The white flowers of the plum trees are blooming. The grass is bright green and is ready to be cut for the first time. A warm breeze welcomes us when we go outside. Spring concerts are filling school auditoriums with music. It’s April, a time of renewal and optimism. It’s also autism awareness month and we hope that that feeling of renewal and optimism is felt by every child with autism and their parents.
There was a spring concert in Boise, Idaho at Cantus Youth Choirs. The Cantus Youth Choirs provide quality music education to enrich the lives of children from all religions, races, cultures and economic backgrounds. As it states on their website, the program’s mission is to foster the personal and social growth of its members and to promote their sense of self-worth, discipline, accomplishment and pride in a safe and nurturing environment.
This spring, the Cantus Youth Choirs program wanted to recognize children with disabilities during Autism Awareness Month. Kyle, a member of the choir, has Asperger’s. Kyle is a courageous young man because he volunteered to share his life with a big audience and sing a solo. Before he sings, he talks about his struggles with keeping up in school, learning to speak more fluently with a pediatric speech pathologist and getting bullied. He candidly shares some of the feelings he has experienced, such as sadness, anger and frustration. Then he speaks with complete sincerity about his appreciation for his loving parents. With big genuine smiles displayed between honest words, he thanks them for all the support and encouragement. He also acknowledges that he has not always made life easy for them. Then he dedicates a song to his mom and starts to sing a solo.
After you watch to this video, I think that you will come to the same conclusion that I did, that the Cantus Youth Choirs has succeeded in their mission, especially with Kyle.
The Kidmunication Point
There are cold seasons that we all have to endure. Still we find a way to keep safe and warm. From experience, we know that the cold and harsh season will give way to a season of renewal, surprises and joy. It’s important to have this optimistic perspective, especially when times are tough. Kyle seems to know this innately. At Kidmunicate, we, like Kyle, sincerely appreciate the efforts of the loving parents we see in our clinic every day, but please do not ask us to sing.
