Good Candidates for Music Therapy Could Include People:
- In hospice or palliative care
- With cognitive impairments such as dementia or stroke
- With physical or speech impairments due to stroke, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, ALS, or Huntington’s
- With family or friends that have difficulty structuring interaction with their loved ones, especially young children, or if there are tensions among family members
- Needing structure for movement to maintain or develop physical strength, endurance, or range of motion
- Who are struggling to meet physical, occupational, speech therapy, or special education goals, or would like to reinforce and enhance the effectiveness of other therapies
- Who have social limitations due to impaired cognition or isolation
- Who have chronic pain, depression, or anxiety
- Who have undesirable behaviors or are frequently on their call lights
- Who have sensory impairments
- Who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, ADHD, developmental delay, or intellectual disabilities
- With mental health issues
Outcomes for Music Therapy Could Include:
- Improvements in overall quality of life
- Increase comfort and relaxation
- Improve mood and affect
- Increase or maintained strength, endurance, and range of motion
- Increase or maintained clarity, articulation, and volume of speech
- Increase satisfaction with life and sense of purpose
- Increase positive social interaction
- Decrease behaviors
- Increase sensory and cognitive stimulation
- Improve fine motor skills and functional movement sequences that aid in activities of daily living
- Increase executive function skills and management of cognitive processes
- Improve attention and memory recall
- Improve expressive communication and articulation
Visit the testimonials page for more specific examples of how music therapy can improve quality of life.
