Although research in support of music therapy is poor, it seems that music therapy can help children with autism.
Music therapy is used to help with behavior, sensory and motor skills, language, social skills, and self-help. This article reviewed research on whether or not music therapy can help children with autism. The authors note that much of the research on music therapy is flawed and needs to be improved in the future. One common flaw is that often the music therapist judges whether or not her own therapy worked. Also, there are no studies that look to see how music therapy compares to other types of therapy.
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Job well done
Dec 9, 2008 by dankohnI really wish I had more time to write. I’m sure everyone understands that this time of year, things are completely cuckoo-bananas.
Anyway, I left off right before Thomas’ conference, which went very well. We brought both of the kids along which seems to be the thing to do at Thomas’ school. Everyone brings their kids along for every little meeting and get-together. We felt like outcasts for not bringing at least Thomas to the first Open House.
In addition to our family of four and Thomas’ teacher, the resource teacher also attended Thomas’ conference. She made a point of explaining to us that Thomas’ progress is being charted along with his classmates, and for many of his goals she wrote that his class is still learning that particular concept, so he is neither behind nor excelling, but progressing as expected. Thomas’ teacher only had very good things to say about Thomas and I can tell that everyone really enjoys working with him, which is so wonderful. I know what I go through on a daily basis with Thomas and I always hope sincerely that he is not behaving the same at school. It appears as though he does work hard and try harder at school than he does at home.
I’ve turned over a few new…leafs or leaves? Anyway, I implemented some changes around our house as I’ve realized that I do way too much for the kids. I look around and realize that Thomas is nearly six years old now and there’s no way I should be putting his shoes on for him every morning, getting his coat on and zipped, and so on. I held a “Zipping Seminar” for the kids about a week ago. An hour or so before dinner, I helped the kids put their coats on and then taught them how to zip them up. It only took a couple of minutes for Hayley to master the concept and implement it, and it took Thomas only a little bit longer. I was very proud of both of them and they are now both zipping their jackets like pros. The problem I have with Thomas doing any self-help or personal hygiene chores by himself is that he takes FOREVER. Yesterday morning, I thought that I had been abducted by aliens because it seemed like we started getting ready to go to school around 8:05 a.m. but by the time I got the kids in the car it was 8:26 a.m. and the first bell had already rung. Yikes. There’s about twenty minutes of time in there that passed by so quickly I didn’t even realize it. I got Thomas in the building just in time, but because of this, I now see that getting on coats, shoes, hats, mittens and scarves, and sometimes boots is a half-hour procedure at least if I let the kids do it themselves, which I must do. Thomas has a difficult time staying on-task and needs many verbal cues to do what he is supposed to do. I know that he is just waiting for me to get frustrated and pressed for time so that I do it for him, but Jonathan and I have both explained to the kids that we wouldn’t be very good parents if we did everything for them all the time. We say that it is our job to teach them how to take care of themselves because one day, we won’t be around to do things for them. That statement opens up a whole other can of worms usually, but we’re very honest with them about life and death. They know that everybody dies sometime and usually, nobody knows when that will be. Luckily, the kids don’t lie awake nights wondering if their number’s going to be up soon. We told them not to worry about it and they seem not to. Especially with Thomas, however, we really need him to understand how important it is for him to learn to take care of himself. Hayley has a drive to do things for herself and usually will get dressed by unassisted if I ask her to.
In addition to getting dressed and getting ready for school, I’ve begun to insist on the kids washing themselves properly in the tub and brushing teeth (and in Hayley’s case, hair) by themselves. I sit in the bathroom with them and talk them through it, but I’ve really begun to see that I’m not doing Thomas any favors by treating him like a baby. Sigh. Those days are definitely over as he’s about to turn six. And Hayley’s four-going-on-fourteen. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m really trying to push independence.
Tomorrow is Thomas’ school Holiday Sing at the local high school. I’m very excited to see how he does. He participated in something similar when he was in preschool, but it was on a much smaller scale. I have no idea what they’re going to sing (non-denominational songs about snow and candy canes, most likely) but I’m eager to see how he does. I wonder if the much bigger high school stage (I assume it’s bigger; I’ve never seen it) will intimidate him, or if the bright lights will distract him. Mostly, I think that Hayley will be shouting to him from the audience. Which reminds me, I have to charge up the video camera tonight.
Thomas did much better in school when I was there last Tuesday. We had a long talk about how his teacher is there to help him, but I’m there to help the teacher. This apparently sunk in because he was not at all clingy last week, completed his work and only relied on the teacher and the aide for help. Today he was also purposefully ignorant of my presence, but it was a difficult day for all of the kids, for some reason. Thomas would NOT stop talking. Before the teacher read “The Gingerbread Man” to the kids, she put the weighted vest on Thomas and this really helped him settle down. She usually pairs the kids up and reads a few pages. Then she asks the kids to discuss the story so far with their partners. Thomas was Hayley’s partner today and he was so adorable. Every time the teacher stopped and asked a question, Thomas would turn to Hayley and repeat it. She would answer it pretty accurately, too. After the story, the weighted vest was removed and Thomas resumed his motor-mouth. He wasn’t bad, he was just talking when he should have been listening. Many of the kids were out of sorts today, so there must have been something in the air.
