Promising Study on Behavior Therapy for Children with Autism

The University of Washington published a study indicating behavior therapy for children as young as 18 months can significantly improve symptoms of autism and result in a milder diagnosis over time.

Behavior therapy aims to strengthen social skills, like making eye contact, which are difficult for children with autism to master. Social interaction through music can be a kind of behavior therapy. An important difference between the children in the study who improved and those who did not was the level of parental involvement at home. Singing with your child at home is so easy, all you need is your voice! Incorporate some of the simple songs you see on this blog into your daily routine today!

For more details about the study, visit:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/30/health/main5835842.shtml

This is The Day

What: Traditional Christian Song, Celebration Song

Why: This is a "call and response" or echo song. Children work on listening and responding, ear training and taking turns. The simple signs encourage visual tracking, crossing the midline and fine motor skills. Incorporating signs or simple, repetitive choreography into your songs teaches children about expressing ideas through physical movement. Physicality in a song can be a way in for children who are non-verbal or more comfortable observing before vocalizing.

How:



Who: Rosalie Horak contributed this song. 

Rosalie has worked as a Director of Christian Education for the past 17 years, the last 12 at Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, Colorado. Rosalie also taught first grade in the public school system for 10 years. She holds a degree in elementary education. Performed by Rachel Dempsey and Matt Dempsey.

Che Che Kule

What: Active Song, Concept Song

Why: The lyrics and corresponding actions of this song teach body awareness and identification.

The "call and response" or "echo" structure encourages listening and responding, and, on a more sophisticated level, ear training through pitch matching.

This West African version of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" exposes children to the language of another culture and mastering the lyrics will help a child's memorization and oral motor skill development.

Try starting the song slowly and speeding up gradually over several repetitions. This will challenge a child's oral motor skills, quick-thinking skills and balance!

How:



Che Che Kule (Hands on your head)
Che Che Kofisa (Hands on your shoulders)
Kofisa Langa (Hands on your waist)
Langa tilanga (Hands on your knees)
Kum Aden Nde (Hands on your ankles)
Hey!

Who: Jennie Lutz contributed and performed this song.

Pitch It High

The fathers (and the altos) in my classes would groan whenever I started a song in my upper register, but I had my reasons. For one, a young child's sense of hearing is not fully developed, making it difficult for her to hear low sounds produced by slower vibrations. For another, the ultimate goal of singing with your child is to inspire her to sing along. Children's voices are naturally higher than adults' and we want to sing at a pitch they can successfully hear and mimic. Let me reiterate; the "prettiness" of your singing matters less than your enthusiasm when it comes to singing for the benefit of your child!

Open Shut Them

What: Warm Up Song, Transition Song

Why: The simple lyrics correspond to the actions on a literal, rather than creative, level. This is a good song for very young children or children with severe developmental delays because they tend to be concrete thinkers.

The opening and shutting fists and crawling fingers help strengthen fine motor skills. The lyrics and actions promote body awareness and identification (lap, chin, mouth.)

You may use this song with a child you cannot execute the actions on his or her own by opening and shutting your own fists, encouraging the child to visually track your movements, and tickling your fingers up the child's stomach to the chin, stimulating the child's sense of touch while building a sense of anticipation.

Using this song before starting a new, passive activity, like eating or listening to a story, may help the child focus and maintain motor control.

How:



Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap, clap, clap

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap

Creep them, creep them
Creep them, creep them
Right up to your chin

Creep them, creep them
To your mouth
But do not let them in!

Who: Kierstie Whitehead contributed and performed this song. Kierstie earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Bucknell University and a Master of Arts in Arts Admin from Goucher. She taught middle school music in Howard County, MD for seven years and has worked as a music and theatre specialist in the DC area since 2005. Kierstie has worked in partnership with Montgomery County Infants and Toddlers, as well as working for Imagination Stage, Interact Story Theatre, Wolf Trap and the Fillmore Arts Center.

She is currently a full time music, theatre and early childhood teacher with Imagination Stage.

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

What: Active Song, Pretend Play Song

Why: This song uses simple repetition and rhyming to promote cognitive skills like counting, memorization and cause and effect. Thematically, the song deals with social relationships and actions/reactions, or natural consequences. In the choreography you see here, a child will work on fine motor skills using simple hand gestures. You may choose to extend the exercise to include gross motor skills by encouraging the child to jump on any safe, soft surface. Using exaggerated facial expressions will encourage the child to mirror emotions and their corresponding social cues (frown and finger shaking for anger, sad face and hand to head for pain.)

How:



Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Four little monkeys . . .

Who: Elizabeth Broder-Oldach contributed this song. Elizabeth attended the University of Maryland and received a B.A. in Theater and a B.A. in English Literature. She has been teaching early childhood classes at Imagination Stage for two years and was recently hired full time as their Access Coordinator. Elizabeth spent the last year as an Assistant Teacher at Kingsbury Day School, a school for students with literacy based learning disabilities, and has just finished her second year teaching with Young Playwrights’ Theater.