Songwriting with a child with autism syndrome

![CDATA[Linus was six years old when he commenced music therapy. He had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a term used at that time but now commonly known as autism. Linus presented with well-developed verbal communication skills, though he had a tendency towards literal interpretation and expression of information (concrete thinking) and was prone to anxiety demonstrated through his disordered verbal output during times of stress. Within the early phase of Linus’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), his primary goals, developed by the multidisciplinary team, were developed within the domain areas of communication (e.g., communicative reciprocity), movement (e.g., crossing the midline), and cognition (e.g., theory of mind). In addition to music therapy, Linus participated in other allied health modalities such as speech pathology and occupational therapy within this “school for specific purpose” setting. For the majority of the week he attended his local primary school where he received regular support from a teacher’s aid.]]