What would you think if you met a person who had lost her ability to speak after having a stroke, but who could sing with perfect clarity?

Some people are surprised to learn that they can sing familiar songs after a stroke, even when they are unable to produce fluid speech. This is because speech and singing use different areas of the brain to complete their tasks. Music Therapy takes advantage of this phenomenon and allows people to reconnect with their voices, exercise vocal mechanisms and use alternate methods of communication. Some people who have not been able to talk for five years or more are slowly learning to sing, to communicate, and finally to talk to others in our music therapy program.

Harvey Alter, president and founder of the International Aphasia
Movement, spoke regarding his first-hand experience on music's
power to heal at the 2008 Music Has Power Awards Benefit.

Many individuals have never sung before and are a bit hesitant to try singing as therapy. In such cases it is helpful to remember that everyone, even non-musicians, can use singing to promote vocal support, organize conversational speech and improve communication skills. The focus during the Musically Assisted Speech groups is language and speech improvement, not professional musical achievements.

How it works:

·         Music can organize and facilitate speech because it utilizes other areas of the brain involved in communication.

·         Rhythm can aid in vocal production by organizing mechanisms involved in speech.

What happens during a session:

·         Breathing exercises

·         Articulation exercises

·         Melodic phrasing

·         Rhythmic vocalization

Outcomes:

• Conversational phrases are embedded into familiar song phrases to support speech
• Improved Communication Skills: improved clarity and fluency, increased expressive speech and vocal range and volume.
• Increased confidence in communication attempts
• Enhanced expression

The exciting question is "Can the therapeutic use of singing for people with aphasia and other speech impairments succeed in activating areas on the left side of the brain involved in both musical syntax and some aspects of speech so that independent and fluent speech could be restored?"