Why Music?
A Look at Autism Through the Lens of Creative Motion

"Throughout Why Music? you will be introduced to representative children for whom the sense of “energy-gearing” (as it relates to music) is the defining moment. Gearing is the thought of an action and the body’s adjustment to it. The release of energy which travels forward from this sense of gearing and onto and into its intended destination results in a wholeness-of response. In other words, something is ignited within and travels to a destination outside of oneself. The matter of a wholeness-of response is what is so difficult for children with neurological disorders defined as autism.

In this book the study of energy and motion as it is found in all life, but applied specifically to music in this setting, is presented. It is the study of Creative Motion, which provided the grounding of Twila M. Miller’s work with such a diverse population."