Thomas said something very sweet today. The social worker came in for Thomas and another little boy today, which she does every Tuesday. Thomas, who is not always eager to leave the classroom, got right up, took her hand and said, “Wow! You look so beautiful today!” Of course, the social worker blushed and thanked Thomas, saying that he had made her day. I think that she’s expecting, and at that difficult time when people don’t know if it’s extra weight or a baby bump, so his kind words worked wonders on her. He comes up with those zingers every now and then and melts the hearts of whomever he’s talking to.
Hayley, on the other hand, has zingers of her own. We got all of our Christmas shopping done this past weekend, thanks to my mother-in-law taking the kids from Friday after school to Sunday afternoon. We met at our regular rendezvous point on Friday and I put the kids and their bag into her car. We were standing outside Hayley’s open car door, just talking for a minute when Hayley said, “Look, Grandma! I’m wearing a freakin’ hat!” Grandma laughed herself sick while I stood there with a “this is clearly my fault” look on my face that also made her laugh. It was hard not to giggle at Hayley, who could tell that she had said something extremely entertaining and has been using the phrase “freakin’ hat” ever since. Job well done.
Family
Jan 18, 2007 by AnonymousWe all know that extended families can provide incredible help as the immediate family pulls together to support a child with autism. Sometimes, however, extended families just don't understand the situation and what they can do to help. Here is an example of a letter that one member of our community sent to her extended family to help them to understand her son.
Please click the edit button above and paste in examples of other letters that you have sent to your extended family to help them to understand.
== Letter ==
Dear....
I want to tell you how much we enjoyed seeing you again. Thanksgiving is such a special time of year to gather families together.
It has occurred to me that, although we told you a few years ago about the diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome, we have not kept you up-to-date with what we can expect from our child as he grows older.
I don’t know if you remember the basics of his diagnosis. Aspergers is a form of autism, which exhibits problem behaviors clustered in three main areas:
Lack of social abilities
In Aspergers, this deficiency is exhibited by a profound lack of empathy and understanding of other people. This leads to a failure to behave appropriately in social situations and an inability to comprehend and consider the needs of other people. The person may not be able to interpret other people’s actions and thus may respond to them
oddly or incorrectly.
Obsessive-compulsive tendencies
Here, the person cannot ignore or distract himself from inner wants and desires. He is likely to get stuck desiring a particular action and meltdown--unable to go further than demanding a fulfillment of this desire. Another contributor to this problem is the person’s sensory sensitivity and difficulty in dealing with changes in his surroundings. This makes him vulnerable to stresses that may not be readily apparent to others, and may lead him to increased reliance on comfort rituals and objects.
Language difficulties
A person with Aspergers appears to be entirely fluent in language. If anything, he talks too much. With his lack of social understanding and obsessive tendencies, the person is apt to talk incessantly and interminably about the esoteric minutiae of a single favorite topic which is the overriding interest in his life. He tends to interrupt often, without the ability to recognize that others need to participate in the conversation or possibly change the subject.
Another topic which is mentioned quite often is Executive Function. Executive functions are that rather vague but very important set of faculties which enable a person to set realistic goals and to coordinate, organize, and complete a project. Often Autistic and Aspergers people have a profound lack of these abilities. They cannot learn or master these skills, and that inability severely impacts their personal and professional life.
I imagine you have seen all these characteristics in my child through the years. What the Aspergers diagnosis tells us is that, unfortunately, most of these difficulties are incurable and will respond to instruction only with a slight change. We have been told that, unfortunately, his condition is not likely to improve substantially in the future.
We have tried, through modifications in his schooling, through counseling and psychiatric advice, and through development of his various talents (computer programming, pipe organ, mathematics) to find an area where he can be productive and develop self-help skills. Unfortunately, he has been unable to succeed at any of these tasks, in spite of his many talents, predominantly because his executive function is so deficient.
So, the trick becomes to give him as many coping skills as we can to smooth his interactions with the outside world. This is, of course, complicated by his lack of realization that there is anything about him which needs changing. (Remember, he has no ability to compare himself accurately with others).
In the opinion of all of the professionals who have worked with him, he will almost certainly never work on a consistent basis, and will always need some form of sheltered environment. Our need to plan for this becomes a major concern. He has been qualified by the Social Security Administration as unemployable, and receives Social Security Disability payments, but, of course, his long-term situation remains a worry.
And there we are in a situation that is always changing and yet, ultimately, remains the same. We would welcome any ideas from you-sometimes a new view is helpful. In the meantime, if you care to delve further into Autism and Aspergers syndrome, the internet is great, though naturally, the material must be tested for validity against other sources, and applied with care, remembering the unique combination of a wide range and variety of disabilities in each person.
This letter is longer than I had planned, but I wanted to share with you some of our knowledge and concerns. We’ve learned all this bit by bit, so perhaps the information is not so overwhelming for us. We find, however, that it is still a lot to take in and accept. Sometimes I feel a bit like Sisyphus in Greek legend who keeps pushing a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down to the bottom. Mom sent me a cartoon once. It said: We may not know what’s around the bend in the road, but usually its more road. Sigh.