What do you do?

The idea for this song came about when I was working with a child with autism, providing individual music therapy. I found that it was easy for her to learn academic skills (numbers, colors, lettters) because of the rote memorization involved to learn the information. However, when it came to questions about how to respond flexibly in social situations, she had a much more difficult time.

Also, because she was so used to being asked questions repeatedly, she would often reverse questions and statements. For example, instead of “I need help” she would say “Do you need help?”

I wrote the song “What Do You Do?” to address these things:

Lyrics:

What do you do? What do you do?
When you need some help with a thing or two.
What do you say? What do you say?
When you need some help today.
You say “I need help.”
You say “I need help.”

What do you say? What do you say?
When you don’t know someone’s name today.
What do you say? What do you say?
When you don’t know someone’s name.
You say “What is your name?”
You say “What is your name?”

What do you say? What do you say?
When someone gives you a present today.
What do you say? What do you say?
When someone gives you a present.
You say “Thank you!”
You say “Thank you!”

You can insert any situation in here, depending on the unique needs of your client.

Image courtesy of [Jeroen van Oostrom] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net