Caring Is Key, Say Lindsay Munroe and Raffi

Mentoring is a tricky business. When it goes bad (think "All About Eve"), terrible things can happen. But we're talking about children's music, where collaboration is a hallmark of the camaraderie and good fellowship that sweeps through the genre. Since meeting Lindsay Munroe backstage at one of his concerts a few years ago, Raffi – the recording legend who needs only one name – has taken on the Herculean task of turning Munroe into a frontline figure on the kid's music scene. 

Munroe's second CD under Raffi's tutelage, FROGS AND BIRDS, has just been released. A mother of three children with autism, Munroe wrote many of the songs as part of her Bridges Learning System (BLS), a curriculum that highlights the strengths of neurodiverse students. In conjunction with the SEA Bridge curriculum, BLS reinforces concepts around social communication, such as recognizing our similarities and celebrating our diversity. FROGS AND BIRDS is a big honking deal for another reason, in that Munroe is the first artist (other than Raffi) in decades to be distributed by his label, Troubadour Music.

Raffi has always possessed a strong connection with his audience of "Beluga Grads" and their progeny. His resurgence into the industry a few years ago was welcome, and his subsequent return to touring brought him and Munroe together. Her story, songs, sincerity, messaging, and YouTube videos enchanted the veteran and led to the creation of two CDs, with videos including performers such as Yo-Yo Ma. FROGS AND BIRDS, subtitled "Songs of kindness and caring" is filled with gentle, well-meaning tunes such as "If I Knew You Were Coming," “Where There Is Love” and "Take A Breath" (penned by Raffi), and "Faces Show Our Feelings.”

Espousing emotions and inclusion, FROGS AND BIRDS is nearly a timeless collection of children's music. Being cased in amber is not necessarily a good thing, as the world (and the genre) has evolved. Artists are receiving Grammy attention covering frontline issues like racism (Alphabet Rockers) and glass ceilings for women (Joanie Leeds), as well as creating mashups between classical compositions and musicians from around the world (Secret Agent 23 Skidoo).

FROGS AND BIRDS is a serviceable, upbeat CD of inclusive music. The sweet melodies and harmonies produced by Munroe and Raffi should find a receptive audience. As Raffi realizes, sometimes you don't have to reinvent the wheel to assemble pleasant children's music, especially in unpleasant times. 

FROGS AND BIRDS is available from Lindsay Munroe's website, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Here is Lindsay Munroe's official puppet video for "Frogs and Birds" featuring Raffi:

Quick Hits: Autism-Friendly Tunes from Turtle Dance; New Song from Mista Cookie Jar & Little Miss Ann

When my son was Ben was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum, I went through a roller coaster of emotions. Near the bottom – would he be able to enjoy things that neuro-typical children take for granted. For instance, what about music? Live performances, in particular. Those fears were allayed pretty early. And now Ben continually asks what's next – even before the lights have dimmed when we've just arrived at a concert venue.

For special needs children who need shows tailored to their specific needs, there are organizations such as Autism Friendly Shows and for kids, their partners at Turtle Dance Music, who do hour-long performances just for younger aged audiences. Turtle Dance has released their sixth CD, ADD TO THE WORLD, with songs revolving directly around math-based concepts. The ten songs include "Five Little Monkeys," "Jump and Count (Twist and Shout)," "I Only Sneeze in Threes," and a reading themed take on the Proclaimers with "500 Books."

Turtle Dance shows are accompanied by hands-on, visual, and sensory experiences designed to help kids learn and have fun at the same time. Kids play instruments, try out interactive music technology, and dance along through the whole show. Based in the Connecticut area, the program seeks to increase its educational component with ADD TO THE WORLD.

ADD TO THE WORLD is available through the group's website, Apple Music, and Amazon.

Here is the video for the group's song "Moon Landing":



The ever-prolific Mista Cookie Jar returns with another duet, this time with Little Miss Ann for the dessert-arrific "Halo-Halo." The song celebrates the Filipino treat of that name, which is concocted from coconut, mungo bean, shaved ice, corn, milk, and a scoop of ice cream. Did I lose you along the way? Trust me, it's more delicious than it sounds. Perhaps try it first and then ask for the ingredient list. As for the the finished product, just listen to how they wax prosaic:

Yum! “Ma sarap”
That’s Tagalog for tongue bliss.
“Halo-halo,” that’s Tagalog for mix mix.
Mix it up like a sweet cold gumbo
Fun for the soul. Make ya joy feel jumbo.

