Music Therapy and Technology
Over the last few decades, technology has become one of life’s bare necessities for millions of people around the world. Forms of technology that had not even been an idea 20 years ago now heavily influence modern society. These digital technologies are currently being incorporated into all aspects of life and some professions. For example, music therapy currently incorporates modern technology into treatments, especially treatment for children and teenagers with behavioral disorders. The use of digital technologies makes the treatment more relevant for these patients. Although digital technology is commonly perceived to cause a barrier in communication between people, the use of digital technology in music therapy, …show more content…
Because these people can identify their emotions, social interactions for patients, especially children with ASD can help their ability to function in society. In a recent study comparing music therapy to other therapies, the “outcomes assessed included communicative skills and behavioural problems, and results were significant for communicative skills and reached borderline significance for behavioural problems, suggesting a beneficial effect of music therapy” (Gold, Wigram, and Elefant 8). Music therapy generally was more effective than other therapies when trying to improve behavioral skills for a person with ASD. Communication skills improved more significantly with music therapy than with other forms of therapy. This may be due to a patient’s ability to identify emotions with specific musical passages. Similarly, positive behavior increased significantly with music therapy patients more so than those with other therapies used in this study. Music therapy has not only been proved to be one of the more heavily influential therapies for patients with ASD, but it also has helped them cope with and release their emotional …show more content…
The MIDI has increased the appeal of music therapy to teenagers who had been resistant at first. Computers increased the appeal of music therapy to teenagers, allowing for teenagers to become more engaged. Similarly, the Wii increases the appeal of music therapy to younger children.. Children were able to receive more personalized therapy because they could control which instrumental sounds they created. Both the MIDI and the Wii remote allowed for music therapy to seem more accessible to teenagers and children. The use of digital technology helped to improve the quality of therapy and improved the resulting communication
Over the last few decades, technology has become one of life’s bare necessities for millions of people around the world. Forms of technology that had not even been an idea 20 years ago now heavily influence modern society. These digital technologies are currently being incorporated into all aspects of life and some professions. For example, music therapy currently incorporates modern technology into treatments, especially treatment for children and teenagers with behavioral disorders. The use of digital technologies makes the treatment more relevant for these patients. Although digital technology is commonly perceived to cause a barrier in communication between people, the use of digital technology in music therapy, …show more content…
Because these people can identify their emotions, social interactions for patients, especially children with ASD can help their ability to function in society. In a recent study comparing music therapy to other therapies, the “outcomes assessed included communicative skills and behavioural problems, and results were significant for communicative skills and reached borderline significance for behavioural problems, suggesting a beneficial effect of music therapy” (Gold, Wigram, and Elefant 8). Music therapy generally was more effective than other therapies when trying to improve behavioral skills for a person with ASD. Communication skills improved more significantly with music therapy than with other forms of therapy. This may be due to a patient’s ability to identify emotions with specific musical passages. Similarly, positive behavior increased significantly with music therapy patients more so than those with other therapies used in this study. Music therapy has not only been proved to be one of the more heavily influential therapies for patients with ASD, but it also has helped them cope with and release their emotional …show more content…
The MIDI has increased the appeal of music therapy to teenagers who had been resistant at first. Computers increased the appeal of music therapy to teenagers, allowing for teenagers to become more engaged. Similarly, the Wii increases the appeal of music therapy to younger children.. Children were able to receive more personalized therapy because they could control which instrumental sounds they created. Both the MIDI and the Wii remote allowed for music therapy to seem more accessible to teenagers and children. The use of digital technology helped to improve the quality of therapy and improved the resulting communication