‘Music for Autism’ concert this Sunday at 5 Towns JCC

The Jewish Community Center of the Greater Five Towns will host its third annual interactive concert for individuals with autism and their families this Sunday, April 27.

This free event is presented by Music for Autism, established in the United Kingdom in 2002 by musicians John Lubbock and Christine Caims, parents of a son with autism, who wanted to share their love of music with others impacted by autism. In 2007, Robert Accordino brought Music for Autism to the United States where the organization initially worked with the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center “to reach and treat underserved individuals with autism through screening and recruiting practices.”

Professional musicians volunteer for the concerts, with Sunday’s featuring the Doug & Dmitri Klezmer Duo playing a mix of klezmer, Yiddish, Hebrew, Broadway music, standards and comedy related to Passover.

Gayle Fremed, director of special needs at the Greater Five Towns JCC, explained that members of the autism community “can be hypo and hyper sensitive and the movements can be startling. In between pieces there is no clapping,” she said. “Transitions are hard for people with autism. After each piece the audience touch fingers.”

Fremed cited a recent Centers for Disease Control report that one in 68 U.S. children identified with autism spectrum disorder. “The numbers are exploding,” she said, noting that April is Autism Awareness Month.

Fremed’s 27 year old daughter has autism and is “lower functioning” she said. Although the people in the community are inclusive, when you take a child out “you always have agita, you never know how they are going to react.” In a concert such as this, geared to the autistic community, others have “no judgment;” if the person with autism has “inappropriate vocalization, everyone understands.” In other situations “people would get frustrated,” she said.