You can download "Halo-Halo" (all they ask if for 99 cents) from Bandcamp. Here's the link:

Q&A: Underneath Brady Rymer's Inclusive Umbrella

Children's recording artist Brady Rymer is a perennial favorite around my home. His music has been a nearly constant presence in both my son's lives. We have seen Brady (and the Little Band That Could) in different counties and boroughs across the state of New York for the past decade and we've never heard a bad set. This month, Brady is releasing his 10th studio release, UNDER THE BIG UMBRELLA, which serves as a melodious metaphor for inclusion, and recently discussed the evolution of this project.

Brady Rymer in his home studio
(Photo by Randee Daddona)

Which came first - recording children's music or your interactions with the special needs community?
They happened simultaneously. I began to explore the children’s music scene in the late '90s, writing songs and performing live. My friend Monica Osgood asked me to bring my guitar out to New Jersey and sing at Celebrate the Children, the summer camp she created for kids with special needs. We had a blast that day! The camp developed into the school, and I still return once or twice a year – performing and writing with the kids and teachers. That's when my relationship with the special needs community and my interest in working with them started.

In your experiences, are kids just kids as far as music goes? I.e., is music an equalizer?
Yeah, sounds good to me! Looking out from the stage I’ve seen it equalize – and energize – a room. That’s what I love about a rock band; songs and the concert experience as an art form. It allows everyone to feel, move, and interact as one. It can be very moving and bonding – bringing everyone together around a common beat, melody, or lyric. When we play something like "Love Train," everyone hops on, joins hands, and goes for the ride together.

You've already covered special needs with "Love Me For Who I Am." How did that message transform into inclusion (for "Under the Big Umbrella")?
I wrote UtBU for Lincoln Center’s Big Umbrellla Festival in 2018 – a celebration for families living with autism. This metaphor of "everyone is included and valued and recognized under the umbrella" spoke to me. I was reminded of the work that’s being done in schools these days – creating cultures of kindness, acceptance, and compassion. This, along with an amazing concert at a school which practices inclusion, inspired the rest of the songs for the new album.

I even asked the students for some lyrical ideas. They came back with "You Do You" and "Different is Beautiful." They fit into the theme perfectly, and I saw that the basic idea of acceptance and diversity is not only for the special needs community. These are ideas, concepts, and issues everyone is working with every day – in our schools and communities. Especially in these times when there’s a lot of divisiveness, it's an important message to sing about. I know it’s definitely on the minds and in the hearts of students at many, many schools.

You recorded with Sonia De Los Santos and David Gibb on "Umbrella." How did those collaborations come about? Do you see yourself doing more work with other artists in the future?
I love working with other artists. Yes, I hope to work with many more in the future! I’ve done things with Sonia and David in the past and I really connected with them as people, friends, and also with their music and with them as artists. I loved what we collaborated on. So I was excited as I worked on these tunes and imagined David’s and Sonia’s voices on these tracks. I love what they contributed, and I think they add so much to the tracks – Sonia singing Woody Guthrie's "Don’t You Push Me Down" message in Spanish is very empowering, and David taking the role of John and Paul, and me being Ringo, was a blast. It reinforces the idea fo friendship.

Do your son and daughter show any interest in following your lead into music/children's advocacy?
My daughter plays music and sings. She’s more interested in communications, journalism, video production – that kinds of stuff – but she is an advocate! She participated in the Women’s March and has been active in school things down in Tulane University where she's a sophomore. My son has been a pro scooter rider for many years now – starting in junior high school. He did it all himself, built a fan base on YouTube and then toured, mentored, and became a popular sponsored rider. He eventually made it to the world finals. So I’m super proud of both of my kids and how they just go out there and do! They follow their hearts and pass along their passions.

UNDER THE BIG UMBRELLA is available on May 17 from Brady Rymer's website, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon.

Here is the sample of the new single from Brady Rymer's new CD, a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want":

Two New Brady Rymer Singles for Autism Awareness Month

In commemoration of Autism Awareness Month, Long Island's own Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could have released two singles – a party mix of their inclusion anthem, "Love Me For Who I Am" and a brand-new cover of the Diana Ross classic, "I'm Coming Out."

"Love Me For Who I Am" was the title track of Brady's 2011 CD, which stemmed from a conversation with a special needs student (story is here). Longtime proponents of rights for disabled children, Brady and company have always stressed the point that music is a hallmark of inclusion.

Personally, my family has a decade-long history with the Rymers, starting at Kidstock in Brooklyn many years ago and continuing through 2018. Brady and Bridget graciously moved over so me and my kids could sit together at January's "Best of Childrens Music" Grammy showcase at Symphony Space. Long may they rock!

Hear "I'm Coming Out" on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon.

