Merlyn's Magical Music and Autism

Jan,
During the mid 1990's, I had the privilege to work with
special needs preschoolers in a public school setting. Many of them
had various forms of autism. Some were quite severe and non-verbal,
whilst others were high functioning. Some had various sensory issues
that made even the simplest of tasks quite difficult to complete.
Several of the children had auditory sensitivities so severe it made
learning a struggle. Often, much of my time was spent dealing with
'melt-downs' and very little teaching, unfortunately.
Around this time, I recall reading an article about autism
and how classical music was often used to help soothe people
afflicted with the condition. I wondered if your cd Merlyn's Magical
Music might elicit similar responses in the autistic children I was
working with at the time, as I did not own any classical music.
I brought the cd into the classroom and was quite pleased at
the response from the children. I began by playing it in the
background during our table time activities where focus and attention
to task were especially important. The teacher and I found that not
only were the autistic children attending to the task better, but ALL
of the children seemed to benefit from the soothing environment we
created by having the music on in the background. Even the children
with ADD/ADHD were able to maintain their attention to task for
longer periods of time before needing redirected.
The autistic children who had such extreme sensitivities to
sound didn't appear to be affected negatively whatsoever. In fact,
quite the opposite. They noticed the music, and several even 'danced'
to the gentle rhythms, rocking their bodies side to side or forward
and back to the beat. When the music was on, they were more engaged
with their peers and more aware of their environment/surroundings.
One little boy even went and laid down next to the speaker on the cd
player!
When our group of 13 children got a bit too rowdy, we'd pop
in the cd and dim the lights and were grateful for the calming effect
the music had on them.
I found the cd to be helpful as well with a child I worked
with who had spastic cerebral palsy. Part of her day consisted of
having to have her arms and legs and trunk muscles stretched. I found
that when I stretched her muscles whilst playing Merlyn's Magical
Music, she relaxed easier and didn't resist the stretching as much.
Merlyn's Magical Music worked so well in creating an
inviting, soothing and safe environment for our classroom that it
became part of our daily routine to have it programmed to repeat.
Having since had my own child with various special needs
including autism and cerebral palsy, I have found the cd to be
beneficial in helping my daughter fall asleep at night. She also
allows me to do her stretching exercises with minimal complaints when
Merlyn's Magical Music Volume 2 is playing (she's partial to Olivia's
Kittens). I often have her cranial sacral therapist play the cd
during her weekly CST session so that she is able to fully relax for
the hour.
Merlyn's Magical Music was even played in the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit where my daughter spent her first month of life.
I requested the nurses play it for her so she wouldn't be as
irritated by the ventilator tubes and IV lines she had in place,
helping to sustain her life. When I was able to bring my daughter
home, the nurses asked if they could keep the cd there in the unit,
as even they found it to be quite soothing!
Thank you again, for creating and sharing such healing music
- I will always be grateful for the many ways it has impacted my
life, professionally, personally and spiritually. I also thank you
as well on behalf of the many special needs children out there who
have achieved so many goals, in part, because of the healing effect
of your music.

Sincerely,
Michelle McFarland
Indianapolis, IN

DARLENE LOVE is a Nominee for 2010 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

Darlene Love's last album "It's Christmas of Course" included the song "Night of Peace" written by Jan Pulsford and Seth Glassman, who is now Darlene's Musical Director and Bass Player. Produced by Kevin Killen the song has become a firm seasonal favourite. Congratulations and good luck to the legendary Darlene Love!
From the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:-
"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Announces Nominees for 2010
Induction
New York (September 23, 2009)— The nominations for induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum were announced today. The twelve
nominees are: ABBA, Darlene Love, Donna Summer, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff,
KISS, Laura Nyro, LL Cool J, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Chantels, The
Hollies, and The Stooges. Ballots will be sent to more than 500 voters,
who will select artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame at the 25th Annual Induction Ceremony on March 15, 2010 at the
Waldorf Astoria in New York City. 
To be eligible for nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an
act must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior
to the year of nomination. This year’s nominees had to release their
first single no later than 1984. 
DARLENE LOVE 
Her powerful gospel sound was developed singing in her father’s church
in East L.A. At 16, Darlene sang at a wedding where two of the
bridesmaids asked her to join their vocal group, The Blossoms. They
quickly established a major presence in the L.A. session scene doing
backgrounds for artists such as Sam Cooke. Darlene caught the attention
of young genius record producer Phil Spector and he made her one of the
cornerstones of his “Wall of Sound” under various names (The Crystals,
Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, and of course, Darlene Love). She sang
lead on a string of hits, earning an important place on the landscape of
60’s rock & roll. She continues to have a prolific singing career,
having starred on Broadway, and in recent years has returned to her
gospel roots. "

SL6B - the future is NOW~!

This week I am excited to be part of the Second Life 6th Birthday Exhibition "The future of Virtual Worlds"
Using the avatar JaNa KYoMooN I have been performing on line in the virtual world for nearly three years. First as part of the Peace Park Trio and then over the last year or so as the virtual artist JaNa KYoMooN.
All concerts are simulcast on http://www.radiojana.com so if you can't (or won't LOL) get into Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com) you can listen on internet radio. Just copy and paste the URL into itunes (open audio stream)
Anyway it's an incredible exhibition so hope you will log in and be amazed at what is happening now!
Also follow my avatar's blog
http://www.janakyomoon.com