You wouldn't usually equate rock music with Autism or speech therapy but on this week's episode, the two go hand in hand. You may know Tom Petersson as the bass player in Cheap Trick but he's also the father of an autistic child.
Tom's son, Liam, had been non-verbal until the age of five. He hadn't engaged anyone in conversation. One night, The Petersson family was watching a television program and noticed that Liam was responding to the music.
The moment inspired Tom to create some music in his home studio that would include simple phrases like ''Hello, What's your name?'' and then played it as a loop for his son. Tom hoped that this would help his young son begin to speak....it did. One day, at a grocery store, Liam had his first conversation. This was the beginning of the Rock Your Speech Project.
Petersson says, “Music, it's very powerful. All the speech therapists know that it works.The brain just responds to music and it opens other channels to repair itself.''
Barstool Rockers is a weekly 'magazine style' podcast focusing on classic, prog and most every aspect of rock music. Hosted by two life-long fans, it aims to inform and hopefully entertain. Visit the website at barstoolrockers.com.
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