Using Songs and Song Visuals to Make Learning Fun for Children with Autism

Engaging young children, especially those with autism, in learning activities can be so much fun when using music. Adding visual supports to this experience makes learning even more meaningful for many autistic children. Combining music and visuals makes learning interactive, fostering educational development and positive social interactions. In this post, we will explore how to use song visuals effectively during circle time to support children with autism.

Table of Contents

1. The Joy of Shared Music

2. Song Visual Support

3. Benefits

4. Examples of Visual Supports for Songs

5. Easy Goals to Start With

6. Storing and Organizing Song Cards

7. Gradually Expanding

8. Following the Smile

9. References

A good rule to keep in mind when working or anyone is to "follow the smile".

The Joy of Shared Music

One of the most delightful ways to connect with young children, especially those with autism, is through shared music experiences. Using visual supports to make learning songs interactive and fun can be a game-changer for both parents and teachers. The primary goal is shared enjoyment—creating positive interactions that your child will look forward to. Always remember to follow the smile, focusing on what your child enjoys and doing more of that.

Adding Song Visuals

Many children with autism are strong visual learners, and they often respond very well to music and melodies. Combining these strengths can make learning new skills more effective and fun for them. Visual supports help children understand and follow along with songs, making the experience more engaging and interactive.

Benefits of Using Visual Supports

Using visual supports to make learning songs more interactive offers numerous behavioral benefits, especially for children with autism.

Many autistic children who are reluctant to participate in most group activities are enthusiastic about participating in music or song activities.

• Increased Engagement: Music and visuals often capture the attention of autistic children, reducing instances of boredom and wandering off during circle time.

• Improved Communication: Encouraging children to use song cards to request their favorite songs enhances their communication skills, teaching them how to express their needs and desires in a structured manner.

• Enhanced Social Interaction: Participating in group activities like group music times is a fun and easy way to work on social interactions with peers. Children learn to take turns, follow group instructions, and interact positively with their peers and adults.

• Reduced Anxiety: Music is often an effective way to draw kids out of shyness and reduce anxiety they may be experiencing. Visual supports can further help by helping the child understand what song, rhyme, or game is going to happen and give them a sense of control as they select the song or the verse of the song.

• Increased Independence: Song visuals empower children to make choices independently, fostering a sense of autonomy and confidence.

• Positive Reinforcement: Associating music and visuals with positive experiences reinforces desirable behaviors, leading to the child seeking out more social interactions with peers and adults.

• Behavioral Regulation: The structured nature of using song and music helps children regulate their behavior, minimizing frustration and outbursts.

• Focus and Attention: Song visual supports help maintain focus and attention, keeping children engaged and attentive.

• Improved Cooperation Many children with autism find music so motivating that it is easier to get them to comply with simple requests by incorporating songs or music.

Song visuals are relatively easy to make if you enjoy crafts or can be purchased.

Examples of Visual Supports for Songs

Here are some examples of using visual supports to make learning songs more interactive and fun for young children:

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Create pictures of animals that the child can select for each verse. For instance, have a picture of a cow, pig, and duck ready for your child to choose.

Song visuals for the song "5 Little Ducks"

Five Little Ducks:

Print out numbers and pictures of ducks for each verse. As you sing, have the child place the ducks in order, reinforcing counting and sequencing.

Nursery rhyme visual supports are a fun way to work on sequencing.

Nursery Rhymes

Use nursery rhyme pictures that children can put in sequence. This helps with understanding the order of events and sequencing skills. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Create a set of star visuals in different colors. As you sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," ask the child to pick a star of a specific color to hold or place on a board. This activity can help with color recognition and following directions. You can also introduce counting by having the child count the stars as you sing.

Song visuals are a fun way to work on choice making.

The Wheels on the Bus

Create a picture for each verse for the child to select which verse will come next. For example, have pictures of wheels, wipers, and doors. As you finish a verse offer 2 or more pictures for the child to select which to sing next.

If You're Happy and You Know It

Prepare visual cards that depict the different actions in the song. For instance, have pictures for clapping hands, stomping feet, and shouting "hooray." Encourage child to select the card of the action that has just been performed to work on receptive language or before to work on making a choice, pointing to a choice, etc.

These visuals can be homemade or purchased as a digital download, where you can find a variety of educational materials tailored for children with autism.

Easy Goals to Start With

Easy Goals to Start With

Start with simple, achievable goals to make the process smoother.