Hear "Love Me For Who I Am" on Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify.

Watch the video for "I'm Coming Out":

Chapin Flexes Against Social Anxiety on New Kids' CD

Raising a child with autism is not everybody's vocation. But parents cannot go about educating themselves at half-speed. You do yourself no good and you certainly do your child no good. As I wrote about several months ago, our decade spent with autism has been fraught with wars; battles with tear-streaked victories and one step backwards with every two steps of progress.

Grammy winner Tom Chapin is facing the challenges of autism on his new CD, THE INCREDIBLE FLEXIBLE YOU. Each song accompanies a lesson from the social thinking curriculum, a program that seeks to engage preschoolers through teens to young adults who are on the autistic spectrum.

Fact-based academics (math and science) are often not a problem for spectrum kids. Pragmatics, which require interpretation and emotional thought, are their downfall. Social thinking, as espoused by Michelle Garcia Winner, is a way to reach those "bright but incredibly clueless" students.

Joined by another Grammy nominee, Phil Galdston ("Save the Best For Last"), Chapin addresses various elements that require social clues, such as "Show Me What You're Feeling," "Listen With All Of You," and "Look, Think, Guess, Know."

We sat at the dinner table listening to the CD for the first play-through. At some point during every song, either myself or my wife would repeat a lyric to Ben our 12-year-old son, and say, "This is what we mean! You can do that!"

One of Ben's issues is scale. It doesn't matter if I ask him, "Do you want ice cream?" or "Can I saw off your legs?" His response will always be quick and loud, "NO THANKS!" Chapin addresses this very thing in "Size of The Problem":

What's the size of the problem?
And when I know
No need to let my troubles grow.
I know where to go and those who know
What to do to solve them.

When I reviewed Alastair Moock's thought-provoking kids cancer CD, SINGING OUR WAY THROUGH, I talked about how the music was specific and personal. Almost too much so for a general audience. I feel almost the same way about THE INCREDIBLE FLEXIBLE YOU. On the surface, it doesn't even come off as a "typical kid's music CD." There is clearly an agenda and if you're not on board with it, well, Chapin has many other CDs to choose from.

I would need to sit down and think about how many times we've seen Tom Chapin in concert, from Symphony Space to Colden Center to the waterfront in Oyster Bay. Even with his social anxiety, Ben has "pushed through" and wanted to say hello to Chapin after every show, which says something about Tom's performing persona. After one performance, when Ben showed a little reluctance, Chapin simply grabbed him and placed Ben on his lap for a photo. Afterwards, Ben did not express any anger or frustration. He smiled.

Ben has enjoyed listening to THE INCREDIBLE FLEXIBLE YOU but that's with us mildly stressing the messages behind the songs. There is a whole methodology available at Social Thinking for parents who want or need to address their child's issues. Chapin is beyond qualified to tackle the mystery of autism and he's enlisted the Chapin Sisters and Nile Rodgers, among others, to help him. As stated, it's a bit left of center if you're not "on the team," so to speak. But if you are, there's a lot of good that can come out of a little bit of time hearing some simple songs.

THE INCREDIBLE FLEXIBLE YOU is available from Tom's website, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is the video from the album's "In The Group":

My Middle Child Is Autism

"He's perfect. Go home and enjoy him."

And with that, a decade flashed before my eyes. We smiled wistfully, wondering what would have happened 10 years ago. If we'd only heard those same words back then.

But in 2003, when our older son was two years old, we heard something completely different.

"He's definitely got some issues...you should look at some programs."

And we did. A recommended appointment with a pediatric neurologist confirmed our deepest fears – our child was not "neuro-typical." In fact, he was on the so-called spectrum.

Thus began a decade of painful truths and discoveries. Programs we loved that he "aged out" of. Programs we fought to get him into, that ultimately tossed him aside. Programs we hated that did more damage than good.

We adapted. He adapted. We learned how to maneuver within the system. We became better advocates and made the system work for us.

At one parent-teacher conference, I recounted how our son had attended four different schools in the past four years. "On the way home last week, he listed them all," I told the teachers. "When he finished, he said 'Next year I'll go to another school.'" One educator buried her face in her hands, not wanting to lose her composure in front of everyone. Another quietly said, "Tell him that he isn't leaving here."

As we grew older, people inevitably asked if we were planning to have more children. After all, we weren't getting any younger. And the odds of having a second child on the spectrum grow exponentially as the parents age.

It was a reasonable question and the obvious answer was autism, but not the way most people thought. Yes, we had fears. But our mindset was, "Get the first kid established somewhere before expanding the family."

