In order to achieve music’s most positive benefits it is important for the music educator to provide a well-framed music lesson.  This lesson’s primary intention should be establishing a strong connection between student and educator.

Adamek and Darrow in the book Music in Special Education offer us some great tips on how to provide such a session framework. Here are 5 variations on their suggestions.

a)    be aware of your PROXIMITY.  Pay attention to how close you can be near your student and aim to be as close as possible without causing any anxiety or even mild discomfort.   This gives the student a feeling of support without being touched, and assists them on staying on track.

b)    Present your lesson concretely and SIMPLY.  As mentioned last month when introducing a new piece to your student play it through in its entirety and at speed.  It helps the student if their ear has been trained to the sound of the final product.

c)    Although each lesson will have unique content, it is important to keep the same FRAME for each lesson allowing the child and educator to experience greater success.  For example start with a familiar greeting and move into a review of the previous weeks lesson, go over new material and then end with a regular and familiar closing.

d)    Having a CUE for anticipated “trouble moments” such as when a student starts losing focus or goes off track of the designed session. A cue can be a quick way to bring the student back to the tasks at hand.  Cues can be auditory or visual or a combination of the two.  And finally;

e)    Include a time of FUN in each session.  Just improvising and playing together can open a conversation between the student and teacher  – music can speak more than words.

My company has a long standing client who during his music therapy session would often begin to sing the familiar game show Jeopardy theme song….and would move towards this song at every opportunity. In speaking to my colleagues and in some of the readings I have done this is described as common during a child with autism’s music therapy session or music lesson. Children with autism may gravitate towards snippets of songs or songs in their entirety from game shows, movies or video games.  From this starting place it is suggested that the teacher or therapist gradually decrease the usage of the student’s preferred musical interest (ie. the game show theme song) and introduce variations to the theme in the form of improvisation.

Suggestions include: stay in the mode but move around the piano (or other instrument), change the rhythm or introduce a new timbred instrument.  The long-standing client above has transitioned very well into new musical improvised conversations – albeit over time.

Adamek and Darrow remind us that “each student is an individual with specific needs and abilities that equip the teacher to develop the best educational strategies possible. The best action that music educators can take is to seek out professional growth and learn how to effectively adapt their instruction for students with disabilities based on their needs and abilities.”

Good luck and thanks for teaching our young people.

© Jennifer Buchanan

However, even with years of experience there may come a time where a new student presents a new consideration, taking the most veteran of teachers on a new learning path. This short article is to offer support to those teachers who are willing to take on the challenge and joy of serving a child with autism who also has the desire to learn music.

Teaching music to a child with autism requires a special skill set which is not typically acquired at teaching school. However Dr. Pamela Heaton, in Science Daily on May 27, 2004 determined that “individual music lessons could hugely benefit children with autism.” She went on to explain that “our research shows that even special needs children without special talents (musical savants) and no musical training can have highly developed musical “splinter skills.” These splinter skills can be defined as talents that may not always present themselves in just the musical context but in other areas as well including strength in organizational patterns, imitation skills and pitch identification.

When a parent witnesses their child’s natural affinity to music the quest for finding a suitable teacher commences and the following question may be repeated many times on the phone – ”will you teach my child music? She has autism and really loves it. Sometimes this question is met with great enthusiasm but more often than not silence on the other end of the phone is a more common response.

There are but a few resources that offer music teachers support when teaching a child with special needs. I have reviewed some of these resources and have also sprinkled in some of my own experiences in order to answer some of the most common questions asked by families and teachers.

What are the biggest challenges for the teacher when teaching music to a person with autism?

- handling behaviours of the student, including but not limited to tantrums and low concentration. Often the parents are the greatest resource here. When such behaviours are observed asking the parents what typically happens in their home setting, and what works the best, can be of great use to the teacher.

-knowing the best training method for their student. Like all students some learn better in certain styles than others. Some children with autism are strong visually and by using colours for notes or pictures for what is coming next works best. For some students listening to the teacher play the piece in its entirety before they even embark on the learning process works well. And for our kinesthetic learners they often need to physically experience everything about the music from playing the rhythm on a drum, to learning the notes on the keyboard, to marching to the timing of the piece.

What are the benefits of music based education for a person with autism?

- Music is a natural reinforcer and motivator. Parents have commented frequently on the increased attention their child has had during music therapy or music lessons in comparison to other learning environments.

- Music can tap into the person with autism’s strengths including their precision, pitch and organization.

- Music education increases a student’s instruction time during the day. With its abilities to motivate, music helps to develop many areas of the brain including where students develop their mathematics skills, language, and comprehension.

