♪ Hello, Hunter - [Dara] It's a soothing song just for him.

♪ It's good to see you today - [Dara] Hearing his name and the strum of the guitar, 7-year-old Hunter Gerald lights up as he rocks back and forth.

For Hunter, who's nonverbal, this is his way of saying how good the music makes him feel inside.

- You ready for some more drumming?

- Not really sure if he will ever be able to talk, but we have hopes.

He's defied all the odds so far.

- [Dara] He was born with heart defects, has a rare genetic mutation, and when he was one and a half, had a massive stroke that affected several parts of his brain.

- After his stroke, nobody expected him, one, to live.

You know, he's walking, he is, you know, playing music.

He's vocalizing.

- [Mason] Yeah.

- [Dara] Which are skills Hunter is learning in his weekly music therapy sessions with neurologic music therapist, Mason Swimmer.

♪ Head, shoulders, knees and toes ♪ - Utilizing those fine motor skills to grasp, to play piano, to play the drum, gross motor skills as well.

- [Dara] The American Music Therapy Association defines music therapy as the use of music by a professional to address the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional needs of a client.

♪ Raindrops keep falling on my head ♪ - [Dara] Research shows nearly 2 million people a year get music therapy.

(musical instrument scratching) So when you see Mason teaching little ones how to use new instruments that sometimes make them giggle, (child giggling) just know they're developing in ways that'll help them in other areas of life.

- So when we can connect in a musical space, people are typically enjoying themselves and having a good time.

And so that's where the the growth and the progress happens.

- [Dara] And as he guides hunter in reaching new milestones, like holding mallets for a record time, he thinks about how music pulled him through dark times when he was diagnosed at 15 with osteosarcoma, a cancer that starts in the cells that form bones.

- I spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital.

I never got to experience music therapy when I was sick, but music was my outlet.

I was constantly making music with friends and making playlists, and you know, I found music that helped me realize that I wasn't alone.

♪ Hello, Mason ♪ It's good to see you today - [Dara] Which is exactly how he wants his clients to feel, like they're not alone either.

- It gives me a more empathetic approach, to know what it's like to have struggles or difficulties, to be more patient.

Obviously, everybody's own experiences and circumstances are unique to them, but it does give me just an appreciation of being here.

- [Dara] Music therapy isn't limited to traditional clinics.

- Can I try?

- Yeah.

- [Dara] They can also take place at hospitals, nursing homes.

♪ Let's sing hello together - [Dara] And college campuses.

(tubes clanging) At Queens University, you'll find 8-year-old Ariana Singh once a week, making music with colorful boom whackers, one of her favorite instruments.

- As a mom, you know I love seeing her happy, of course.

And music is her happy place.

- [Chorus] Yay.

- [Nazila] This is just her passion, and so getting to come here and watch her and watch her be so engaged is amazing.

- [Dara] Ariana was diagnosed with autism when she was three years old.

Part of her session focuses on building social skills through musical improvisations.

- Children on the OT spectrum like patterns and they like repetition.

So music therapy allows us to leverage all those elements.

The way we structure and organize within the improvisations.

♪ Let's sing hello together - [Dara] The program at Queens has been around for nearly 50 years, which means it's evolved as more research and technology has come out.

- What's different now is the growth in our understanding of the neurologic process, being able to look at brain scans and watch the brain light up on scans.

It was not technology we had in the early days, not even when I was a student.

(therapist vocalizing) - [Dara] So now the experience is more enriching for students like Athena Strickland.

- One of the best things about music therapy, for me, is like encouraging everybody to like be able to make music, regardless of their skill level.

- [Dara] And professors like Yu-Ling Chen.

- I just love that moment or sparkle that I don't need to say anything, but I say it in my music.

♪ You are my sunshine, my only sunshine ♪ - You strum it.

- [Dara] Where words aren't spoken, those like Hunter can feel all the joy music brings.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Dara Khaalid.