5 Suggestions for Using Rhythm in Music to Promote Movement

Ever felt like tapping your leg to the music? Ever felt your body involuntarily want to move when the music starts playing? The secret ingredient that makes us want to do this is the beat of the music. Reacting to music is a basic human function. Research has shown us that music lights up a lot of areas in the brain. It can also travel up the spinal system and thus lets us feel sensations even if our brain finds it hard to process the information. Therefore, music could motivate movement. 
http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2015/12/04/suggestions-for-using-rhythm-in-music-to-assist-movement/?utm_source=Friendship+Circle+Blog&utm_campaign=844c45ad6e-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ec270b4ae-844c45ad6e-199142745

 

Motor Skills Lagging In Many With Autism

In addition to social and communication struggles, a new study finds that children with autism are often up to a year behind their typically developing peers in acquiring motor skills.  http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/04/24/motor-skills-autism/19306/

Motor Skills Linked To Autism Severity

The ability to throw or catch a ball may be a predictor of social skills success in children with autism, researchers say.   http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/07/09/motor-skills-autism-severity/18274/

Study: Motor skills linked to social difficulties in children with autism

Motor-skill deficits may lead children with autism to avoid social interaction, according to a recent study. The inability to kick or ride a bike could keep children from participating in games during recess or hanging out with friends, lead researcher Megan MacDonald said. "So much of the focus on autism has been on developing social skills, and that is very crucial," she said. "Yet we also know there is a link between motor skills and autism, and how deficits in these physical skills play into this larger picture is not clearly understood," she added. MedicalDaily.com (7/1)  http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/17008/20130701/motor-skills-autism-spectrum-disorder-social-development.htm