Autism

   " Daniel continues to enjoy Kindermusik. Being very severely autistic, progress is slow. However, his mother (a professional in child development) is very, very impressed by Kindermusik. She tells me that she used the ideas, concepts and activities she has learned by bringing home to class in her daily commitment to providing Daniel with the best possible learning environment at time and at school.
   For example, she has spent hours making special tapes for him of all the best songs from 5 years of Kindermusik - i.e., those whose activities can teach Daniel new skills. He has learned to make the appropriate consonant sound to finish certain songs that he is familiar with - he really has no language other than at these times.
   Learning to sit appropriately in the small group situation of his Imagine That! class has been one of our goals for Daniel this semester, and he has made progress in this area. He also made strides in achieving the social goal of learning to share and to take turns, which he has been able to accomplish through sharing instruments with the other children. Making eye contact with me continues to improve semester by semester and Daniel seems happier in himself in class and at home as times goes by."

-Judy Keeling
Kindermusik Educator, Ames, IA

   "Billy is a 28-month-old child with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder. His development was normal until 17 1/2 months. He was social, engaging, and communicative. The he began to regress. He lost language skills, eye contact, and withdrew from social situations.
   Part of his program of therapy is Kindermusik. He has always responded well to music and his joy has become obvious again.
   Billy has progressed from not being able to even stay in the room to going to the center and retrieving and returning instruments with the other children. Through dancing, he is learning to tolerate increasing amount of sensory input (vestibular & proprioceptive). This is a quantum leap from where he was in the early part of the semester.
   Kindermusik has proven to be an invaluable therapy tool for a child who responds so well to music. Being able to participate in Kindermusik has given Billy a dimension and richness that he might not otherwise have at this time."

-Tom & Pam Blake

Language & Social Delays

"Language and social skills remain Josh's greatest areas of difficulty. The Kindermusik program helps Josh develop in these areas in so many important ways. The group environment allows him him to improve his social skills by interacting with this classmates. He improves his listening and language skills through paying attention to me and imitating the behavior of his classmates. He practices following classroom instruction and routines that will help him successfully transition to a regular classroom when he enters kindergarten. His self-confidence and self-esteem will continue to increase as a contributing member of class. I believe he is more open to observing and learning do to his love of music."

-Dana Alley
Kindermusik Educator, Winston-Salem, NC

"My son, Josh, was 3 years old, deaf, blind and suffering from Down syndrome, when he was first introduced to Kindermusik as a special pre-school. Although he had surgery to aid his hearing and sight, they were still underdeveloped. In the Kindermusik class, he seemed to focus and to think about what was going on - Kindermusik was motivating him and he was showing signs of reacting to his surrounding environment. It even taught Josh how to interact socially with others through activities that emphasized sharing instruments with other children.
One day in class, the children were sitting on a blanket and talking about the ocean. When the teacher asked the students to make a fish face, Josh quickly sucked in his face and made the fish face! It floored me. Therapy had not allowed Josh to do this, but the music and movement of Kindermusik focused and inspired him.
Kindermusik has captivated and inspired Josh to motivate his body and move to the music/beat. More importantly, though, Kindermusik has inspired Josh to look beyond himself and, inspite of his many challenges, to progress through music."

-Becky O'Hare