Music Therapy Lifts Spirits

But I see no protocol on music therapy on the National Stroke Association site. Without  that protocol 10 million yearly stroke survivors  are not getting the most appropriate therapy. It would be dangerous to do this without a protocol and your doctors prescription. So ask for a ET(Evaluate and Treat) prescription written to the caregivers by the doctor. I bet you too could write ET on a prescription pad.

Music Therapy Lifts Spirits

Music therapy can help stroke survivors with speech and language cognition, lift their moods, and improve coordination by having stroke survivors walk to the beat of the music.
Why can music be such a powerful tool in a stroke survivor’s recovery?
As Erin Wegener, a music therapist at Spectrum Health in Michigan, explains, music accesses the whole brain.
"Researchers examining music and cognitive neuroscience tell us that music actually activates the whole brain.  The elements of music such as pitch, timbre (sound qualities), melody, rhythmic processing, rhythmic execution (playing or moving to rhythm), activate various neural networks throughout the brain,” Wegener says.
“So when specific areas of the brain are damaged, such as Broca's area which controls expressive speech, the brain may be able to draw from the other networks which are active when we play music sing, hum, process or listen to rhythm in order to form new connections.  Because music is complex and activates various networks throughout the brain, there is great potential for neuroplasticity."

A stroke survivor need not have a musical background to benefit from a music therapy.
Moving to the beat of the music is beneficial to stroke survivors as well.

“It’s helpful to them to walk to music, if they can exercise and move within a rhythmic pulse. It can help to coordinate movement,” Wegener says.

To find a music therapist near you visit the American Music Therapy Association website and click on “Find a Music Therapist.”  To check if a professional is a board-certified therapist, visit the Certification Board of Music Therapists website.
Looking to incorporate music for a stroke survivor at home?
Wegener suggests singing and playing “over-learned” songs such “You Are My Sunshine” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Favorite songs of a stroke survivor or songs from their teenage years may also be a big hit.
Aaron Russell, 39, has been helped immensely from music therapy.
“When the music therapist came, with the first strum of his guitar, he lit up,” recalls Norma Russell, Aaron’s mother. “Music is his heart.”
Russell played in two different bands prior to his stroke two years ago.

“He can sing a lot more than he can say and that in itself is a big, big blessing,” says Hastings of her son, who plays in praise band in a chapel near where they live in Texas.
“Music helps him with his spirit and everything he is.”