MUSICAL ESCAPE

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Sunday July 4th was a day the Blake’s will never forget. At approximately 11:59 am, young Jake took his first earthy air in and obviously didn’t like what he inhaled because he let out a very disturbingly-shrill cry. Funny enough it was one of those few pregnancies where the mom didn’t even need to push her bowels out, seeing as the young chap practically leaped out to get the front row in this new home of his. You wouldn’t blame him; he spent 9 months planning this escape.
The following year was one of unparalleled joy, happiness and every other synonym the word HAPPY can bear to have. Joyce was always eager to show off her boy at every mall, she couldn’t even punctuate her sentences without mentioning Jake. Dan’s approach was a little DANNY, first of, he made t-shirts with Jake’s face on both sides; which he wore three times in a week, branded all his face caps with his boys smile, then for every social media platform he was signed up to; you can guess what his profile picture or cover photo would be.

They were too excited that they didn’t pay attention to the fact that their STAR son was a tad late in picking up on the very little things kids even younger than his age found easy to do. Jake wouldn’t smile, nor did he show other warm, joyful expressions.

By the time Jake was two, the parents had already been struck with full blown concern for their son’s issue. It was so serious that you could move an object in-front of his eyes and he would find it hard to concentrate on it, he was overly distracted and quite different.
Joyce’s heart melted the day she tried to reach for her son who was on the ground and he just sat there; expressionlessly looking at his mum. He couldn’t even make a complete two-phrased sentence without babbling or just imitating sounds.

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THE BLAKE’S WERE RESOLVED THAT THIER SON MUST HAVE A NORMAL LIFE AT WHATEVER COST.

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They flew Jake all around the state from one special need school to the next, nothing significantly changed. Most of the attendants at these schools always reminded them of the mistake they made when he was much younger; not reporting the delayed attributes they noticed in their son’s behaviour to the family doctor. IT WAS CLEAR NOW, JAKE WAS AUTISTIC.

Some recent studies suggest that, with early intervention, as many as 1 in 5 kids on the autism spectrum can recover to the point where they are no longer considered autistic. Behavioral, occupational and speech therapies may make the difference, and the key is the timing! Detecting children at risk of autism as early as 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months of age could be a life-changer, but most children with some form of autism are diagnosed at 5 or older, too late to benefit from early behavioural intervention.
Jake would always sit in the centre of his room, rocking back and forth whilst flapping his hands, or he would be spinning in a circle and pausing occasionally to bang his head either on the floor or on the walls of his caged bed. If he ever found himself in front of a light source, he would stare till you either take the light source away or move it. As soon as you do that, he will start tapping his ears repeatedly then proceed to scratching on the floor or his body.
On his 4th birthday, his parents decided to give their hope a chance to prevail once again. They located a school very close to the house and decided to enrol Jake, irrespective of the fact that the school wasn’t a special needs school. The school didn’t mind having Jake; at least they got to have a share of the BLAKE’S money via the enrolment fees.
The school ran an after-school club, which lasted for an hour after school hours were over and the only clubs available to The Blake’s then were the SWIM-CLUB and the MUSIC-CLUB.

I KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD BE THINKING NOW...”THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS RIGHT?”
They went for the music club, since they had no choice and if Jake was to be treated as a normal kid he needed to belong to an after school club.

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IT ALL BEGAN TO CHANGE

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Few weeks later, whilst the trio were at home one Saturday afternoon. Jake alone in the centre of his room started to hum a particular tune progressively. Joyce noticed at first, and played ignorant up until Dan picked up on the little maestro’s voice...at that moment they jumped up; each leaving whatever they were doing, and ran to sit close to Jake on the floor. This continued for a few weeks and for some reason Jake seemed a bit more cognizant of his environment.
The BLAKES scheduled an appointment with the school and demanded to know who was responsible for the beautiful changes in their son’s life. That was the day Jake met Mr. KAY.
Jake is now 15, and the autism is in full recession whilst his skills as a pianist are even beyond what Mozart can explain.
HOW?
After meeting and employing the services of Mr. Kay (music teacher), he explained to them the therapeutic effects music has on autistic kids. They began to realize the remarkable connection that exists between music and autism. Study has shown that regular interaction between autistic kids and music improves their communication and behaviour as well.

Although individuals with autism are slower to develop verbal communication skills, evidence suggests that they are actually able to process and understand music just as good if not better than their peers.
When it comes to melody memorization, pitch categorization, and labeling of emotions , these kids are super incredible.

JAKES TESTIMONIES

Jake had since his marriage to music shown some fabulous improvements. His communication skills are above average and at times when he needs to effectively express an emotion, he resolves to either singing or playing the piano. Music appreciation teaches you to take turns while playing together with people; this is one area which Jake comfortably excels in. You would hardly notice the autism.
Unlike before Jake now follows directions as this is key in learning to play any instrument. Research has shown that music connects the auditory and motor parts of the brain making it easier for autistic children to obey verbal commands.
15 year old Jake is no longer aggressive, and has found a way to let music help him in memorization and learning of his daily routines.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this. If you know someone that needs to see this, reshare till it gets to the person.
If you feel you want to turn it into a movie, feel free to contact me for the full script writing, and we have a deal.

REFERENCES
Peptalkbox
Helpguide
Jessica Dais

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