Written by Ryan Judd

Many universities world-wide are conducting research on the benefits of music therapy for children with special needs.  This is a list of some of the research-based outcomes of music therapy when used with children with special needs. 

• Increased attention
• Decreased self-stimulation
• Improved cognitive functioning
• Increased socialization
• Successful and safe self-expression
• Improved behavior
• Enhanced auditory processing
• Decreased agitation
• Improved receptive/expressive language
• Enhanced sensory-motor skills

For detailed information about these studies and results, please visit the American Music Therapy Association’s “Fact Sheet” page a bibliography of this research. http://www.musictherapy.org/research/factsheets/