What are the challenges for the student during their lessons?

- Some students may have a unique sensitivity to the music itself (the actual tone, or sound of a particular instrument). It is important that the teacher is sensitive to such issues and adapts their sessions so not to pose harm to the student.

- Some students have a unique ability such as being able to imitate anything. Where this can become a challenge for the student is when they are asked to modify a certain section of the piece (speed up, soften, change a note). For these students it can prove helpful if the teacher plays the song the way they hope to hear it at the end of the learning. This first auditory experience can be incredibly helpful to the student in their process for learning.

FIVE STRATEGIES FOR THE TEACHER:

1. When introducing a new piece of music, play it through in its entirety – up to tempo and with all the dynamics and flourishes you hope to hear at the end of the teaching experience.

2. Break down the lesson into small segments (ie. Taking the instrument out of the case, opening the piano lid, reviewing the previous week’s lesson etc.) Use a picture board to reflect the 5 – 6 segments in every music lesson. Having a regular and familiar opening and closing is really important for framing a successful lesson. However for diversity you may want to make changes to the framework every school year or perhaps every season. Just remember to give the child a warning notice that changes are coming…3 weeks from now, 2 weeks from now, next week….

3. Include free time – this can be a time to move, improvise, sing, stretch, listen to a song on CD.

4. Have a trigger for when things are going well. This could be a phrase that the teacher says and only saves for such occasion, a certain shaped sticker, a different colour that you write a note in their journal etc.

5. Use hand gestures to move you through the piece instead of a metronome. This creates a more relational experience and keeps the student involved with not only the music but with you as teacher.

6. …and a bonus…enjoy the little moments and know that you are contributing to a child (and their families) life in a positive, meaningful way.

______________________________________________________

Some of the information collected in this article came from the following recommended resources and videos that I hope will inspire you as well: Adamek, M. S. & Darrow, A. (2005). Music in special education. Silver Spring, MD: The American Music Therapy Association, Inc

http://www.music-for-music-teachers.com/autism.html

Please send me your comments and additional suggestions for Music Teachers and their Pupils to buchanan@jbmusic.ca.

Throughout the last decade we have observed the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls dance and sing their way to the top (a couple of times). We have witnessed Brittany Spears reach the top 10 (on music charts and in the worst dressed list) and now we experience people conveniently going to many coffee shops  logging onto WiFi for to check their email while drinking their $5.00 coffee.

Through these exciting years of music and technology, the biggest thrill to me continues to be the personal relationship that comes from being a music therapist. Seeing people get excited about what music can do for their health and wellness not to mention communication and attention span. Being able to witness a child, young adult or senior light up after they realize they have just understood something new or when they speak for the very first time is a gift beyond measure. Being given the chance to see their art unfold and flourish is treasured.

As a caregiver, I know you understand, that it is very rewarding to be a part of the growth of even just one person. Some people just need someone to have faith in them.

The second week in March is set aside to celebrate Music Therapy in Canada.  It is during this week that workshops across the country are being set up to demonstrate the benefits of music therapy and the relationships that can be established. A time to celebrate the work and the people who’s lives have already been changed. With their unique challenges, music celebrates the courage and creativity they possess daily.

Both North American Associations, the Canadian Music Therapy Association (www.musictherapy.ca) and the American Music Therapy Association (www.musictherapy.org) take great care to assure that all persons who classify themselves as music therapists have completed their education, their internship and their registration process.  They also require that in order to retain your status as registered or accredited music therapist that you undergo continuing education.

In other words music therapists have trained long and hard for the privilege to serve your loved one to the best of their abilities and with the research that is available to them.

Both countries have high energy and insightful conferences every year (you can well imagine how much music there would be).  If you hear of one coming to your community do not hesitate to find out if there is a community forum where music therapy research and practice is being discussed openly.

We know where we have been and where we are now.  I am sure the future holds many more remarkable advancements but at the end of the day I believe it is the relationships we have in work or in play that frame the core of who we are – therapist, caregiver, parent, or friend.

It was after a long day that I realized how much I was missing my own children. that day  My work had consisted of me spending many hours with other people’s wonderful children, cooing their names and encouraging them to move and imitate me.  However, my children were in daycare.

On this day I felt heart-sick.  I love my children so much and when I see them in the evenings they are not getting my best songs, my best music, my best smile, my best behaviour – they are getting the remnants from the day.

When I arrived at the daycare to pick them up, my daughter jumped up to hug me and my son wrapped his arms around me. The two of them seemed so happy to see me (I needed that that day).  They happily got in the car and did up their own seatbelts (you remember how exciting that can be) and told me stories of the great day they had had.  I couldn’t stop crying.  I told the children how much I had missed them and I looked forward to having dinner together.

