You can help spread the word about autism in many different ways. Here are just a few suggestions:
Write an article and send it to the newspapers.
Dedicate a song on your local music radio station for “Autism Awareness”.
Wear your ribbons & put your magnets on your cars.
Make a donation on behalf of an autistic child.
Try to get your favorite business to make a donation to autism research or donate a percentage of the daily sales.
Bring awareness to you community with a bullentin board.
Post an autism awareness message on Facebook and/or MySpace.
World Autism Awareness Day is April 2. For more information about World Autism Awareness Day and listings of events from around the world, please click here.
Okay, so you’ve seen the title of this post and are probably wondering: what is so wonderful about the song “Three Blue Pigeons” that it merits a spot in Friday Faves? The answer is nothing, really, except that this simple fingerplay triggered a breakthrough moment for a little boy named Carter.
Three-year-old Carter is diagnosed with autism, and I’ve been providing music therapy for him over the past eight months. Carter didn’t say much in those first few months, but his words are coming fast and furious these days. From day one, he has demonstrated a love for music, especially the guitar, and his attention span has increased tremendously. Although he has been making eye contact with me and other visible progress during our sessions for a while now, nothing came close to what happened on Wednesday afternoon.
I was a little hesitant to sing the aforementioned “Three Blue Pigeons” with Carter that day, because he had not shown interest in that particular song in the past. But I went ahead and did it anyway, since imitating movements is one of his goals. As I started singing and doing the hand motions, Carter watched me closely. Then, he held up three fingers. He made the sign for “sit”. He waved his arms like a bird, just as I did. And then he continued to perform the movements for the remainder of the song. Halfway through, I snuck a glance at his aunt, who was holding him and watching in disbelief. By the end of the song, she was in tears and I was close behind…it was one of those moments that music therapists live for.
This was a lesson in persistance. As a therapist, it’s easy to dismiss an activity, song, or intervention as useless, just like I almost did with “Three Blue Pigeons”. In this case, the 10th time was a charm. Never completely rule something out…I know I won’t make that mistake again.
Teaching social skills is high priority in the land of special education, especially when it comes to children with autism. Though many of the students with whom I work can be very social at times, it is a goal to teach the appropriate actions and responses in various situations. I was brainstorming this topic one day a few weeks ago and came up with this song, which I called “What Do You Do?”.
What do you do when you see a friend? You wave, you wave. What do you do when you see a friend? You wave, you wave.
Waving’s what you do when you see a friend, You wave using your hand, So what do you do when you see a friend, You wave, you wave.
What do you do when you’re feeling blue? You cry, you cry. What do you do when you’re feeling blue? You cry, you cry.
Crying’s what you do when you’re feeling blue, You cry, using your eyes. So what do you do when you’re feeling blue, You cry, you cry.
What do you do when you’re feeling glad? You smile, you smile. What do you do when you’re feeling glad? You smile, you smile.
Smiling’s what you do when you’re feeling glad, You smile using your mouth. So what do you do when you’re feeling glad, You smile, you smile.
What do you do when you hear a joke? You laugh, you laugh. What do you do when you hear a joke? You laugh, you laugh.
Laughing’s what you do when you hear a joke, You laugh using your voice. So what do you do when you hear a joke? You laugh, you laugh.
What do you do say right before you leave? Goodbye, Goodbye. What do you say right before you leave? Goodbye, goodbye.
Goodbye is what you say right before you leave, Goodbye only ‘til next time. So what do you say right before you leave? Goodbye, goodbye.
The staff and I encourage the students to act out each action (waving, “crying”, smiling, laughing, and waving/saying goodbye) as the song is sung, and they have such a fun time with this. There are many other situations you could sing about, so use your creativity. Those I included are pretty broad, but feel free to be more specific as you tailor the song to your own students. And don’t forget to share your ideas with me!
I’ve been blogging for about a month now, but I haven’t talked much about the school where I work, the Hope Institute in Springfield, Illinois. I’ve been fortunate to serve as the music therapist there for the last year and a half, and it has been an extremely eye-opening and gratifying experience.
The Hope Institute is a residential school for children with multiple disabilities. Over 70% of our students have a diagnosis of autism; other diagnoses include Down Syndrome, Tourette Syndrome, severe behavioral disorders, and various cognitive, physical and emotional deficits. Hope has a staff of over 500, including teachers, educational and habilitation specialists, therapists, and administrative officials.
As the only music therapist, I work with each class as well as several students individually. We work on social skills, movement, following directions, interaction, and many other goal areas. I also get to do all sorts of fun “extras” such as leading school singalongs, organizing student performances, and sharing the music of Hope with the community.
Last year I was asked to write a new school song, which the students sang at this year’s pep rally. It was so much fun to write, but what I really love is hearing the kids sing it and showing their school spirit. Here it is:
We are the bulldogs,
We are the bulldogs,
The Hope bulldogs are we.
Mighty and strong,
At the top we belong,
Oh just you wait and see!
We are the bulldogs,
We are the bulldogs,
White and blue and proud,
We do our best,
Stand apart from the rest,
We sing our song out loud!
We are the bulldogs,
We are the bulldogs,
The Hope bulldogs are we.
Mighty and strong,
At the top we belong,
Oh just you wait and see!
Welcome! I’m Rachel Rambach, board-certified music therapist and creator of Listen & Learn Music — educational songs and musical materials for children. I love sharing my work with you, along with my behind-the-scenes creative process, adventures in business ownership, and life as a mom of two little ones.
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April is Autism Awareness Month
