Music therapy builds better focus, self-control, and social skills in people with ADHD. Plus, it comes with a long list of therapeutical benefits.
— December 16th, 2020
Music therapy helps victims of severe brain trauma, children on the autism spectrum, and seniors with Alzheimer’s disease. For children with attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD), music therapy bolsters attention and focus, reduces hyperactivity, and strengthens social skills.
How does it work?
Music is rhythm, rhythm is structure, and structure is soothing to an ADHD brain struggling to regulate itself to stay on a linear path. “Music exists in time, with a clear beginning, middle, and end,” says Kirsten Hutchison, a music therapist. “That structure helps a child with ADHD plan, anticipate, and react.”
Plus, music fires up synapses. Research shows that pleasurable music increases dopamine levels in the brain. This neurotransmitter — responsible for regulating attention, working memory, and motivation — is in low supply in ADHD brains.
Thus, music can help children with ADHD focus and relax.
Hearing songs of varying rhythms can slow down or speed up your child’s mental and physical processes. By selecting songs carefully, you can trigger an intuitive, neurological reaction that your child doesn’t know he is having. Does Lady Gaga get your daughter moving? Play it after school to burn off excess energy. Does Moby slow down her pace? Play it before bed to begin the daily wind-down.
If this is something that interests you, we recommend you read the article published on attidudemag.com.
This article is a re-post, with small modifications, of “Music Therapy: Sound Medicine for ADHD,” an article by Annie Layne Rodgers published on attitudemag.com.
