Brian

By Dr. Johanne Brodeur

At four, Brian demonstrated all the typical symptoms of autism. At his first music therapy session, Brian willingly entered the music room. He turned off the lights and began ritualistic rocking movements under a chair. His therapist went to the piano and began to mirror rhythmically and melodically his body movements. Copying his movements would not only make him aware of himself but would also tell him in a musical sense that his therapist wanted to understand him and to enter his world. Brian never stopped rocking that first session. 

For the first few sessions there was little change... then, one day Brian came closer and reached out and touched his therapist’s hand, saying in his monotone voice, “We don’t want anyone to see us.” From then on, Brian and the therapist explored the music room together.

In one session, they looked at a celestial map while listening to Holst’s “The Planets”. Another day, they played instruments sitting under a blanket. Later, the therapist developed a game improvising music to letters of the alphabet and adjectives (A is for angry, etc.).

Brian’s parents eventually bought him a small electric piano that he slept with, as if it were a teddy bear. When he had bad dreams, his parents would hear the piano playing quietly in the night.

With time, Brian began to verbally express feelings, thoughts, and concerns. He graduated from elementary school reading, writing, and most importantly, having made one friend. Music not only gave Brian the bridge to communication, but also the strength to take on challenges and try novel experiences.