The first time we seriously thought about a second child as when we got the original diagnosis. The second time was right when the NEST program magically changed its requirements and bounced him. The next 2-3 years were no fun at all for anyone and he wound up with medicated and under the care of a pediatric counselor from all the harm and mental anguish of the experience.

Once we were finally ready to consider a second child, we put ourselves through rigorous trials: Genetic testing, bloodwork, readings. Conception was not the top priority. We even put ourselves through a genetic selection process, which attempts to time ovulation to give perspective parents a better chance at a girl. (Although autism hits girls harder than boys, they are only 20 percent of the total cases of autism.)

After we succeeded and a baby was on the way, test results of the amniocentesis went to the obstetrician first. He regretfully told us, "It's a boy." I think we were each saddened for the same, but different reason – we would both relate to a female child in a whole new way. But at least we were familiar with the operating manual for a young boy.

People who know us remember the final four months of the pregnancy as a blur of fetal echocardiograms and sonograms due to an incipient heart issue. Whatever deity you believe exists was messing with our heads. If this kid wasn't on the spectrum, he might be born with a defective ticker.

His birth (and surgery at 10 hours old) were happily uneventful. His older brother, originally fearful and nervous, grew to appreciate and love his new sibling. They now share many of the games we put away 6-7 years ago, due to stimming and inappropriate game play. And when his big brother doesn't play fair, the younger kid speaks up, "Ben not playing right!"

Because the second child was premature, we were assigned to visit a developmental pediatrician. My wife once asked, "Is this a new policy?" We were told no, this has always been the policy. "Well, our son was born premature in 2001 and we would have LOVED to have been sent to a developmental pediatrician! It would have saved us a lot of time and heartache!" Clearly, there was no answer that would have made us feel better.

For the next 2 1/2 years we visited the developmental ped and watched the baby like hawks. Was that repetitive behavior? Was he starting to walk too late? Do we take those toys from his hands if it looks like he's obsessively flipping them over and over?

Which brought us back to the developmental pediatrician's office today, two weeks shy of 31 months (2 1/2 years plus one). He aced most of the age-appropriate tests. The associate asked him to point to things in the office and he did. When the associate left, our toddler continued the game, asking US to locate things that HE saw.

Finally the developmental ped came in and shocked us. But in a good way. "I'm going to miss seeing that child and his beautiful red hair," she said. "But we're releasing him from the program."

"Releasing him?" my wife sputtered.

"He's perfect," she replied. "You could bring him back in six months, when he turns three, and I'll just tell you again how perfect he is."

I don't think it hit us until we left her office. I don't think it's fully hit my wife, who did make a followup appointment.

For 10 years the menace and mystery of autism has lingered over our house. It pervaded and changed all of our lives. We have a 12 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. But our middle child is really autism. He's been with us for 10 years and has kept us up at night more that either of his brothers.

I watch our older son struggle with homework as our younger son begins to experiment with imaginative play, crafting two-character plays using small Winnie the Pooh figures. Ben takes a break and his little brother drops the toys and runs to be with him, desperate to interact, push aside that middle sibling, and make a connection.

My wife wants to err on the side of caution and six months is a drop in the bucket after everything we've been through, us and the kids. We doled our inoculations incrementally when they could have been cocktailed, which added expense and doctors' visits. We paid for specialists and evaluations out of pocket to disprove other specialists and evaluations that we disagreed with. So we'll take an extra six months, but really the words from an expert gave us unexpected relief. They were from a woman who deals with developmentally-delayed children on a daily basis. And our boy walked in, did everything she asked him to do, and more.

So we will hold our breath for another six months and hope the center holds. But it reminded me that a decade ago, we were told our situation was less than perfect. And that profound truth pounded some deep, dark holes into our timeline.

We have two lovely children and one middle foster child who steals our time and money. The worst thing a parent ever has to do is live through the death of a child. But honestly, I dream every night that I will outlive autism, my middle child.

EPILOGUE
On January 9, 2014, we returned to the developmental pediatrician with our younger son, now three years (and six weeks) old. Her renewed assessment was that he does not show any signs of autism. She did not even attempt any of the basic testing and instead asked him a series of questions, such as "What color is the sky?" and "What happens to ice when it melts? What does it become?" His answers were "Blue" and "Snow," incidentally.

After 15 minutes, she made a simple, declarative statement: "He is awesome and delicious. His level is closer to a four-year-old. He answered in complete sentences that were understandable. Go home and enjoy him."

The next day, my older son turned 13. When the toddler heard us moving around in the dining room, he insisted on coming downstairs to wish his older brother a happy birthday before he left for school. They exchanged a hug and my older son grinned happily, waiting for the school bus.