Music Therapy for Adults and Children with Autism and Learning Disabilities

James has always enjoyed music. He definitely has rhythm and whilst he cannot speak, he hums along to rhymes and music in his own way with varied intonation and he does it so well we are able to identify what rhyme or song he is ‘singing’ to.  He’ll also clap along, tap out a tune or bang his drum to music too. He always wants to have music on in the car and at his flat or our house.

There are relatively few things in life James appears to derive real pleasure from so seeing him enjoy music – singing, dancing, or waving his arms around – gives me great pleasure too. With this in mind earlier this year I decided to explore the idea of finding a local music therapist to work with James.

I contacted a few people but, having chatted with her on the phone, I eventually engaged a lady called Meta Killick from Living with Harmony who are a locally based company in Winchester. We spoke about the changes James had experienced in the last year moving from our family home into supported accommodation and the challenging behaviours that he sometimes presents. We also spoke about his limited communication and the frustration I feel he demonstrates around this.

Meta has been visiting James in his flat on a Saturday afternoon with either myself, my sister Joan, or a member of James’ staff team present ever since. As Meta is a qualified harp therapist, she brings along her friend ‘Harpy’ and I provide a box of percussion instruments i.e., maracas, triangle, tambourine etc and, of course, James has his trusty drum too!!  

What is music therapy?

The British Association for Music Therapy states that it is “an established psychological clinical intervention delivered by registered music therapists to help people whose lives have been affected by injury, illness or disability through supporting their psychological, emotional, cognitive, physical, communicative and social needs.”

What are the benefits of music therapy?

Music Therapists can work either on a 1:1 basis or in a group setting and, as well as those already mentioned above, there can be many benefits to the client/clients.

The very lovely thing about music is that absolutely anyone can enjoy it. Individuals with very limited cognitive ability or communication can join in at any level with music making, no one is excluded from enjoying either listening to or actively joining in with music.

There are numerous benefits to working with a qualified music therapist. The therapist will tailor their approach during the therapy sessions to meet the needs of the individual or group and will work on building a relationship of trust with their client, this may take some time.

The benefits will be specific to the individual but added to the above include helping with memory, self-expression, creativity, social development, communication, sensory issues, empowerment and reduction of anxiety and behaviours.

James’ therapy sessions

Naturally, it took a little time for Meta to gauge James’ abilities and how much he understood of what was being asked of him but Meta was able to engage him initially by singing his favourite songs and as James always has his drum nearby, he naturally joined in by playing along. I wasn’t too sure of my role initially either, whether I was to sit back and be an observer or to join in. Meta is lovely and guided me to join in with the singing and playing of instruments. I take her lead and I think it seems to work well.

During the first few months James sometimes relaxed so much he actually fell asleep during the sessions, particularly when he was recovering from covid or had had an especially poor night. Meta would sing a lullaby whilst playing her harp and allow James a short period of relaxation. At other times the session would become much more upbeat with us all singing and playing enthusiastically. The whole of James’ house can usually hear us during our sessions.

As time has gone on, we have extended James’ repertoire of songs and often James will sign which song he wants. He particularly likes ‘He’s got the whole world in his hands’ and ‘Happy and you know it’ has always been a favourite. Meta has learnt some new signs and she has found ways to incorporate James’ signing vocabulary and the few words he does say into our songs and music making.

Having got to know James well over the 10 months, when he has sometimes been reluctant to join in, especially if something is new, Meta is usually able to encourage him to join in. A few months ago we also introduced ‘blowing’ instruments into our sessions and this has been really successful. When it’s time to get those out James is able to open the bag when Meta asks him and share out the instruments between us. He has a great duck quaker and joins in sometimes almost too enthusiastically to ‘Five little Ducks’.     

Meta has also introduced some dancing and action rhymes into the sessions. Again, at first James showed a little reluctance at times with the dancing but now he tends to join in enthusiastically even helping to move the table and chairs to facilitate this. Whereas the sessions were initially focused around James’ table we are now spending more time away from the table and James is generally accepting of the new things Meta is trying. Meta has a wealth of knowledge and talks about the importance of physically moving our body to promote blood flow to the brain and stimulate cognitive development, and physical movement is of course also good for our mental health and well-being. It’s a good thing to learn to be able to use all of your body, it’s empowering to know what your bodies abilities are. As our music therapy sessions have become more varied James is also now happy to not have his drum throughout the whole session and to sit in a circle on our chairs where we can join in the actions to our songs. We have also introduced a step so James’ feet are grounded as his little legs are too short to reach the floor from his chair and so he tends to spend a lot of time sitting cross legged. This isn’t good for his circulation or posture.

James is equally happy for someone else to join in the music sessions if I am unable to be there. My sister or a member of James’ staff team will take my place and James is equally confident in doing this. There have been a few weeks when we have had to cancel the session because James or Meta have been unwell but this hasn’t been an issue in terms of continuity and we are able to pick up where we left off with no issues.

Music with Meta has become part of James’ routine on Saturdays. James will sign music to me earlier in the day and it’s on his schedule on Saturdays. If he does become distracted during his session as he did this week, asking for ‘car’ as we were coming back to my house after music for him to sleep over, I just guide him back to his schedule and remind him we are doing music now. He is very accepting of this.

Keeping a record

When we began our sessions, I took lots of pictures each week and made a scrapbook for James. Before Meta arrived, we would look at the scrapbook to familiarise him. We will continue to add to James’ scrapbook as it is a good pictorial record for James but also a useful tool for him to share with staff who may join in the sessions. Meta sends me session notes each week so we have a record of the progress James has made. She and I also have a catch up on the phone approximately once a month to discuss the sessions and anything relevant to them.

Meta is co-founder of Living with Harmony along with her partner, Alistair Clarkson. If you would like to find out more about them and the benefits of music therapy you can check out their website or find them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Meta is very knowledgeable and has a lot of experience working with a varied group of individuals and groups and we spend much time talking during our monthly catch ups about James’ physical and mental health. She brings a great deal of enthusiasm to our sessions and we all enjoy them.