Music is a miraculous wonder.
And I believe its possibilities for developing language are infinite.

Yet, while we parents wait for research studies to support the ridiculous plethora of "treatments" available for autism, we need to remember and recognize simple truths: one is that we all rember musical lyrics better than we remember poetry.

Maybe that's why when John (Mark's brother) visited Paul, even though Paul couldn't speak in sentences, he could sing the Rubber Ducky song in it's entirety. Many studies have shown that stroke victims who are unable to talk often can still sing...

Left-brain damage compensated for by right-brain strength.....Music, sweet music.

There is no support for music therapy in the National Research Council's recommendations. They state, "Auditory integration therapy...studies have not supported either its theoretical basis or the specificity of its effectiveness....acoustic intervention (singing)...currently undergoing some scientific experiments in children with autism, no empirical data are available to support this approach."

A new Yale study, though, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health in March, 2009, addressed the lack of attention to social cues of toddlers with autism. Though the lack of eye-contact or interest in others has long been recognized, this study sought to find out what they were attending to INSTEAD. "A EUREKA moment in the research came when researchers followed up on a clue from children's responses to audivisual synchrony. They found that while the typically developing toddlers focused on the faces of animated characters in a film, the toddlers with autism focused on the audio-visual syncrony of handclapping sounds with motions of the characters. This may also explain why autistics tend to look more at mouths than eyes of people speaking." So the sound that matches the motion is the key!

Often, if I'm trying to get Tommy to say something, I have a much better chance if I put it to music...He will even sing the last line. To the tune of "Good Night Ladies", we sing, "I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I wanna EAT!...I'm thirsty, etc" And he HEARS it and he GETS it and he SINGS it!

He loved being read to as an infant and young toddler, but around age 3 had a major regression in attention and to my dismay, started refusing to sit or listen to books anymore...I have despaired over that loss of attention, as I think books (Dr. Seuss, a particular favorite) are such a wonderful way to teach kids. I tried and tried to get his love of books back. How IS it that a baby who would laugh and point at pictures and enjoy stories could just STOP?

Well, for us, music is the answer, no matter what the studies say. I've found that if I SING the words to the books, he will listen!! He will look! He will get it!! If we go back to his little room and shut the door, even though he's jumping on the bed, bouncing off the walls, and pulling down the curtain rods, he looks! He smiles! HE LIKES BOOKS AGAIN!

Oh please, let the sound that matches the motion be my mouth singing the stories you used to love so well! Look at my face! And all the great pictures! You can learn so much from books, my love. You can learn so many words to say...

I'm not a parent who goes for all the experimental therapies. We go for the tried and true, and we do the best we can. We follow the recommendations of our neurodevelopmental pediatrician.

But sometimes, you've got to follow your instincts, and with determination, forge a new path to teaching. The science may not be totally be there yet.

But common sense doesn't require a study.