At the age of 40, and as a single parent of a child with ASD, I made the decision to go back to school for my Master's Degree. I am a teacher, and I felt like I had hit a wall with my effectiveness in working with children in my classroom. I wanted to focus my graduate work on Special Education and English Language Learners. When it came time to choose a topic for my master's thesis, I knew I would have to choose something I am passionate about in order to do that type of intensive research for several months. Because I am a parent of a child with autism, I wanted to choose a research topic that involved autism. This topic was much too broad, so I included the element of music...as many children on the spectrum have an affinity for music.
