Friday, June 22, 2012
Podcast from the WCOM Radio Show Interview
Here is the link to my interview with Dr. Sangeeta Swamy, MT-BC that occured on the Sound Effect hour with the WCOM Radio Station in North Carolina on June 18, 2012.
Many thanks to Dr. Swamy for her excellent hosting and for creating such a wonderful forum to discuss "the art and science of music and healing" (Swamy, 2012).
http://thesoundeffect.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/musical-echolalia-in-non-verbal-children-with-autism-an-interview-with-dr-krystal-demaine-2/
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Film recommendation: Wretches and Jaberrers (2011)
A couple of months ago one of my students recommended that I watch the film Wretches and Jaberrers, "It is streaming on Netflix right now," she said, "you have to check it out!" I ended up watching the film that same evening and I really, really enjoyed it.
This film Wretches and Jaberrers is about two adult men who are diagnosed with autism and are non-verbal. These two men, Larry and Tracy are friends who travel the world with a mission to "change the public's thinking about intellectual abilities of people with autism" (Wurzburg & Geradine, 2011). Each man is accompanied by a person with out autism and a film crew.
The film was actually directed by one of the same individuals who directed the film Autism is a World. If you haven't seen Autism is a World then you should.
Wretches and Jaberrers not only shares the traveling story of Larry and Tracy, but also of thier personal lives, in addition to some of the history that surrounds autism. Until the 1980's most adults with autism were institutionalized. Larry and Tracy remind the viewer that people with autism "want to communicate" and that they are "more like non-autistic persons than not." This eludes to the concept of using the arts as a language for autism. For example Larry, an established artist, said "listen to my artistic voice not my autistic voice." In another example when the men were in Japan they commented during a musical drumming experience that a person with autism will "use their body to hear the sound."
Though both Larry and Tracy are non-verbal they are able to communicate in spoken English language though typing - this skill exemplifies the intellectual ability and desire to communicate that is commonly stressed through out the film. Through out the story the men travel to Sri Lanka, Japan, and Finland. In one of the final statements of the film the men talk about the noted limitations in social abilities among individuals with autism and commented that, "poor social behavior is because of lack of social interaction." We often hear the quote that people with autism are "in their own world". ..but if we give opportunities (alternative opportunities such as music making with others which allows for an inherent social engagement) then we can create more opportunities for developing that much needed social relationship.
This film fully supports many of the concerns I discuss in my research - that of the need for and understanding of 1. neurodiversity, 2. exploring alternative ways to socialize and communicate with people with autism, and 3. recognizing the intellectual abilities of all individuals.
I hope that people will watch this film to gain an opportunity to widen their perspective on the life of the person with autism.
This film Wretches and Jaberrers is about two adult men who are diagnosed with autism and are non-verbal. These two men, Larry and Tracy are friends who travel the world with a mission to "change the public's thinking about intellectual abilities of people with autism" (Wurzburg & Geradine, 2011). Each man is accompanied by a person with out autism and a film crew.
The film was actually directed by one of the same individuals who directed the film Autism is a World. If you haven't seen Autism is a World then you should.
Wretches and Jaberrers not only shares the traveling story of Larry and Tracy, but also of thier personal lives, in addition to some of the history that surrounds autism. Until the 1980's most adults with autism were institutionalized. Larry and Tracy remind the viewer that people with autism "want to communicate" and that they are "more like non-autistic persons than not." This eludes to the concept of using the arts as a language for autism. For example Larry, an established artist, said "listen to my artistic voice not my autistic voice." In another example when the men were in Japan they commented during a musical drumming experience that a person with autism will "use their body to hear the sound."
Though both Larry and Tracy are non-verbal they are able to communicate in spoken English language though typing - this skill exemplifies the intellectual ability and desire to communicate that is commonly stressed through out the film. Through out the story the men travel to Sri Lanka, Japan, and Finland. In one of the final statements of the film the men talk about the noted limitations in social abilities among individuals with autism and commented that, "poor social behavior is because of lack of social interaction." We often hear the quote that people with autism are "in their own world". ..but if we give opportunities (alternative opportunities such as music making with others which allows for an inherent social engagement) then we can create more opportunities for developing that much needed social relationship.
This film fully supports many of the concerns I discuss in my research - that of the need for and understanding of 1. neurodiversity, 2. exploring alternative ways to socialize and communicate with people with autism, and 3. recognizing the intellectual abilities of all individuals.
I hope that people will watch this film to gain an opportunity to widen their perspective on the life of the person with autism.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Radio Show June 18, 2012
Today, from 9:00-10:00am I will be on the radio program "The Sound Effect" hosted by Sangeeta Swamy. I will talk about my work with Musical Echolalia. Here is the Link to the live stream http://www.wcomfm.org/
I will post the link to the recording once it is ready.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Dissertation
On April 13, 2012 I passed the oral defense for my doctoral dissertation. My dissertation, "Musical Echolalia and Non-Verbal Children with Autism" has been published on ProQuest. The dissertation is available for purchase through ProQuest or can be accessed through the Lesley University library repository.
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