'The Siblings In Music' - wednesday routine and help from Donna Williams

yesterday was a much better day for both me and the kids, all around. It's necessary to have 'tough days' so that you can recognize the days that go very well!

I had the youngest sister in a morning session yesterday, and she did not touch the keyboard once! I think her aide and her have been working on this, and you could see the battle going on inside her, wanting to go to the keyboard, but forcing herself to resist. She is really quite intelligent, as if anyone would have assume otherwise!

I am currently reading 'Nobody, Nowhere' by Donna Williams. It is a FABULOUS read and I recommend it to any and all who know anyone with autism or are interested in learning about this or if you just want to read an incredible story of human perseverance! Anyway, the book has really given me an insight into the minds of my students, I think that the girl I see on mondays and wednesdays is likely a lot like Donna, and after reading most of this book I feel as though I have a totally new understanding of the autistic 'avoidance' that I observe often in her. I also have a new appreciation for the power of metallic, clean and simple musical sounds, as well as classical piano.

Yesterdays session involved a lot of positive communication from her, I'm not going to call it a breakthrough, because this work is often one step forward two steps back, but I am going to archive it in my own mind as a successful session.

Based on her interest in the keyboard 'demo' I downloaded a bunch of classical piano pieces, all of which included various sections during which the paino melody is multilayered and very fast, but also very predictable in terms of the chord progressions. My thought was that this music might seem to 'wash over' the listener, particularly the client (sibling 2). I also noted that she seemed to enjoy the 'tinkling' of the higher notes on the keyboard, particularly when these sounds are multilayered. It makes sense really, that the more intense the sound, if she enjoys it, the more comfort or pleasure it can provide her.

 So, I played some of this paino music for her, after our usual structured greeting song and our dance to 'The Wiggles' (which she was able to request appropriately, both the artist and a specific song, which is excellent progress for her), and used the potential comfort this music provided her, as a jumping off point for interaction. We played numerous instruments and she participated, willing to play instruments I chose for her as well as some she chose on her own! She continues to love the triangle and the chimes, but yesterday she also played maracas and interacted with both myself and her aide with these instruments. I feel that positive sessions like this will help her to further view music therapy as a 'safe space' to express herself. I will keep the classical piano coming and maybe reintroduce the keyboard and see if she can eventually do a call and response activity on that instrument. I would say that is a pretty long-term goal given her obsessions/compulsions related to the keyboard, but I think she can get there!

a 'classic' look I recognize in a lot of my clients with autism, this is Donna Williams at around age 5 or 6 I think...

I plan to write a more detailed review of 'Nobody, Nowhere' at some point. I think there are a lot of absolutely brilliant quotes there, but I need to go through it again with a more critical eye, right now I'm just doing my first read-through, taking in Donna's story and absorbing what I can at first read.

                                                           D. Williams with guitar at a young age



To read about Donna's  book, or order a copy go Here
(you can get it for less than a dollar, plus the shipping, but still a great deal!)

Donna is also a HUGE advocate of music and its power...more on this in another post
but have a look Here  at her band, Donna and the Aspinauts