"One of the Autism-Friendly Cocoa Concerts of the Budapest Festival Orchestra included a program of dances from Szék, performed by three outstanding musicians, István Kádár, András Szabó and Zsolt Fejérvári. My younger son listened to it with his mouth open: he was absolutely riveted by the performance. That night, talking about the concert, he said several times that he enjoyed the folk music part the most. Later, during the pandemic, when we were watching concerts online, he asked us to replay the folk music pieces over and over again.

As a parent and a music therapist, I think it is very important for children to learn music. In Zsigi’s case, when the time came for him to choose an instrument, he made it very clear that he wanted to play the folk bass. This may have included a special, symbolic meaning, in that Zsigi, as the little brother, chose a large instrument, the double bass. He is now in his second year of playing the folk bass at the Óbuda Folk Music School. In addition to so many developmental benefits, learning music helps children with autism because their personal relationship with the music teacher is incredibly valuable to them, as is the experience of making music together.

I wanted to share our story so that the three musicians above might know how much they have helped us by piquing Zsigi’s interest in folk music, and what impact their music may have on the decisions, life or even career of a child."

Photo: Gábor Máté