The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy uses music to help those with special needs interact and communicate. Along with making music to interact more, dance has become a therapy practice as well. (NNL video by Morgan Heyrman)

Looking someone in the eye, shaking a hand, and holding a conversation are simple daily tasks for most people. Those Nassau County residents who suffer from mental health disorders, such as autism, spend hours a day learning these simple life interactions.

Autism affects over 400,000 people in the U.S.  according to Autisminfo. Marked by restricted and repetitive behavioral patterns, autism impairs communication and social interaction. Although the rates of special needs people in the U.S. are quite common, a cure has yet to be found.

“Our goal is to work on their strengths and needs,” said Jill Lucente, therapist at The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy at Molloy College. “We want them to be with us in the moment of the music.” The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy began treatment in 1999 by certified music therapist, John Carpente. The center services 150 special-needs people throughout Long Island and New York.

While music is the basis of therapy for The Rebecca Center, there are other forms of therapy being experimented with as well.

“Dance is such a crucial part of who we are and it’s so much of who we are,” said Suzy Damaszek, dance therapist. “I think it's so important to have an outlet for them to connect to, such as music or dance.” Damaszek encourages her clients to express themselves through dance and hopes to help them connect on a social level.

While as much as $70,000 a year on average is spent on therapy for those with special needs, various techniques for therapy show that the creative techniques to therapy are among the most successful.

This is the individual final project for Prof. Mo Krochmal's JRNL 80 (Online Journalism) class for Spring 2010.