As we pulled into the gas station on the way home (one more thing I had to do that day) I waited for the attendant to fill my tank.  It was in that moment when a song came into my mind.  I quickly jotted down the words and later that evening after the children had gone to bed, I finished writing the song and recorded it.

First thing in the morning, before I played a note to anyone else, I asked my children to sit in their chairs. I began to sing the song I had written the night before. I told them it was my special love song for them.

After I sang it I looked into their eyes and told them that this song will always be theirs.  They again wrapped their arms around me and said how much they loved me.  As I prepared to write this article I took out my CD and listened to it again.  The memories of that rough day and the delight of the morning after came rushing back.

Here are the words to the song I wrote that day.  If they affect you positively do not hesitate to contact me and I will send you a complimentary Mp3 via email.

I love you, you here within me rocking so gently

Everyday will be so brand new

I’m so glad that you’ll be here soon.

I love you, you who are sleeping, peacefully dreaming

As the stars light up the sky

I am blessed to know you are mine.

No matter what this world may bring to you

I pray that my God will watch over you.

I love you, you who will kiss me and hug me freely

Because of you my heart will sing,

Joy to my life you bring

No matter what this world may bring to you

I pray that my God will watch over you

I love you, you who makes music with your soul and your spirit

Oh I love you, you who are right here.

HOME EXERCISE

Choose a melody you know well.  Write out all the words and then begin to change the words to write your own love song to your child or children.  Your children do not have to be 4 and 5, they could be 40 and 42.  Writing a love song to your children (and singing it to them – or just to yourself) is great therapy for all of us.

When working with a young 4-year old boy with autism I noticed several things about his environment.  There were “things” everywhere including many toys with diverse sounds and colours.  The whole house had been modified to become his play and learning ground – from the kitchen to the living room to the bathroom to the basement.

Mom would move very quickly around the house, often darting in different rooms catching up on her daily work routine.  Mom spoke in a fast, high-pitched voice and every sentence she would say would go up at the end, sounding almost more like a question than a comment.  In addition to fast, she spoke loudly to her 4-year old in an attempt to get his attention as he moved from area to area in the home with little or no apparent acknowledgement of her. She made comments to me about how exhausted she was.

All persons including children with autism vibrate with and against their environment. When working with the 4-year old I asked mom if she would prepare the small room in her house for our session, removing all the toys and distractions. Each session would start with one large drum in the middle of the room being played with a consistent beat.  The child would soon move towards the drum and play intermittently.  As soon as he would strike the drum mom spoke encouraging him to continue, while clapping in an unrelated tempo to what was being created.  The child’s unsolicited playing would decrease.

It was important I discuss entrainment with mom.  Together we discussed different timbres (what sounds affect us in certain ways – using high questioning tones with our voice vs. low, solid tones) and tempo (what speed of voice and movements brings about feelings of relaxation? anxiety?). We then discussed the goals she had for her child that included increased communication and increased attention span. We discussed a program that we felt would accomplish these goals but required an opportunity for the “music (all sounds and silences) to speak” and that meant other distractions including speaking voices and supportive clapping could not be used. We also looked at using deeper and slower movements and tones throughout his day to day.

It only took a week of changes for mom to say – I am feeling much more relaxed at home and am listening to music that is soothing for my son and me.  I am also noticing that my son is seemingly more relaxed and focused.

In 1959 a doctor named Teirich undertook one of the earliest studies into the therapeutic effects of music and vibration. He built a couch which contained loud speakers and which transferred vibration from J.S. Bach’s D minor Toccata and Fugue straight to the solar plexus. He used his fellow doctors as a subject group. They variously reported immediate warmth in the solar plexus, a feeling of complete relaxation in the stomach and a very pleasant dream-like state. Alfred Tomatis, who has worked extensively with persons with autism, found that the types of music in the frequency range from 500 to 8000 Hz promoted the greatest amount of relaxation.

The effects of music have even been researched on plant growth. Dorothy Retallack played rock to one group of plants and soothing music to another. The group that heard rock turned out to be sickly and small whereas the other group grew large and healthy. What was more surprising is that the group of plants listening to the soothing music grew bending towards the music source.

I don’t think it is surprising to us that frequencies, tempo and timing can affect us.  We often dream of a trip to a warm climate where the tempo of the people move slower, where speech is laboured and our pulse relaxes as we sip our first margarita while lying near the slow and melodic lapping of the waves.

I encourage each of us as we set our New Year resolutions to include developing a music environment at home – one that resonates positively for you and those you care most about.

