Kennedy Center concerts reaching special needs audience

It sure seems to make sense for a symphony to find a way to connect with an audience that seems to most appreciate and feel the music: children on the autism spectrum or with other special needs.  Here's a link to a Washington Post story: Kennedy Center offers ‘sensory-friendly’ concerts for children with special needs

"The children do not know that the music is about war, yet they stomp along with the fury. A young boy shakes his hands as though they have caught fire, keeping tempo with the violin’s shrieks. A girl in a pink romper, no older than 6, jumps to her feet to conduct from the 12th row. And at the abrupt end, the children wail without inhibition, because this is how one feels after hearing Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet; this is how one feels when dropped from its dizzying pull. And when children with autism or special needs feel something inside, they often express themselves with movements and sounds."

Here's another link to a similar program in the Boston MetroWest area: Autism friendly performance at Acton's Open Door Theatre.

Thank you to everyone who has already donated to my marathon fundraising for Hopkinton Special Education Advisory Council. Your generosity inspires me. Read more and donate on my fundraising page!