COMMUNICATION AND STUDENTS WITH ASD IN THE MUSIC CLASSROOM 1

Development of Communication Skills with Young Students with ASD in the Music Classroom

Hailey R. Williams

EXED 416: Overview and Assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Professor Kendal Swartzentruber

October 5, 2022
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Development of Communication Skills with Young Students with ASD in the Music Classroom

Music class to many people, including educators, may seem like a class that is not worth

a student’s time. Music in no way helps a student become who they are or make it in the real

world. Having this opinion would get many music educators angry, and immediately pulling up

articles, texts, and books about the power and impact music can have on children. This impact

does not stop at students with special needs, as well as students with autism spectrum disorder

(ASD). Communication is key to learning anything new, and students with ASD often struggle

with this aspect to a large degree. However, there is still learning to be had, both in music and in

communication development through music. Discussing various attributes of communication and

how to better connect with a student with ASD is key to understanding how to best teach and

serve them. Many aspects of communication do not come easy to students with ASD, but there

are ways to help them develop these skills in the music classroom, as well as foster musical

abilities through communication.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is a crucial part of communication in any regard. Eye contact helps people to

understand who is speaking, what they are speaking about, and possibly how attentive they are

within a conversation. Many of these things are difficult for a child with ASD to understand.

Hammel and Hourigan, 2020, state that “research has shown some children with autism do not

receive the necessary communicative information through eye gaze because of cognition

interruptions or language delays” (p. 42). Children with ASD may feel uncomfortable with eye

contact and simply do not understand how crucial it can be. Music teachers can play a role in

identifying eye contact’s importance to a student. Often, a student with ASD lacks interest in

certain activities and finds them meaningless. Thus, the focus on an activity is not present.
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Musical activities, especially if they involve instruments, can be more engaging for a child with

ASD, and they may engage in eye contact with the teacher if interested in learning about the

instrument. The teacher can also set boundaries for the student and use their eagerness as a tool

to help them engage in eye contact. A teacher can acknowledge the students request for the

instrument, but not grant it until successful eye contact is made. The teacher must assign

meaning to the eye contact, and how it is significant for obtaining and ultimately learning the

instrument. This can also be a tool used to help with the student’s Theory of Mind, or

“mindblindess”. This is the awareness a person has of other people’s desires and intentions. If the

teacher is making eye contact and smiling at the student, then this would cue that the instrument

is being offered. But if the teacher is not smiling, the instrument may not be handed over. This is

an exercise that can be done in many ways and must be clearly articulated and rehearsed many

times for the student to be successful (Hammel and Hourigan, 2020).

Joint Attention

Joint attention in a nutshell is all about enabling and enhancing focus. This focus can be

on an object or activity, but it is a shared focus involving 2 or more people. Students with ASD

tend to struggle with this skill, as it requires interaction with others, which means eye contact and

a general awareness of their surroundings. Joint Attention is a key part of communication that

can be developed at the same time as other communication skills are also being developed. There

are many steps and strategies that can be used to encourage joint attention, many of which can be

done through music. This is when the music educator can step in and provide some music

therapy for a student with ASD.

2 Types of Joint Attention. There are 2 types of Joint Attention, or phases of Joint

Attention learning. The first is engaging joint attention. This means to get a student with ASD
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engaged in an activity or object by having them shift their gaze and verbally responding to bids

for joint attention. The next is an independent bid, which has the student initiating joint attention.

Though it may seem that engagement would lead to independent bids, this is not the case, and

this is okay. Results from a study conducted by Taylor and Hoch in 2008 about engaging and

initiating bids with students who have ASD concluded that it is more productive for music

educators to concentrate more on eliciting responses to joint attention rather that getting students

to initiate it (Scholtens, 2019). It is important for music educators to prioritize what research

shows will be best for a student’s communication development. For example, eye contact may

seem like a priority skill that leads to better joint attention, but that is not always the case. If the

object of focus is demanding of the student, eye contact with the teacher might not be necessary

for them to be successful with the object. Take teaching the ukulele for example. The teacher

may be moving a child’s fingers around and helping them to make chords and to strum. If the

child can place their fingers on the correct strings and play the chord correctly, that shows that

the bid for joint attention was successful. There is evidence and assessment of the child’s

success. Their focus was on the ukulele, and they were listening to the teacher’s instructions, and

this did not require eye contact with the teacher.

