BLOGS
Educational blogs for parents and professionals
The Reason I Jump: Understanding Autism - "A Must Read"
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida (translated into English by David Mitchell and KA Yoshida)
Have you ever wondered why those with autism jump, flap their hands or make high pitched noises? This book answers all those questions that I once had as a student in this field. Rarely do I read a book all the way through in a week, let alone one night, but this one I just could not put down. I first heard about this book through social media posts, and then when I saw John Stewart interview co-author David Mitchell on The Daily Show. I ordered the book on Amazon the next day.
I wish this book was available to me when I first started my career as a music therapist! This book offers tremendous insight into the inner world of those living with autism, and does a great job explaining the reasons for various behaviors and reactions. This book gives answers to questions that took me many hours to understand with my clients. This book will serve as a refresher for those with lots of clinical experience with this population. For everyone else, this book is a great read and a real eye opener about what it means to live with autism.
This book answers many questions many of you have likely pondered including:
- Why do you make a huge fuss over tiny mistakes?
- Why do you flap your fingers and hands in front of your face?
- Is it true that you hate being touched?
- Why don't you make eye contact when you're talking?
- Why can you never stay still?
One of my favorite sections from the book relates to how people talk to those with autism. The interviewer asks the question, "Do you find childish language easier to understand?" Naoki, a 13 year old with autism replies , "whenever anyone treats me as if I'm still a toddler, it really hacks me off." I observed this many times in my practice, and this was mostly done by their parents! I have long encouraged parents to speak in an "age appropriate" manner, both with language and expectations. There are lots of gems like this in the book, and I highly recommend this book to all professionals working with this population.
Get your copy now by clicking here!
You can also find other books on understanding autism below:
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Mewsic Moves in the Media - The Acorn
Mewsic Moves in the Media - The Acorn
On August 13th, 2014, I had the opportunity to announce the Glee Choir in front of Calabasas City Council. I was honored to stand before the council members and share my passion and joy in providing music therapy programs for families of children with special needs, especially the Glee Choir program.
A few days after the meeting, I was thrilled to receive a request for an interview from Sylvie Belmond, who is a reporter for The Acorn newspaper.
Sylvie had lots of questions, and we talked for almost an hour. She wanted to know more about music therapy and the Glee Choir program that I had created. At the end of our interview, Sylvie said she felt it was important to let others know the importance of music therapy and how it is very different from music lessons. A few weeks later, Sylvie’s article appeared in the September 4, 2014 edition of The Acorn.
I am very grateful to Sylvie for writing such a wonderful article, and to The Acorn for publishing it. I also want to thank Debi Frankle, MFT/Owner of Calabasas Counseling and Grief Center, Calabasas and Ping Ho, Founder – UCLArts and Healing for contributing to the story.
Credits to: Sylvie Belmond – Reporter at The Acorn
Click here to read the article: http://www.theacorn.com/news/2014-09-04/Community/Glee_Choir_for_adults_with_special_needs.html
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For FREE songs, videos and tips on how to support children with special needs through music click here.
Image Courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net