Music therapy has the power to help and heal people in all areas of life. Sometimes it is necessary to give someone a mental, physical or emotional boost. For a young man living in Austin, music has helped him learn to communicate and find his voice like never before. Nicole Bowen has lived in Austin for over 25 years. He realized that after living in Central Texas for a while, he wanted to add someone to his family. "I wanted a child, but I wasn't married," Bowen said. "And there are many children who need a home." Coincidentally, Bowen's mother, Cynthia Bowen, had also moved to Austin around the same time and was raising a child when Nicole Bowen felt motivated to adopt. That young man was Briston Bowen, someone who showed an interest in music from the beginning of life. "He's always had an affinity for music and his love for music," Cynthia Bowen said. So, it was an easy decision for Nicole Bowen to bring Briston Bowen into her forever family. "My mom said, 'You're taking Briston,' and I quickly said, 'okay, that sounds good,'" Nicole Bowen said with a smile. While Briston Bowen has a strong interest in music, he also has something else: autism. "He didn't do a lot of things socially," Nicole Bowen said. "He wasn't really talking and expressing his feelings." Wanting to help him overcome this communication obstacle, Nicole Bowen began researching and trying to figure out what programs or therapies could help. Since he had already connected with music naturally, music therapy became an option he began to look into. "There was a time when I didn't even want to go out," Nicole Bowen said. "I knew we had to try something." This is when music therapist Meredith Hamons came into the picture and helped Briston open up. Hamons is the founder and clinical director of North Austin Music Therapy, a treatment center offering music therapy for seniors, people with autism and other developmental disorders, and early childhood development. "Music therapists can work with all types of people," Hamons said. "Music is the only sensory input that is processed in all areas of your brain, at the same time." Hamons and his organization offer individual and group sessions, depending on what the client needs most. "Everything we do is music, but the end goal is not for the client to be good at playing the drums or any other instrument," he said. "Ultimately, music therapy is the use of music to achieve non-musical goals." When Hamons began working with Briston Bowen, even though he was still hesitant to speak or even talk to her, Hamons said he could tell she was a natural. "When we started, it was really evident that he had incredible musical talent," Hamons said. "He began to be able to complete more and more thoughts and ideas as we worked together." Through some of Hamons' work, she had created songs that encouraged Briston Bowen to complete certain parts and to speak by singing or speaking. What this is doing is giving Briston Bowen a unique way of figuring out how to speak. "One way to describe music therapy is like you're trying to drive to the grocery store, and if you drive to the grocery store, you don't really care how you get there. You're going to drive there. If a road is closed or a path is clogged with traffic, he will simply take an alternate route and continue with his day. With music therapy, neurologically, we are giving someone like Briston a different way to accomplish the same task." Dr. Bob Duke is the Director of Music and Human Learning at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas. He said the way music is structured and memorized can help initiate communication. "The idea that you can do some of this with music now creates a different dimension of expression," Duke said. «Music involves a large part of the brain. It has a perception component. "It has a motor component, it has an emotional component, it seems a little magical when you think about the way music really affects human beings." Magic or not, Briston Bowen's family can now see and hear the difference from when she was much younger. "Now, he's talking a lot," Nicole Bowen said. "Music therapy has been a blessing for him." Briston Bowen also expanded the instruments he can play, including piano, marimba, drums, quads, tamborine, and cymbals. "We have no idea what Briston's potential is," Cynthia Bowen said. "Seeing him, along with the music, the progress and being able to control his emotions has been wonderful." Not only has music therapy helped Briston Bowen communicate through her words and instruments, Nicole Bowen said she's interacting a lot more with people outside her home and making a lot of friends from the band as well.

Translated by Cristina Oroz Under: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/music-and-the-mind-part-3-music-therapy-helps-an-austin-boy-with-autism -speak/269-575071875