Important factors to remember with either form of joint attention is repetition and

extension. If an activity or interaction is getting through to a student with ASD and they are

responding and showing success, the teacher should not stop at this juncture. This success is a

great sign for the student, but there is always improvement to be had, and the goal is to get a

student as far as they can possibly go within an interaction or activity. It is not necessary to push

a student farther than they can go comfortably, but it is important to see how far the student can

get before they get too challenged by the task, and then making sure to document that progress
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for future reference. Since that activity showed success, it is also worth repeating another time

and seeing how far the student can get with a second, third, fourth, and fifth pass at something

that they are successful at and continuing to grow and learn while attempting.

Joint Attention in the Music Classroom. Many types of songs that are sung in the

Elementary general music classroom encourage and teach joint attention to a student with ASD.

There are 3 categories of songs that create communication opportunities for students with ASD.

They are call and response songs, songs that require fill in the blank responses, and songs that

elicit exclamatory phrases (Scholtens, 2019). These types of songs can be very predictable,

which can ease the anxiety a student with ASD could feel when given a bid for joint attention.

Singing a call-and-response song can take the guess work out of what to say or sing next. So,

while the child is being told what to say or sing, they are still getting valuable practice in picking

up on the cues that elicit a response such as facial expressions, eye contact, and physical motions

that are used as cues. Fill-in-the-blank songs give a student with ASD the opportunity to create a

response, even if that response may be from a list of options. This still allows the student to look

for cues and choose an appropriate response to a bid for joint attention. Songs where exclamatory

phrases are used can introduce a completely different skill set to students with ASD, especially if

they struggle with facial expressions and vocal inflection. The exclamatory responses can

encourage both of these in students with ASD, and help them realize when certain facial

expressions and vocal inflections are appropriate.

Using Things of Interest. For some students with ASD, the types of songs above may

not be effective in development of joint attention if the student is not interested in the activity or

the song. It is important to ask the adults in a student’s life what the student might be interested

in, and incorporate those concepts into a lesson. Joint attention, like it implies, is all about
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holding attention, and no student’s attention will be held if there is no interest. Once interests are

discovered, they can be used to a music educator’s advantage. If a student with ASD is

particularly interested in play the harmonica, then it might be a good opportunity for the teacher

to practice what joint attention might look like with the instrument while the teacher explains the

use of the instrument and the student tries it out. Objects of interest can also be used as

Augmentative Alternative Communication. Objects can cue an appropriate response. For

example, a microphone does a great job at prompting a student with ASD to sing or speak

(Scholtens, 2019). The child is often aware of what a microphone signifies, so this response can

be triggered with very little prompting other than the handing over of a toy microphone.

Using songs that are culturally appropriate for the student that they are already familiar

with, and that their parents might be familiar with can be useful and impactful in many ways.

Not only will the student reap all of the developmental communication benefits that a song can

bring, but it can foster connection between a student with ASD and their family. The parents of a

child with ASD may already have some trouble getting through to their child while they are at a

young age, but using music can change this landscape. A student with ASD could be able to

share a special moment with their family through song, and feel more connected to their culture

if they are able to sing along with a song if they encounter it in public. In regards to this,

Scholtens, 2019, says that a student with ASD “will be able to be a part of the mainstream culture

for, at least, the duration of the commonly known song” (p. 47).

Reciprocation, Language, and Sensory Overload

Reciprocation is at the heart of communication and can be a very difficult skill for a child

with ASD to grasp and put into practice. Much like it is a challenge for students with ASD to

hold joint attention with an object and the teacher, it can be challenging to hold a back-and-forth
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conversation, something that can seem so natural to those who do not have ASD. Holding a

conversation involves processing what someone has said, and then developing a response that is

appropriate for what was said, the person being spoken to, and the occasion. This process takes a

lot more time to achieve for someone with ASD than for someone without, especially a young

person who has little experience with proper reciprocation. This conversation ability is very

impactful to further communication development, especially for those who struggle with the

aspects discussed earlier such as joint attention, eye gaze, and Theory of Mind (Hammel &

Hourigan 2020). Reciprocation requires many of these aspects, and they are often building

blocks for successful reciprocation.