Providing pictures to represent songs a child enjoys is an easy way to give children the ability to request even before they are verbal.

Requesting Songs

Use song cards that the child can use to request their favorite songs. These can be made at home or bought as a digital download, helping children practice communicating and choice making.

Motor imitation is one of the easiest skills to incorporate into songs and nursery rhymes. If you have a child that is not yet imitating you can begin by imitating them and getting them to notice you, this is a fun way for children to begin seeing music as an interactive experience.

Motor Imitation and Coordination:

Have children watch and imitate your actions during songs or directly prompt them if they are not yet imitating.

Sequencing Skills:

Arrange nursery rhyme pictures in order to help children understand sequencing. For example, break down "Humpty Dumpty" into visual steps for the child to arrange. Sequencing is a skill many children with autism will need extra help to achieve and it is a critical skill for communicating stories that people can understand as they are older.

Working on Colors, Shapes, and Numbers:

Create visuals that focus on colors, shapes, and numbers. For "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," use colored stars, and for "Five Little Ducks," use number visuals.

Specific Sounds, Letters, or Number Identification:

Include visuals that highlight specific sounds or letters. For instance, "Baa Baa Black Sheep," could be used to work on identifying the letter 'B', imitating the sign language understanding that the letter 'B' makes the "buh" sound, imitating the sound, "buh", tracing the letter 'B' or 'b', etc.

Coordinating Eye Contact with Requesting:

An easy skill you can begin working on when a child does not have many of the skills, we associate with beginning learning such as verbally requesting or answering simple questions is coordinating eye contact as they give or accepts objects. You can do this by using song cards to request songs or games that the child enjoys. Just hold the card or object briefly until child looks at you, then smile and immediately hand or accept the card or object. This is a skill that will help them interact with peers and adults and in the future will help them understand subtle social cues that are often missed by autistic children.

Tapping for Attention:

Teach children to tap you or a designated item to get your attention before presenting a song card, helping with appropriate attention-getting behaviors. This is often amusing to kids if you pretend to fall asleep in the middle of a song and they have to tap you to wake you up to continue the song. They may need to be verbally or physically prompted the first few times to understand how to get your attention. This is a skill that is surprisingly absent in many children with autism that may have many skills such as identifying letters that seem higher level.

Peer Interaction Goals:

Taking Turns: Taking turns is a skill that will help any child as they begin to enter environments with group learning. Taking turns occurs naturally in many music activities and can be practiced without the child feeling like you are targeting a skill.

Waiting for a Turn: During songs where children have to wait for a turn to perform an action or get a turn with a musical instrument is an ideal time to work on waiting, a skill that many children in general struggle with, in the early years. Make sure you begin with very short periods of time for the child to wait and very gradually increase the amount of time, so they do not become frustrated.

Imitating peers is an important skill to have for obtaining future social skills in group environments.

Imitating Peers: Encourage imitation of peers by having children follow along with actions or songs that their peers are doing. Some songs lend themselves to having a child "leader" that will perform an action or actions that the other children then imitate. Imitation is a core foundational skill for learning and communication.

Handing and Accepting Objects from Peers: Games like pass the bean bag are ideal to work on the beginning peer skill of handing objects to peers and accepting objects to peers.

Storing and Organizing Song Cards

Storing and organizing these song cards is important to keep them accessible and easy to use:

• Notebook: Keep the cards in a notebook that the child can browse through and select from.

• Magnets: Attach magnets to the back of the cards and store them on the refrigerator or a dry erase board.

• Wall Chart: Create a wall chart with pockets for each card, making them easy to grab and use. The Dollar Store has pocket charts that can be purchased in their education or school section.
  

Gradually Expanding Your Song Library

Start with just one or two songs and gradually add more. This will ensure that your child does not feel overwhelmed. Pair each song with a visual, and slowly introduce new goals, such as filling in missing words or imitating motor actions.

Following the Smile

The biggest goal to work on with song visuals and fingerplays is shared enjoyment. Getting your child to associate you with positive feelings and interacting with you as a positive experience is crucial. Always look to see what your child is enjoying and do more of that.

By integrating these strategies, you can create a rich, engaging, and supportive learning environment that leverages your child's strengths and interests, making learning songs an enjoyable and educational experience. The goal is to associate you and the musical experience with positive feelings, always following the smile and focusing on what your child enjoys.