AUTISM THERAPY
Like many other children on the spectrum, my son
exhibits some unusual behaviors due to his difficul-
ties with responding to his own environment, a place
that may feel more uncertain to him than to others.
To deal with a situation that is uncomfortable and his
subsequent anxiety, my son may hide under a table
or behind a shelf, bolt, interrupt by inappropriately
calling out, or crawl on all fours. But when music is
present, these quirks melt away, and he seems, by all
sense of the definition, neurotypical.
I believe this is because music is intimately connected
to his movement and emotion, that in its presence, my
son feels like he can explore the environment in ways
that are comfortable to him. And because humans are
biologically rhythmic, seeking to keep our bodies or-
ganized, music’s extreme rhythmic stimulus helps his
body subconsciously entrain and modify itself.
Sometimes, I imagine my son sees the world in song,
that notes make as much sense to him as letters or
numbers. Perhaps, when he hears a certain timbre
or musical note, he sees a color or smells a familiar
scent. Because of his reaction to music, I wondered
how profound an affect it actually has on the autism
mind, and when applied in a therapeutic environ-
ment, how it might affect a child’s emotional and be-
havioral growth.
When researching this topic, I discovered the grow-
ing popularity of the use of music therapy on ASD
patients. I read stories of teens and young adults on
the spectrum who described walking out of music
therapy sessions “semi-new.” Others spoke about
their music therapy sessions as sanctuaries where
they felt accepted, out of danger, vibrant, and under-
stood. For them, music helped them deal with feel-
ings of being an outsider in far too often harsh social
environments. Furthermore, they were finally able to
recognize and appreciate their unique qualities, like
focused interest, repetitive use of objects, insistence
on routine, and unusual sensory interests.
A 2004 study from the Journal of Music Therapy found
that music intervention used with children and teens
with ASD improved social behaviors, increased focus
and attention, increased communication attempts—
vocalizations,
verbalizations,
gestures,
and
vocabulary—reduced anxiety, and improved body
awareness and coordination. Music was also found
to enhance verbal memory, improve fine motor and
perceptual skills, increase sensory processing skills,
improve executive functioning, and enlarge the
26 | Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 68
corpus callosum—the broad band of nerve fibers
that join the two hemispheres of the brain. More im-
portantly, as is the case with my son, individuals with
ASD responded positively to music when little else
could get their attention, which makes it an incredi-
bly effective therapeutic tool.
Why use music therapy?
Unlike some other forms of therapy, music therapy
does not administer “prescriptions” to “cure” a partic-
ular pathology. Rather, music therapists regard the
client as an equal partner in a musical improvisation.
Is the client shrieking? That could form the start of
a melody. Rocking back and forth? That’s a steady
beat. Each session is individualized to meet the child,
to devise techniques that work with each child’s indi-
vidual quirks and strengths.
However, common to most children with ASD is their
difficulty establishing and maintaining personal
connections. Children on the spectrum often appear
distant or aloof because they aren’t able to respond
to nonverbal forms of communication like facial ex-
pressions. Music offers these children opportunities
for personal experiences, which open the door to
emotional processing, validation, mood elevation,
and most importantly, the connections that are of-
ten missing from their lives.
Additionally, while some children with ASD speak
fluently, others suffer varying degrees of speech im-
pairment, such as delayed language development,
difficulties initiating and sustaining conversations,