Drum Therapy for Autism

When I recently took my fifteen-year-old son with Asperger’s to his weekly therapy session, I was thrilled when he was offered the chance to participate in drum therapy. Instantly, I recalled the days when he was a toddler throwing a spectacular meltdown, beating himself with his fists until I set a drum in front of him and he pounded it instead. A broad smile came across his face as his frenetic energy transformed from self destructive behavior to music.

Drum therapy is gaining in popularity as a means of reaching children with autism. For instance, The Drumming for Autism Project in New Jersey started as a “School Peacemaker” program to address the needs of youth through creative self expression then expanded to specifically address autism.