Music Therapy With Preschool Children on the Autism Spectrum: Moments of Meeting

This book explores the use of musical play to promote social skills and communication among children on the autism spectrum. It highlights the benefits of incorporating music therapy in early childhood education and school-based autism services.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 30 September 2022
Publisher: Teachers' College Press

With nearly 1 million children on the autism spectrum enrolled in U.S. schools, educators urgently require effective interventions that foster young learners' abilities and cultivate cohesion within complex classroom groups. Drawing upon video recordings spanning 16 months in a public preschool classroom, this book vividly portrays the emergence of relationships and skills through musical play with children on the autism spectrum. Barnes delves into the interconnectedness of students, teachers, and a music therapist, raising broader questions about the needs of young children and the benefits of incorporating music therapy in early childhood education and school-based autism services. Through captivating narratives, readers embark on a journey alongside individual preschoolers, witnessing their challenges and remarkable strides toward shared attention, interpersonal interaction, and communication during music. This groundbreaking book addresses critical issues surrounding autism supports and therapies, offering inspiring alternatives to prevailing educational and therapeutic approaches.

Key Features:

Chronicles the first two-year research study conducted within a music therapy group for preschoolers on the autism spectrum in a U.S. public school.

Provides lucid personal portrayals of young children, teachers, and a music therapist, offering a deep understanding of their experiences.

Explores the challenges and encouraging possibilities of helping young children through music.

Describes the utilization of picture schedules, augmentative and alternative communication devices, musical instruments, percussion rhythms, and visual and tactile materials in music sessions.

Highlights children's engagement in vocal interplay, turn-taking, theme-and-variation exchanges, and reciprocal expressions of emotion in early childhood education.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780807767085