Tune in

Music-making will reach out to an autistic child and support their development, writes Carlene Hutchinson-Norris

One of the primary challenges of working with autistic children is to 'get through' to them and to recognise and build on their individual experiences, their ways of responding to their environment and the people around them. One way in is with music.

At Colegrave Primary School in Stratford, east London we are excited about music making. Our autistic children in particular have been developing a huge range of communication and social skills through weekly music-making sessions.

Children on the autistic spectrum have varying degrees of delay and impairment in communication, social interaction and in developing relationships. They tend to have a certain inflexibility of imagination and thought and often have sensory sensibilities such as being overly sensitive to loud noises or to being touched. In some cases, they may also display ritualistic behaviours such as rocking, tapping or stroking to gain comfort or calm, or to cut themselves off when they are unsure how to respond.