Music Therapy

Music has always been a part of my kids’ lives. I started singing to them when they were in the womb. I loved holding them, putting on music and letting hours fly by while I sang and danced with them. I even made a tape of me singing their favorite songs for them to listen to whenever they wanted to hear my voice. I never realized that music would help me reach into Kyle’s world.

Any good early childhood teacher knows the power of music. Songs are sung to teach basic concepts (Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes), to teach safety (Look both ways before you cross the street, always use your walking feet) and academic concepts (ABCs). The Good Morning and Goodbye songs helped the kids make the big transitions of the day. Kyle would come home and teach Tara the songs from school. He would make her sit down and imitate the teacher. He still teaches her. The first graders just finished “Around the World in 1^st Grade” performance and Tara knows the words to all the songs because of Little Professor Kyle.

We started attending a drum circle in North Hollywood at Remo when Kyle was 3 and Tara was 2. Teacher Jodie recommended it to us after discovering how much we all liked music. I was excited to finally find something the entire family could participate in and enjoy. Too often the activities suggested by therapists felt artificial. Drum circle was different. We walked into a huge room with drums for use on the side. We all sat in a circle and either followed the leader or played our own beat. The experience was incredible and we were hooked. We started attending Tuesday Community Drum Circle and the Saturday drum circle for kids.

Kyle and Tara both loved going. Kyle would sit and carefully watch the leader. Tara would either play or dance. She liked to walk around to other people and play on their drums. Once the music stopped and she started playing a beat on a big drum. The leader shrugged and said, “I guess she wants to keep going.” We played for another 10 minutes.

In addition to drum circle, the kids joined Voices of Friendship, the children’s choir at our church. I bumped into the director, Ms. Pat, in the bathroom. I told her I was excited for Tara to turn 3 so we could join. She told me to have the kids start early if I thought they would like it. After rehearsal, I explained that Kyle was autistic. We agreed that he would rehearse but not necessarily sing with the kids on 4^th Sunday.

When Kyle was 5 he sang his first solo in church. Right before service started, Ms. Pat told me he was interested in singing a solo along with Tara. Here is an email I sent out right after church:

Dear Family and Friends,

I am excited to tell you that Kyle made a huge step this weekend. The children’s choir director was choosing kids to sing solos and she picked Tara. She saw that Kyle was interested so she asked him if he wanted to sing.

To make a long story short, he stood up in front of the whole congregation and waited patiently until it was his turn to sing. Tara was full of energy and even bounced while she belted out her part…no surprise…that little girl was born for the stage. Kyle sang his part beautifully. He forgot the last part of the song…but he STOOD in front of over a thousand people and sang a SOLO. The little boy who stopped speaking, who would not speak for 4 months, who struggled to speak to strangers, who did not speak to anyone but his teachers this year…stood in front of a crowd of people and sang…for two services.

Needless to say, I was crying from the moment he stepped forward. I still tear up when I think about it. I am so grateful.

Oh the song they sang?

Please be patient with me, God is not through with me yet. Please be patient with me, God is not through with me yet. When God gets through with me, when God gets through with me. I shall come forth, I shall come forth, I shall come forth, as pure gold.

 

 Kyle is in the back row

Singing at home, drum circle, choir and preschool, all unlocked something in Kyle. He is different when music is being played. Even now if he is upset, I can usually calm him down by singing his favorite songs. At rehearsal, he seems like he is locked in his world and not paying attention. Then on the way home, he will start singing the choir songs word for word. Like most autistic kids, he does not like loud noise but he will tolerate loud music. Music draws him out and helps him connect to this world. As Ms. Pat wrote, “Music is the universal healer and soother.”