3 Must-Read Articles of the Week

Every once in awhile I read a blog post or article worth sharing with my readers. This week, there are three.

These three articles are very different in topic and style. One describes living as an autistic person, another is about music therapy and iPods, and the third outlines research on music for maladaptive emotion regulation. But all in their own way are thought-provoking, articulate, and worth discussing.

Here they are, in no particular order:

Must-read #1: Motor Difficulties in Severe Autism

This blog post provides a first-hand account of what it’s like to live in an autistic body. In my opinion, it ranks right up there with the books The Reason I Jump and Autism: Sensory-Movement Differences and Diversity in its effort to educate and challenge students, professionals, and caregivers as to how we view and interact with someone on the spectrum.

Must-read #2: Music Therapy and iPods

Music therapist Mallory Evens (owner of Metro Music Therapy) clearly states the differences between music therapy and music entertainment programs like Music & Memory. She does so in a way that is respectful and argues for the importance of both types of services. If there is a music therapist who feels frustrated about having the explain music therapy just one more time…read this. Reframe the conversation.

Must-read #3: Is it Harmful to Use Music as a Coping Mechanism?

Another hot topic in the music therapy profession is this idea of harm, and more particularly how music can cause harm. This article in The Atlantic doesn’t address this idea specifically, but it does summarize research exploring whether—and how–we use music in maladaptive ways to self-regulate our emotions. An interesting read for those who, like me, are interested in music, emotion regulation, and the music consuming behaviors of humans.

Tagged as: Advocacy, ASD, autism, emotion regulation, emotions, function of music, music and emotions, Music Therapy, research