1. MALLORY MULLINS Does music therapy benefit adults and children affected with autism?

2. My Product My product included me volunteering in a special needs classroom, creating CDs with a variety of music on them, and having the children listen to them and for me to record their reactions. I also participated in the 2012 Autism Walk in downtown Raleigh.

3. Music genres Jazz, soft and more drum orientated Classic and modern piano Modern pop Instrumental electronic Instrumental acoustic guitar Bluegrass Salsa

5. Steps I had to take Talk to my older sister, who teaches special ed, for ideas Brainstorm product ideas Find an available mentor Create permission forms for the parents of students in my mentor’s class

6. Steps I had to take Have my mentor give her students the permission forms Create CDs Observe children while they listened to the music Document reactions

7. Permission form

8. Observation notes

9. Problems I faced Finding a mentor Breaking out of my “comfort zone” Using my time wisely Finding the right kind of music Finding an “answer” to my original question

10. Successes I had Working with the students Feeling accomplished and proud of myself

11. Conclusion There is no black and white answer to my question, although all in all I discovered that most children react positively to some form of music

12. What I learned I work well under pressure I enjoy working with younger children, although I still would not want to be a teacher Procrastination is not as a big of an issue for me as it used to be Music that calms some students may cause others to throw a fit, and vise versa

13. How I can use this in my future Since I realized I enjoy working with people, I could use this to help narrow down ideas for possible career choices and college majors. This project also taught me how to handle working on a large scale project, how to use my time wisely, and how to not let stress get the best of me.

14. Thank you for your time Do you have any questions?