Benefits of Drumming for Speech Delayed Students

Drumming has been used as a mode of communication in some African cultures for years, as drums can be used to create different tones, syllables and stresses that imitate speech. For speech delayed students, drumming can also be an effective means for developing stronger speech skills.

Speech delayed students can use drumming to express themselves non-verbally, by creating different sounds on the drum. Through improvisation, students play a pattern on the drum, and then imitate the pattern vocally. With the aid of drumming, students find a natural rhythm that helps them translate the drumming patterns into speech pattern, which they can repeat.

Because drumming leads students into a regular rhythm, this helps with breath control and provides a predictable framework, which reduces anxiety. Students can safely create a pattern on the drum, and through the process of imitation, children feel in control and encouraged in their ability to translate their rhythm patterns into speech patterns.

Neurologically, drumming requires the use of the entire brain. Drumming forges a strong connection between the parts of the brain that include speech, thus helping to make those parts of the brain stronger. Studies show that participation in music can improve the capacity for verbal memory, in both stroke patients and speech delayed students.

Best of all, drumming is fun and lifts the spirits.

Great Quotes - Bob Marley

New & Noteworthy from Music & More - October 2012

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