Music Therapy and Intellectual Development Essay

Music Therapy and Intellectual Development - Essay Example According to the Canadian Association For Music Therapy (1994), music therapy is the use of music and musical instruments to encourage, uphold and restore mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Key object of this text is to demonstrate effectiveness of music therapy in encouraging cognitive, perceptual, social, learning, and emotional development among children in order to facilitate intellectual development. Appeals to Ethos It is important to start by noting that music therapy is an established health profession which utilizes clinical and evidenced based music intervention to accomplish personalised objectives within a therapeutic intervention. Music therapy can be taken from any place considering that there is no distinctive environment for the therapeutic environment (Green, 1994). It is advisable that before highlighting the needed treatment the qualified music therapist must first assess the strengths and needs of the client in question. Key among the treatment pro vided by the music therapists include but not limited listening to music, creating, singing, and/or moving to music. It is noteworthy that music therapy has no age restriction (Teppo, 2010). ... Additionally music plays a significant role in promoting a positive state of mind which is important in suppressing psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and stress. Above all music is important for improving learning abilities especially among children with speech, concentration, social and cognitive challenges. By allowing young children to engage in music therapy which in most cases will involve re-creating and listening to music these children may end up improving the intellectual prowess in varied ways particularly those relating to speech, language and cognitive development. Appeals to Pathos It is unfortunate that several students at tender age get to school with various cognitive language, emotional and language problems. Such challenges have always curtailed effective performance of such students in class exercises and general academic exams. Such students with learning disabilities always lag behind their peers with effective intellectual disabilities. Effect ive integration of music in the school curriculum at early childhood will undoubtedly promote a learning environment that motivate all the children irrespective of their deficiencies wants to engage in learning process. These children who require extra assistance in areas of socialization, motor development, speech and language, self expression, and cognition must be given an opportunity to engage in early childhood music therapy (Barbara & Ray, 2000). This exercise will enable such disabled children to improved their intellectual development and hence compete effectively. Appeals to Logos It is common knowledge that a child may not develop intellectually if he/she is experiencing cognitive,