language, I will be focusing on using personal experiences, researching articles and specific musical examples from class.
Gerrity, K. M., Hourigan, R. M., & Horton, P. W. (2013). Conditions that facilitate music learning among students with special needs: A mixed-methods inquiry. Journal of Research in Music Education,16(2), 144-159. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=775e3056-8a76-4043-8cd0-01d0015e7b1e@sessionmgr4002&vid=1&hid=4208&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==
For a student with Down syndrome, they find large deficits in syntax. The emergence of two-word combinations is delayed in young children with Down syndrome, and children and adolescents with Down syndrome continue to produce shorter and less complex utterances than same-age peers. For example, Price and colleagues (2008) found that a group of 31 boys with Down syndrome produced less complex noun phrases, verb phrases, sentence structures, and less complex questions and negations during conversation with an examiner than younger typically developing boys of similar nonverbal mental age.
Music also helps to develop skills that will help children in their every day lives and into adulthood. Areas like coordination, concentration, relaxation, patience, and self-confidence can all benefit from introducing music into a child’s life (Borgese 2). When a child is encouraged to learn how to play a musical instrument, concentration and self-confidence can easily be boosted. Concentration is likely to be improved because learning how to play an instrument demands determination and attenti...