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A strong association between music and cognitive development has been supported by research in neurological functioning.

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Music therapy is an evidence-based clinical use of musical interventions to improve clients' quality of life.

During music therapy sessions, the teacher will involve the client in a variety of singing, listening, playing, and moving activities that encourage improvisation and creativity.

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-A strong association between music and cognitive development has been supported by research in neurological functioning.
-A study on the implementation of music therapy in individuals with autism determined that improvement in verbal communication measured on continuous scales was significantly more likely to occur when children were put in music therapy classes. Along with this, non-verbal communication also showed a clinically significant increase (Haesler, 2011).
-Improvement is often seen in communication and language as well as behavioral and social skills (Sigafoos, 2015)
-Research concluded that cognitive deficits were improved particularly in terms of joint attention, concentration, memorizing and reflecting
-Music therapy is developing the strength of the brain, as it requires thinking of each element, and then putting them together at the same time. Sometimes, a child may even be dancing along to the music, which has the same impact of strengthening the body and brain connection  (Steinhoff, 2016)
-Children with autism have eliminated monotone features of their speech through singing songs composed to match the rhythm, stress, flow and inflection of the sentence followed by a gradual fading of the musical cues (SZE, 2006)
-Music therapy has been recognized to decrease stress

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Music has been around almost as far back as can be traced, especially for medicinal purposes. In fact, even Plato had spoken positively on the positive effects music has as a therapeutic tool. It is seen in various forms in many cultures throughout the world. Music is present during religious ceremonies, movies, sports games, and in many other situations all to convey a feeling that connects the population. It is no wonder why early exposure to music has such positive impacts on a child’s development.
The earliest known reference to music therapy appeared in 1789 in an unsigned article in Columbian Magazine titled "Music Physically Considered"
Yet, it started to gain popularity in the early 1900's, as few organizations started to arise in its support.
The first music therapy college training programs were created in 1944.
In 1950, The National Association for Music Therapy was founded.
In 1983 The Certification Board for Music Therapists was founded to
strengthen the credibility of the music therapy profession by assuring the competency of credentialed music therapists. (AMTA, 2020)

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In your classroom, you can incorporate music therapy techniques  on a day to day basis. For example, you can use instruments and music during a read aloud. You can also set aside a small amount of time in the day for musical improvisation. This will allow children to express themselves and can support cognitive development.

Outside of your classroom, you can be aware of highly rated music therapy practices that you can recommend to your students' families.
You can also become an advocate in your school for music therapy, as the IDEA Act of 1997 considers music therapy to be a related service modality in special education

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Music has been argued and proven to be a main component towards human intelligence. Howard Gardner, a psychologist from Harvard University, identified and classified seven distinct intelligences. One of these intelligences was a person’s musical abilities (Gardner, 2017). Gardner’s argument put music intelligence to be as important as emotional and logical intelligence. This was based on the evidence that music strengthens the ability of the brain and body to work more cohesively.

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Children with autism may find it simpler to express themselves through musical experience. Music therapy does not only enhance development, it also enhances the quality of a child with autism’s life. A survey was given to parents of children with autism who received thrice-weekly music therapy sessions and a control group. The families of the children given therapy gave a higher rating of the child’s quality of life, than those who did not receive the therapy. A companion qualitative study also showed that families believe their children benefited from and enjoyed the music therapy sessions. It is important that teachers have access to and a knowledge of music therapy resources, as they can recommend
families to seek out music therapy opportunities for their child with autism. Teachers can also find ways to incorporate music into their classroom, to encourage positive cognitive development. By understanding the benefits of music therapy, we can use to to aid development of our students.
Teachers can encourage schools and parents to find music therapy opportunities for children with autism.