Reciprocation in the Music Classroom

Much like with joint attention, the teacher is always going to want to attempt to extend

reciprocation after one appropriate response. While this is often done in spoken conversation by

continuing the conversation with simple responses and questions to the student as they are

responding successfully, this can also be practiced through music. Communicating through song

can be a very efficient tool, as singing “hello” and “how are you” might be less intimidating for a

particular student who may think of the interaction as a game rather than a conversation. Any

activity that is fun and low-stress for a student while also helping them to learn and increase

development is worth continuing. Embedding reciprocation practice into songs is another fun

way to develop these skills with a student with ASD in the music classroom. A repetitive phrase,

sound, or instrument strike can be given to a student with ASD. Depending on their stage of

development, it is possible that they will be able to hear their cue within the music, either from

lyrics or sounds, and are able to respond with their assigned action. This would absolutely

transfer to verbal reciprocation and would be a different and more engaging way for the student
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to learn this skill. It is important to emphasize again that keeping the student comfortable and

not demanding they reciprocate longer than they are able is key when helping a student with

ASD learn this skill. An important note on comfort and development was made by Hammel and

Hourigan, 2020 “It is a delicate dance between expecting and teaching appropriate response and

social interaction and making a child feel inadequate for not responding” (p. 51). A teacher

would never want a student to feel like they did something wrong if they were unable to respond

to a prompt at that time. This could discourage the student from trying again, which would send

that student’s communication development into a backwards spiral.

Receptive and Expressive Language. A student with ASD likely has trouble

reciprocating conversation with others because they have difficulty understand the nuances of

receptive and expressive language. Receptive language referring to the individual’s processing of

verbal information, and expressive language being the individual’s ability to express and

articulate understanding of that verbal information and its context. Both skills can be greatly

delayed for those experiencing ASD. Beginning with receptive language, this information is not

just received and processed verbally. Thus, it is also received and processed via body language,

facial expression, and tone of voice. A student with ASD may or may not be able to express these

things themselves, and even if they are able to, they still may not be able to process them fully

when expressed by others. Sound is also something that may be difficult for students with ASD

to process fully. Musicians understand that sound can hold copious amounts of meaning and

emotion, but this is not always first sensed for those experiencing ASD. Young students with

ASD may have trouble recognizing that sound holds a meaning and can contain information

necessary for processing.

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Sensory Overload. Music will often be perceived as noise to students with ASD, as they

may not be able to distinguish melodic line and patterns, which can lead them experience sensory

overstimulation. The student’s expressive language would then look something like distress, and

they may put their hands over their ears. To some, this can seem like the student is being rude,

but it is simply their response to the sensory overload they are experiencing. Sensory overload

can be caused by triggers related to any of the 5 senses as well as vestibular, proprioceptive, and

inner-body triggers (Miracle Recreation, 2021). Triggers can include something intense in regard

to a particular sense, a new experience for the person, or a combination of multiple stimuli. In

order to reduce the likelihood of a student with ASD to experience sensory overload in the music

classroom, a teacher should simplify music listening and the musicking experience not in

difficulty, but by reducing facets of that experience as much as possible in order to reduce the

stimuli intake of the student with ASD. For example, it may be overwhelming for a student with

ASD to listen to a recorded audio track while other students are playing instruments at the same

time. In this case, the teacher should remove either the audio track or ask the other students not

to play with the track. This will very amongst different students, but the concept is similar. If a

student is experiencing sensory overload, some facet of the activity may need to be removed in

order to accommodate that student. If this is not possible, other techniques could be used to

prepare the student for this experience. The student could also be provided with headphones to

muffle the sounds depending on the activity and the needs of the student. A final consideration

for the teacher would be to not scold the student if they act rashly in reaction to the music, but

take note of the reaction and recognize it as sensory overload in order to alter the lesson plan for

future classes.
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Imitation

. Imitation can be of great difficulty for a student with ASD, as they have difficulty

understanding messages displayed through body language. A student with ASD may not

understand what should be imitative, why something would be imitative, and may not have an

interest in what someone else is doing or engaging in. The student lacks the motivation to be

imitative and thus, they will not practice this normally. This begs the question; how do teachers

engage students in imitation when they have no interest to imitate? But first, the question should

be answered of why a music teacher would need a student with ASD to imitate at all. The answer

lies in various music teaching methods that have been used and researched for years and have

been deemed effective. One notable method of music teaching is called the Kodály (KO-die)

