Music is the Key

Many times when learning how to communicate and engage with a child who has Autism, you are initially instructed to use music in as many interactions as possible.
You might hear advice such as: “studies and anecdotal evidence are clearly showing that therapy based on music can have a significant impact on reducing the symptoms of autism in children including undesirable autistic behaviors” or “participation in this kind of therapeutic assistance provides the children with the chance to be exposed to carefully measured and chosen, non-threatening stimulation, since no human contact is required”. 

While this advice is accurate, we have not utilized structured music segments within our groups as much as maybe we should have. Yes, we have found this advice to be useful in many different situations and environments and with many different children. Yes, we have used it as an avenue to connect with a child who is upset. Yes, we have played many music based games, and sometimes even “sing out” to a child who doesn’t respond consistently to their name or verbal directions. But, we have never used music as our “glue” to guide a group of children into working as a cohesive unit….before now.

One specific group of kids we have been working with has proven to be difficult to keep engaged for the full 90 minutes we are together. We began this semester by “confining” them to the same room and introducing new games where they would participate for only few minutes together, but for the most part we had a group of individuals existing in the same space. We were able to stretch this group interaction and play for maybe 30 minutes, but even that consisted mainly of engagement and interaction with our staff and little peer interaction with each other. The last two weeks though, we have seen a vast improvement on sustained group interaction and engagement. We have found that starting with group music and play is the key, for this group in particular, to interact together in enjoyable, sustained play. After a period of about 25 minutes of music, we have for the last two weeks, been able to sustain this group cohesiveness for the entire 90 minute session! SUCCESS! Even in the main sensory room of Sensations, where our little group usually dissolves into 4 little individuals running to participate in their own activities, these guys are motivated to stick with their new friends and participate in a round of activities TOGETHER. We ride bikes together, take turns on the zip line together, play in the game room together, etc. In a short period of 4 weeks (meeting 1X per week) we have seen dramatic changes that to the outside observer may not look like much, but to us are huge.

These experiences through group interaction will hopefully touch on many elements within these children’s lives. They are experiencing friendships, they are sharing and taking turns, they are learning flexibility, they are learning to express their desires and listen to the desires of others, they are moving at their own pace through a “jungle” of nuances we all experience every day. In the end, we hope they are receiving great emotional satisfaction and sustained interactions and relationships to build on over the next several weeks, months, and years.