SILVERSTATE PRESENTATIONS

First up is Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation, or RAS.
As the article explains, “Rhythmic auditory stimulation uses rhythmic cues to facilitate movement execution and control, particularly in gait training” (Milcent Fernandez & Newman, 2025, p. 6).

That basically means we use a steady beat — like from a drum or metronome — to help kids improve walking speed, step timing, and coordination.
For example, if I’m working with a child who has hemiplegia, they might walk in time to a drumbeat. I could slow the beat down or speed it up to challenge their stride length and pace.

The second technique is Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance, or TIMP.
The article says, “Piano-based interventions... demonstrated improved performance on the box and block test and increased recruitment of multimodal brain areas involved in motor control” (Milcent Fernandez & Newman, 2025, pp. 9–10).

TIMP uses instruments like piano or drums to work on fine motor skills, grip strength, and bilateral coordination.
For example, a child could play alternating drum rhythms with both hands to improve their reach, grasp, and timing — all while keeping them engaged and motivated.

Next is Patterned Sensory Enhancement, or PSE.
According to the article, “Patterned sensory enhancement reduced the time required to execute loaded sit-to-stand from 2.33 s to 1.92 s” (Milcent Fernandez & Newman, 2025, p. 9).

PSE uses musical patterns — changes in pitch, rhythm, or volume — to cue functional movements in daily activities.
For example, in a sit-to-stand activity, a rising pitch might signal “stand up” and a lowering pitch might signal “sit down.” This helps the child time their movements better and move more efficiently.

Finally, there’s Melodic Intonation Therapy, or MIT.
As described in the article, “Melodic intonation therapy... engages preserved neural pathways in the right hemisphere... promoting the development of alternative neural networks for speech” (Milcent Fernandez & Newman, 2025, p. 10).

This is a speech therapy technique where the child sings phrases instead of speaking them, which taps into different brain pathways to support language recovery.
For example, a child might sing “I want water” while tapping their hand in rhythm, and over time, they gradually transition to speaking the phrase naturally.

Finale

So in short, each of these techniques — RAS, TIMP, PSE, and MIT — combines music with targeted therapeutic goals, helping children improve gait, upper limb function, or speech while keeping therapy fun and engaging.