Musical Therapy which supports speech

Munster hooker, Damien Varley has backed an innovative App, which uses music and signs to help children with an intellectual disability find their own voice.

The burly scrum specialist — a classically trained musician who sang on a charity CD last year — took time out of a hectic training schedule to help launch the Cope Foundation’s Sign-along Songs App in Cork.

“It’s a really positive initiative,” he said.“The concept is about ‘total communication’ — a whole body engagement using hands, eyes, voice, music, signing, and language.

The app was developed over the last year by language and music therapists in response to a lack of Irish resources for parents and children. 

The iPad app uses music and signs to help children under eight with intellectual disability develop their vocabulary. It includes five original songs and nursery rhymes that target specific and sometimes challenging vocabulary and signs.

While it is aimed primarily at children with an intellectual disability, those involved in its development say it can be used by all, and could help bring together children in pre-school or early primary school settings. 

Read more here - Irish Examiner