Autism Awareness Campaign - Music and Autism

Many different types of therapies have been tried out by many to address overall improvements and improvements in some specific aspects of autism individuals.  Some of them are Music Therapy, Horticultural therapy, Pet Therapy etc. etc.  I would like to touch upon “Music and Autism” in today’s poster.  I have not used the term “Music Therapy” intentionally.  Based on my experience of working with music for developmentally and intellectually disabled persons, I preferred to use “Music and Autism”. 

In traditional music therapy, patients listen to different kinds of music depending on their symptoms.  In my practice, I involve the beneficiaries to play / sing music and be part of the music.  Hence I used the terminology “Music and Autism”.  

Music has many aspects. I started with rhythm as first step, and tried to align their internal rhythm to group clapping.  A research work carried out in 2013 by Helen Allen-Williams appeared in British Journal of Music Therapy, established role of rhythm in organising the internal chaos (mental and emotional) experienced by patients of dementia.  It I speculated that such chaos is often expressed through agitated behaviours, and that rhythm can be used in such instances as a means to stimulate meaningful interaction.  Results of the study showed that the use of individualised rhythmic interventions was functional as therapists noted reduced agitation, more organised physical movement and other communications, meaningful interaction and emotional reassurance.

I took cue from the above, and devised a rhythm based approach and tried it first with Pratibha.  It worked wonders.  My focus was to set Pratibha’s rhythmic sense.  This is done by a very simple exercise.  Play a musical instrument / clap, aligning beats from a metronome set to 50, 100 and 200 beats per minute.  It took many months to reach 70 to 80% alignment.  I have found this to be very powerful therapeutic method that helps in considerably improving the fundamental parameters such as attention span, observation skill and responsiveness, leading to overall improvements in cognitive and quite a few behavioural development.  For this kind of “active music intervention” to be helpful, the person has to spend good amount of time (at least half an hour to one hour) every day for few months.  Tried to propagate with few parents.  As ‘finding time’ by parents to do this was difficult.  A therapist doing it for half to one hour a week will have only minimum impact.

I have also devised and tried many brain gym exercises through music (to play on instrument), where we force improved communication between the left and right sides of the brain leading to higher level reasoning such as critical thinking, problem solving, auditory organisation and more.  Have seen this working well. 

Traditional music therapy is “passive”, while what I have been attempting is “active”, where the ‘differently abled person’ becomes part of music by clapping to the rhythm, playing an instrument or singing.  I strongly believe that Music can “heal” developmental and intellectual disabilities.  That needs good investment of time and efforts from parents / therapists, on a daily basis.