Cambridgeshire Music ­and the Croft Children’s Centre (CPFT) will be collaborating in a community care partnership to work with 40 children in local schools in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough over the next two years.  They will become a UK hub for the project alongside partners from Austria, Denmark, Korea, Israel, Australia, USA and Norway and will be leading the UK aspect of this important international project.

Music therapy may stimulate skills in areas typically affected by autism spectrum disorders such as social interaction and communication. Further work is necessary to fully understand this and the project aims to provide evidence for the effectiveness of music therapy.

Cambridgeshire Music’s, music therapy service has been supporting children with emotional, behavioural and communication needs in school settings across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough for the past 17 years. One third of the children they work with are children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Órla Casey of Cambridgeshire Music comments that: “This funding is really good news for children with autism who might otherwise not be able to access music therapy. We hope the study results will pave the way for further funding for music therapy work with children with autism in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.”