Method. Kodály uses strategies like “movement, rote learning, and the development of music

memory” (Houlahan & Tacka, 2008) as the backbone for music learning. It often uses a “sound

before symbol” approach to music learning, which is effective in music classrooms. Kodály

works, can teach many aspects of music at any stage of music learning, and is fun, which is why

it is used by so many music educators. Thus, imitation is extremely important and “forms the

impetus for a four-step instructional sequence leading to the ability to read, right, and create

music with understanding” (Scott, 2016). With the Kodály Method, music educators are very

frequently singing phrases for students to repeat and moving for the purpose of student imitation.

While it may seem impossible, Kodály can work for students with ASD. However, the content

takes a few more steps to be fully realized. Research shows that students with ASD like to be

imitated, and that imitating a student with ASD helps them to demonstrate more social behaviors

(Field, 2010). Motions for imitation can also be categorized as meaningful and nonmeaningful

gestures, and that students with ASD tend to have more difficulty imitating nonmeaningful
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gestures. Thus, music teachers would need to assign meaning to gestures to engage a student

with ASD. Not only this, but peer participation can also encourage imitation, as research

suggests that “individuals identify with others when observing and, later, imitating their

behaviors” (Scott, 2016). This also suggests that social communication is critical for imitation,

and that previously mentioned ideas like eye contact and joint attention matter when helping a

student with ASD be successful in imitation. This suggests that when music teachers use

imitation as a teaching strategy when working with students with ASD, they should focus on

student centered imitation. First imitating the student with ASD while maintaining an energetic

and playful attitude to keep them engaged, and then having the student imitate the teacher to

create this exchange of imitation. “Overlapping imitation becomes dialogic with both adults and

children playing the beat or personally derived rhythms in tandem, creating engagement through

improvisation” (Scott, 2016). A student with ASD is given more freedom to play, while also

being invited to learn from the teacher as they introduce new skills to maintain the student’s

attention. Therefore, the Kodály Method, and many other methods of music teaching can be

effective with students with ASD. But when using these methods, music educators must be aware

that there is a different formula that needs to be followed for the methods and strategies to be

affective.

Conclusion

Using any kind of well-known music teaching method with students with ASD involves a

cocktail of communication attributes. These methods not only teach these students musical skills,

but also help them to develop these communication attributes in a way that can be engaging and

exciting for them. Students with ASD often keep within themselves and have a difficulty joining

other people in reality. But when reality becomes more interesting than their world, and
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sometimes involves a drum, this student breaks free and is engaged by the music and the people

around them. Music is like real-life magic. It connects people to one another and can help kids

learn more about their emotions and their world. It’s even more magical when it can help a

student with Autism Spectrum Disorder connect to the real world and help them share moments

and experiences with the people around them.

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References

Field, T., Nadel, J., Diego, M., Hernndez-Reif, M., Russo, K., Vchulek, D., . . .Siddalingappa, V.

(2010). Children with autism are more imitative with an imitative adult than with their parents.

Early Child Development and Care, 180, 513–518.

Hammel, A. M., & Hourigan, R. M. (2020). Teaching music to students with autism. Oxford

University Press, USA.

Houlahan, M., & Tacka, P. (2008). Kodaly today: A cognitive approach to elementary music

education. New York, NY: Oxford University.

Scholtens, M. C. (2019). Using Music to Encourage Joint Attention for Students with Autism

Spectrum Disorder: Attention as a Reciprocal Relationship. Music Educators Journal,

105(4), 45–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432119846954

Scott, S. (2016). The Challenges of Imitation for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with

Implications for General Music Education. Update: Applications of Research in Music

Education, 34(2), 13–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123314548043