CSI Drumming
Communication, Socialization and Inclusion Drumming Program
The CSI (Communication, Socialization, Inclusion) DRUMMING program was designed as a way to use drums to help develop communication and socialization skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while being all inclusive. Based on traditional drum circles, the program uses activities with various percussion instruments to get students to develop skills such as: reading nonverbal cues and symbolic gestures, using joint attention, eye gaze, transitioning, building an awareness of others and listening.
Each activity ends with a talkback which is crucial in helping the students connect what they just learned through drumming, to everyday life.
About CSI Drumming
ASD and Drum Circles
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often present with deficits in communication and socialization.
This may include joint attention, eye-gaze, eye contact, initiation, imitation, reading body language and symbolic gestures. Research on understanding ASD and the effect on those diagnosed is an ongoing process. Because of this, new books, articles and information are constantly being published. As this new information becomes available it helps us to understand just a little bit more about how individuals with ASD think, feel and communicate.
Drum circles have been shown to have therapeutic effects on individuals and are used for improving health, communication and to help with stress. Music has often been called the universal language. When two people who do not speak a common language are able to sit down and create music together, they are communicating without using words. There is something very powerful about drumming that brings everyone into focus, causes joint attention, and allows us to speak and communicate without words getting in the way. Previous research by Barry Bittman and Jeff Strong have already proven that drumming and rhythm can reduce stress, have calming effects, relieve pain and help one to focus. It is possible that someone with ASD may find drumming quiets the mind, helps eliminate sensory overload and allows him or herself to get lost in the rhythm. By using
the drums, individuals may find a gateway in rhythm that allows them to become aware of other people, to make eye contact, have joint attention, and initiate conversation.
How I Started
In 2011 | was asked by a speech and language pathologist to create a drumming program to be used in conjunction with a class she was teaching on communication and socialization for individuals with ASD. It was her idea to use the drums to highlight the topics she was discussing in class. When I first started this class with her, I followed her lead completely due to my lack of knowledge about ASD and the way individuals on the spectrum communicated.
Each year I would get together with her, and we would
discuss the drumming activities, the ones that worked and the ones that didn't. Through trial and error and my previous studies in the Graduate Certificate Program in Autism at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee I have gained new knowledge and skills that have allowed this program to flourish. I have since branched off and created a program that can be used in any school setting to help work on communication and socialization skills while also being all inclusive.
How It Is Going
Currently I have presented my CSI DRUMMING program at conferences and webinars, including for the Berklee Music Education and Special Needs Study Group, the Berklee ABLE Conference Digital Series and the 2023 ABLE Assembly: Arts Better the Lives of Everyone Conference at Berklee College of Music.
Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about implementing the program at your school. I am available for presenting at conferences, webinars, or coming to your school and presenting for teachers in your district. Please email me at gretchen@csidrumming.net