Readings of Interest:

The Short-term Effects of Music Therapy on Anxiety in Autistic Children

Erin Azbell, Teresa Laking

http://www.uwlax.edu/urc/JUR-online/PDF/2006/azbell.laking.pdf

In time with the music: The concept of entrainment  and  its significance for ethnomusicology

Martin Clayton, Rebecca Sager and Udo Will

http://ethnomusicology.osu.edu/EMW/Will/InTimeWithTheMusic.pdf

The work of  Dorothy Retallack

http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/plant_experiments.asp

When Michael was three years old he seemed to move alone in his world.  He would turn, lightly skip, and run around his house without no apparent acknowledgement of the people around him.  However when he would pass something shiny – a pan or a toy with cymbals -  he would often stop, look for long periods of time and sometimes strike the “thing” before him.  When his music therapist began to bring a timbred instrument with a similar tone texture to the pan and cymbals he began to shift his gaze to some “thing” new

Once a child is referred to a music therapy program, in this case due to lack of communication, the music therapist develops a treatment plan that moves towards making contact with the child. The therapist plays a melodic instrument (piano, guitar, accordian) and the client is presented a related instrument – perhaps something shiny – like a glockenspiel. The therapist leads the improvisation using a simple harmony scheme and rubato (moving with the child’s speed).  The child moves sometimes fast and sometimes slow. Over time the therapist begins to recognize the child’s ability to anticipate where the music is going and the child begins to recognize that there is a human force behind the instrument they are responding to.  The child is demonstrating that they have the desire to interact – therefore they have the ability to communicate.

The music therapist takes into consideration the musical world of the client:

1. Preference for music style -  ie. band, singer etc (“personalized music”)
2. Preference for sound colour (instrument)
3. Preference for other musical parameters (rhythm, melody, dynamics)
4. The effect that the different parameters evoke
5. Level of musical development
6. Total level of development of the child

In music therapy communication could be a single tone on a chime or an irregular rhythm on a drum…but when does this tone or rhythm become communication. When, as Wikipedia states, the communicated information is understood by both sender and receiver.  Even the untrained ear can hear how the music begins to meld over the course of treatment sessions.

No doubt many of you watched “America’s Got Talent” this season when David Militello’s first performance introduced him as the autistic boy who sang before he spoke.  It was moving to say the least.  Music is an extremely powerful resource for communication.  For some, music speaks via the lyrics behind the melodies, for others it is through the rhythms. but for many of us it is that intangible moment when we get goose bumps and we know we have just experienced something special. As the famous French poet Victor Hugo wrote, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.”

See David Mitello at www.youtube.com

Before entering his room the staff gave me a brief description of what they had experienced with him thus far: physical outbursts causing harm, no verbal communication and many obsessive behaviors including repetitive spinning and stripping to nakedness. My referral came from the nurse who felt badly for the boy being misplaced in the health care system – the unit he was supposed to be in would not be available for another week.

When I arrived I found James in a brightly lit, completely white, 12’ x 8’ windowless room with a guard outside his door (I was told the guard was placed there due to an earlier outburst).

The guard rolled his eyes as soon as he saw my guitar and drum and whispered “good luck” when I entered the room.

James lay in his bed, face to the wall and I began with a slow lullaby on my guitar gradually adding melody through  a hum. His hand came out of the covers and reached out towards me. Together we strummed the guitar and he began to hum in an imitative manner. He then slowly sat up and the guard entered the room looking nervous. I nodded, indicating that I was fine. James stood up and began to move back and forth. As his rocking speed increased so did the music. The lullaby turning into the blues, I incorporated his name into the melody and he increased his eye contact with me immediately. He then smiled and gave me a gentle hug, humming in my ear.

The use of improvised music in an improvised manner is the cornerstone of music therapy. London based music therapist, Mercedes Pavlicevic states “that music improvisation has always been. Before music was notated, oral tradition ensured that songs and pieces were kept alive through performance, and each performer added something distinctive to the music, which transformed it, albeit subtly” (1997, p.73)

Subtlety is another cornerstone of music therapy. The slightest change in music be it tempo, volume, pitch, key, can have tremendous effect on a person’s response to the music.

In the 2006 Canadian Association for Music Therapy Journal Paul Lauzon reminds us that there is a wide range of musical techniques used in clinical improvisation. In the last 30 years various key authors have presented their perspectives about clinical music improvisation. They include: Nordoff and Robbins, Edith Boxill, Ken Bruscia, Mercedes Pavlicevic, Evan Ruud, Tony Wigram and Henk Smeijsters. Three improvisational approaches recur again and again:

Mirroring – Lauzon simplifies the understanding of this by stating – “doing what the client is doing, at the same time.”

