I was working with a nonverbal, 3-year old kid who has autism. His parents report that he has trouble transitioning into new environments and for the first 2 sessions, he cried for 30 minutes straight, non-stop (and it was the all-out balling type of crying). At the end of the 3rd session, he seemed like he was humming something. It sounded a lot like Jingle Bells, which the mom confirmed! The family has a christmas tree that plays the song from an ornament. So naturally, I started to sing Jingle Bells to soothe the child and it worked. Now, I sing every children's song I know when I treat him because he is so much more productive and attentive.
After that, I started listening to Toddler Radio on Pandora (don't judge me!) to learn the lyrics to the major kids songs. I found that being able to sing these songs have helped with many of the children - distract them from the pain of stretching or doing sit-ups, wanting to run to their mom, help them forget that they are on a MEDEK balance board on top of a tall table or get them excited about moving/dancing/jumping. Singing works WONDERS!
These are my favorite songs to sing:
Wheels on the Bus
Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
If You're Happy
BINGO song
Part of your World (I'm partial to this because I grew up watching this Disney cartoon)
Jump in the Line (And I grew up on Beetlejuice. I only sing the chorus line to get the kids to jump repeatedly and dance to challenge their dynamic balance.)
Feist sings 1,2,3,4 (I haven't memorized these lyrics but I think its an adorable rendition of a pop artist's song)
And an interesting article/video about a nonverbal child with autism singing.
Picture from What to Expect.
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