Music therapy success story

Anything about MUSIC but doesn't fit into the forums above.
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

My kid had a tough birth with too much pulling with a plunger causing hemorrhaging which combined with serious infections meant he spent 2 weeks in intensive care and the final diagnose was largish cerebral infarction with poor outlook. Basically quite a large part of the brain was dead and the kid would likely be invalid both mentally and physically.

Of course kids' brains are yet to be programmed so there might be a chance other parts of the brain will take over (plasticity), so there was at least hope with intensive physiotherapy the side of the body affected could be trained up to function and that was started immediately.

But nothing was to be done about the cognitive as there were no known therapies and it was deemed hopeless. (This is a large university hospital, best in the country so it was definite).

I couldn't believe or face that the kid would be a retard with nothing done and after a lot of searching I decided to bomb the kid with amino acids (fatty fish (mackerel)) and music during the night (since I assumed that's when the brain was healing/growing) as we know the music not only appeals to the creative part of the brain, it has mathematical properties as well and so gets both sides working. It also stirs something emotional in us so I guess it works on other levels too. Primitive as well as the cognitive.

I had by chance heard before that Vangelis - L'Apocalypse D'es Animaux had been used in early music therapy tests for children and since it's anyway some of my all time favorite music I played for every and the whole night 4 tracks on repeat (tracks compressed a bit to avoid loud peaks) :

  • La Petite de la Mer
    La Mort Du Loup
    Création du monde
    La Mer recommencée

This went on for several years. During the day we would watch music videos on TV and he would love those more than any kiddie show.

The kid is now not only not a retard, he is a fully functional one, just slightly delayed. He is like 1-2 years behind in everything but largely following the curve. The head doctors at the university calls him the wonder boy and it's really amazing considering the damage.

The left side of the body that was not working properly in the beginning has thanks to intensive physio and exercise been completely cured and he is normal and you can imagine our joy and relief with the outcome.

In my mind the music played a big part of it. Of course I'm biased to music and there are no scientifics to prove that music had anything to do with it, but something must have stimulated the brain to find new paths and connections and whatever happens there and it's more hard to believe it was diet alone.

In the same way, even if music was the curing factor, there's nothing to say it was Vangelis' music that did something better than what other music could have, but maybe it did. I think so.

Sure is interesting though.

Post

I'm very sorry to hear about your child's difficult birth and the subsequent complications. As a father of two young kids, your story is very appreciated. Thanks for sharing.
http://www.electric-himalaya.com
VSTi and hardware synth sound design
3D/5D sound design since 2012

Post

To be honest, music is far less likely to be as destructive as some of the things that people suggest as alternative medical approaches, and bottom line is music is incredibly unlikely to cause any kind of harm.

So glad to hear a success story like this whatever the reason for the improvement.

Post

Just saw this... excellent stuff. Some kind of charity program to help other kids would be awesome

Post

I had heard about the use of "L'Apocalypse des Animaux" in brain therapy before, but I would never imagine it could have such an effect. I congratulate you for all the love, strength of heart and faith that allowed you to come so far along the years, and I am happy that things have been evolving in the best direction. My best wishes for you and your kid.
Last edited by fmr on Tue Sep 23, 2014 11:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Fernando (FMR)

Post

Your child's lucky to have such a devoted father. Thank you for sharing your story.

Post

V'ger wrote:My kid had a tough birth with too much pulling with a plunger causing hemorrhaging which combined with serious infections meant he spent 2 weeks in intensive care and the final diagnose was largish cerebral infarction with poor outlook. Basically quite a large part of the brain was dead and the kid would likely be invalid both mentally and physically.

Of course kids' brains are yet to be programmed so there might be a chance other parts of the brain will take over (plasticity), so there was at least hope with intensive physiotherapy the side of the body affected could be trained up to function and that was started immediately.

But nothing was to be done about the cognitive as there were no known therapies and it was deemed hopeless. (This is a large university hospital, best in the country so it was definite).

I couldn't believe or face that the kid would be a retard with nothing done and after a lot of searching I decided to bomb the kid with amino acids (fatty fish (mackerel)) and music during the night (since I assumed that's when the brain was healing/growing) as we know the music not only appeals to the creative part of the brain, it has mathematical properties as well and so gets both sides working. It also stirs something emotional in us so I guess it works on other levels too. Primitive as well as the cognitive.

I had by chance heard before that Vangelis - L'Apocalypse D'es Animaux had been used in early music therapy tests for children and since it's anyway some of my all time favorite music I played for every and the whole night 4 tracks on repeat (tracks compressed a bit to avoid loud peaks) :

  • La Petite de la Mer
    La Mort Du Loup
    Création du monde
    La Mer recommencée

This went on for several years. During the day we would watch music videos on TV and he would love those more than any kiddie show.

The kid is now not only not a retard, he is a fully functional one, just slightly delayed. He is like 1-2 years behind in everything but largely following the curve. The head doctors at the university calls him the wonder boy and it's really amazing considering the damage.

The left side of the body that was not working properly in the beginning has thanks to intensive physio and exercise been completely cured and he is normal and you can imagine our joy and relief with the outcome.

In my mind the music played a big part of it. Of course I'm biased to music and there are no scientifics to prove that music had anything to do with it, but something must have stimulated the brain to find new paths and connections and whatever happens there and it's more hard to believe it was diet alone.

In the same way, even if music was the curing factor, there's nothing to say it was Vangelis' music that did something better than what other music could have, but maybe it did. I think so.

Sure is interesting though.
No real scientific proof (because those proofs require studies, those studies require funding, and no corporation is going to fund a study they can't make billions off of), but there are tons of good anecdotal evidence out there - including Oliver Sacks' reports about dance being helpful to Parkinson's and other patients with major neurological problems. I think Sacks meant 40s dance tunes, BTW.

Your post made me happy for you. Might I suggest adding Carl Orff's "Street Songs", music written for children to play. Lots of percussion. Some kids like drums. YMMV.

Music and dance heal. They are our heritage from the oldest times.

Post Reply

Return to “Everything Else (Music related)”