Matching – Tony Wigram defines this as “improvising music that is compatible, matches or fits in with the client’s style of playing while maintaining the same tempo, dynamic, texture, quality and complexity of other musical elements (Wigram, 2004 p.84)

Reflecting – Ken Bruscia defines this as “matching of moods, attitudes or feelings exhibited by the client (Bruscia, 1987). Here I would like to add that during reflection each participant influences the other.

Reflection was reached as James held my arm, moving it in time with the music, humming in harmony to my hum and I to him, his calmness of presence, and the intent, consistent eye contact. It was also noted when the guard softened his facial affect and stood back allowing James to have a positive relational experience with music at the core.

Bruscia, K. (1987). Improvisatial models of music therapy. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas

Pavlicevic, M (1997). Music therapy in context. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Lauzon, P (2006). The Playwheel: a model for therapeutic improvisation. Canadian Music Therapy Journal, vol. XII, no.1

Wigram, T. (2004) Improvisation : Methods and techniques for music therapy clinicians, educators and students. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Levitin reminds us that music is a global process. Therefore music does not just tap into one area, but in many areas of the brain at the same time. This means that music can transcend neurological injury or impairment, often forging its way through our neuron circuitry and finding the roads that work (through a process called neuroplasticity). Mark Tramo, assistant professor of neurology at the Harvard Medical School started to study how different forms of brain damage interfere with normal perception of music and speech. One subject of a case study lost most of his auditory cortex to strokes. He could hear but complained that music and speech were hard to understand. However, the part of his brain that survived the impact could still recognize his favorite songs.

During sessions at the Association for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured (www.arbi.ca) music therapists use the music from the client’s senior high school years as a means to stimulate long and short-term memory. One 40 year-old female who sustained a head injury demonstrates that she has sensitive feelings towards music from the 1980’s. She will often close her eyes during reflective moments in the music and may cry to a lyric or melody that has particular meaning. Although unable to speak she is able to blink once for yes and twice for no. Through this process, and over many weeks, a song was written about people, things and experiences that were important to her.

It seems that there are many different spins on the musical brain. In an article by Mark Wheeler published last month, he wrote of Istvan Molnar-Szakacs who will be using “emotional music” to examine the brain regions involved in emotion processing. “Music has long been known to touch autistic children,” Molnar-Szakacs says. “Studies from the early days of autism research have already shown us that music provokes engagement and interest in kids with ASD. More recently, such things as musical memory and pitch abilities in children with ASD have been found to be as good as or better than in typically developing children.” His research hypothesis is, “if we are able to engage the brain region involved in emotion processing using emotional music, this will open the doorway for teaching children with ASD to better recognize emotions in social stimuli, such as facial expressions.” (online resource: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/using-music-to-explore-the-neural-49912.aspx)

In study after study scientists are finding correlations between music making and some of the deepest workings of the human brain. Research has linked active music making with better language, improved social behavior and school grades.

Recently I found a reference to Albert Einstein’s grade school years. At one point, teachers told his parents to take him out of school because he was “too stupid to learn.” The school suggested that his parents support Albert in getting a manual labor job. Instead of following the school’s advice, Albert’s parents bought him a violin. Albert had a natural affinity towards the violin and he became proficient on the instrument. He loved the music of Mozart and Bach the most. A friend of Einstein, G.J. Withrow, said that the way Einstein figured out his problems and equations was by improvising on the violin.

I had the pleasure of attending an “open mic” for persons with disabilities who chose to display their musical growth and talent in front of an audience filled with loving friends and family. Some of the performers have autism and/or autistic tendencies. One young woman who performed had been told that she would never be able to learn anything. Not talk, walk, read, or any of the other things that we all take for granted. Not only did she perform two pieces of music….she read every note.

As we continue to discuss music therapy at a professional and community level many more questions will be considered in the area of using music as therapy. There are however some things we know for sure. As the professor of music at Harvard Kay Shelemay states, “All humans come into the world with an innate capability for music.” Perhaps for some it may just take extra time, patience and professional support to unlock the musical brain in each of us.

Cromie, W (2001) Music on the Brain: researchers explore the biology of music. Harvard University Gazette, March issue
Levitin, D. (2007) This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession USA: Penquin Group Inc.
Sacks, O. (2007) Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain USA: Knopf Publishing Group
Wheeler, M. (2008) Study uses music to explore the autistic brain’s emotion processing UCLA Newsroom http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/using-music-to-explore-the-neural-49912.aspx

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