The Bottom Line
Pros
- Professional videography and easy-to-use menu.
- Fun, well-presented songs.
- Clear multimedia presentation of basic emotional concepts.
Cons
- digitally-produced "mascot" seems unnecessary and a bit distracting.
- The material is similar to a whole genre of children's TV and videos
- Not necessarily a great bargain at the price.
- Use of only very young children as models limits use for older children.
Description
- DVD's featuring songs about emotions, body movement.
- Songs are presented by a professional singer/therapist.
- Topics include sad, happy, body awareness, etc.
Guide Review - Spectrum Connections Music Videos
There is no doubt that children on the spectrum are well-served by good music videos that include content on tough topics such as emotions, social skills and behavior. And, in fact, research shows that video is a terrific learning tool for children who are especially good at visual learning and memorization.The Spectrum Connection videos created so far are solid examples of a genre of music videos which, like Hap Palmer's BabySongs, have been around for a long time. The biggest difference between Spectrum Connections music videos and those of other producers is visual simplicity: the videographers have filmed against a stark white background. In theory, this should make the videos more appropriate for children on the spectrum who, again in theory, are more easily distracted than other children by complex imagery.
There is very little actual research available on whether stark simplicity is most appropriate for youngsters on the autism spectrum, and I am personally not convinced that simplification is always appropriate for children whose challenges will include generalization of concepts to fit the real world. In fact, it concerns me a bit that this music video presents "sadness" as a set of facial and body motions -- but there's no context for the feeling at all. Other similar videos actually present emotional scenarios which, I think, offer a much richer tool for building empathy and the ability to read facial expressions.
