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Top 5 Therapeutic Musical Toys For Children Of All Abilities: With Video Resources
After writing our first top therapeutic toy blog back in 2014, “TOP 10 MUSICAL TOYS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM” and having it as our top read blog we continued to write again in 2020, “TOP 11 THERAPEUTIC MUSICAL TOYS FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS”. Since both of these resource lists has been such a popular read we would love to continue our holiday tradition and offer you yet another music therapy toy/instruments resource list! Plus much more this year!
Everyday we use unique, fun, motivational and engaging music instruments in our music therapy programs to help address multiple goals. Many family members and parents struggle during this time to find the “perfect gift” or “perfect toy” for the little ones on their gift lists, especially for some that have neurodiverse or developmental needs. We want to continue our Mewsic Moves resource holiday tradition and help you find that perfect musical toy(s) that provides exponential value.
This year we wanted to make our list not only beneficial but educational as well. So this year we are providing a short video that showcases one of our of amazing Neurologic Music Therapists, Zach, giving you a musical example of how we use the instrument as well as sharing some of the therapeutic value in each instrument. We know you will find much value in this years musical therapeutic toy list!
1. Cabasa
The cabasa is a versatile and unique instrument used in latin music that many children are drawn to as many have never seen one or used one before. It has bright shiny chains of beads that surround it and make a sound similar to a maraca as you roll the beads around the instrument. The cabasa ranges from large or smaller sizes as well as plastic or wood. We prefer the larger wooden cabasas as they provide better weight for proprioceptive input and pressure.
Cabasa can support:
Sensory processing & integration
Regulation
Body awareness
Speech and communication
Palmer grap control
For more details or to buy click here
2. Xylophone
The xylophone is one of our most used instruments as its transportable, easy to carry, and mimics the tonality and notes of a piano. The xylophone that we are adding to our list this year is one of our favorites as it can fold in half and some come with a carrying case. You can use one side as the major scale (similar to
white notes on piano), and the other side (the black notes) can be used to improvise songs together on a pentatonic scale which is fun to use as there are “no wrong notes”. We also love to add colored stickers to our xylophones and play music together through colors versus actual notes. It makes playing easier, fun and much more successful.
Xylophone can support:
Sustained attention
Joint attention
Communication skills (completing circles of communication)
Cognitive and impulse control skills (stop and go)
Turn taking
Eye-hand coordination
Gross motor skills
For more details or to buy click here
3. Ocean Drum
The ocean drum comes in many sizes and we prefer smaller size that can fit in a younger child’s hands. The ocean makes a beautiful and peaceful sound of the ocean as you tilt it back and forth. It can also create loud crashing wave sounds if you play and tilt it faster. The ocean drum we have chosen this year provides a visual appeal with under water display of fish and has a transparent top so you can see the beads rolling which often is a visual anchor and sensory support for many of our clients.
Ocean Drum can support:
Regulation
Sensory processing and integration
Turn taking
Cognitive control
Motor control and modulation
Sustained attention
Mindfulness and meditation
For more details or to buy click here
4. Hand/Desk Bells
Our younger clients love these bells! They are colorful and you can play them by pressing the handle or lifting them and striking them like a traditional bell. These bells also have a color sequence that aligns with the Cmajor scale that we use to work on color matching, sequencing, early music education and much more!
Hand Bells can support:
Working memory
Sequencing
Turn taking
Communication
Cognitive skills - colors and counting
Early music education
Early reading skill development
For more details or to buy click here
5. Gathering Drum
The gathering drum is a fun communal drum that sits on the floor and is perfect for circle time or gathering around with friends or family to join and play together. We prefer the larger gathering drum as it holds much space for friends to join around and it also provides a large deep base sound that fills the room as well as deep into your body. The gathering drum is one of our favorite drums to use as it can also help support impulse control as it has a large range in sounds from big and vibrational to more subtle and soft.
Gathering drum can support:
Cognitive control
Joint attention
Sustained attention
Modulating emotions
Self regulation
Co-regulation
Provides proprioceptive feedback
Speech & communication
Social goals
Bonding
For more details or to buy click here
I hope you find value in this list as well as the educational videos that we have provided to help give you some guidelines on how to use these instruments in a therapeutic way. We are always excited to share our resources with you to use with your family at home or with your clients in your office or schools. Music is truly motivational and transformational and we love to share the gifts of music with you. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about the appropriateness of any instruments with your child or clients.
All of us at Mewsic Moves wish you and your family a musical holiday!
Gift the gift of music this holiday season.
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