ANOTHER WAY OF COMMUNICATING: BRIDGING THE GAP OF AUTISM WITH MUSIC

Imagine a world in which everything is shrieking. The low hum of a refrigerator becomes as unbearable as a jackhammer in your kitchen.

Some say this is what living with autism is like, forcing those with the disability to shut down their external senses in order just to cope.

Autism interferes with the normal development of the brain in the areas of reasoning, social interaction and communication skills.

Although there are many theories, so far there is no known specific cause for the disability, and therefore, no known cure.

But for some, music can bridge the gap between the world of the autistic and the rest of us, helping people cope with the various symptoms of autism.

Tanya Wenning is a music therapist for Judevine Autism Project in Cape Girardeau, which provides training for professionals and parents of children with autism.

"Autistic people have a very strong reaction to change and outside stimuli," Wenning said. Sometimes music can be used to provide a calming structure.

Music therapy uses music to improve, promote or maintain emotional and psychological health, Wenning said.

For an autistic child, a trip to the grocery store can be excruciatingly stressful

"Sometimes something like a Walkman can be used as a sort of camouflage against outside stimuli," Wenning said.

Music also can be used to promote educational goals such as learning the alphabet, colors and counting.

"The general goal is to expand their attention span long enough for them to learn it," Wenning said.

Music also can be used as a method of communicating with a child who seems to be completely shut off.

A lot of times, autistic children don't talk but they do make noise, and music is one way for them to communicate, Wenning said.

One technique for music therapists is to take the pitches their clients are comfortable with and make up simple songs with them.

"I worked with a little girl who wouldn't respond to anything people said.," Wenning said.

She learned that by singing commands like "sit up" and "turn around," the child would respond appropriately.

Wenning used the same pitches the little girl would cry with to communicate with her.

"The comprehension was there, but the expression wasn't," Wenning said.

Music is a non-threatening way for autistic children to express themselves, even if they're non-verbal, Wenning said.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are many people with autism who have extremely high areas of achievement, like mathematics or science, Wenning said.

The movie "Rainman," starring Dustin Hoffman, illustrated an autistic man who was a mathematical wizard.

Wenning said other autistic people have "incredible musical talent."

History has provided some hints that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a very high-functioning autistic, she said, pointing to the unusual manner in which Mozart was said to have interacted with others.

Although he's never been tested, Andrew Lloyd Webber displays autistic tendencies as well, Wenning said.