Purchase Details

Endorsements and reviews

Specialist users, carers and parents will find this a stimulating and enjoyable resource to work with, and a wide spectrum of young people for whom it is intended will be greatly helped by the built in awareness of a range of needs..... This is a high quality resource that many will find worth every penny of its price and more.
Primary Music Today (Summer 2005). Full review available here

My professional interest in the Connections programme was primarily on how it could be implemented to develop functional communication and social interaction. It is in this area that Connections excels. Connections provides original musical material that can be used to aid the development of functional communication skills such as eye contact, listening, gesture, anticipation and cause and effect. It is designed to involve and compliment communication systems that students may be using already.
Radlett Lodge, independent review conducted on behalf of the National Autistic Society. For the full review, click here

At last, an educational resource that is user-friendly for school and in the home. Staff and students are enjoying the tunes, stories and relaxation music of these CD’s.
Sandra Simpson, music teacher / therapist, Hope Lodge School, Southampton

Connections is a fantastic support medium and will be invaluable to anybody supporting people on the spectrum.
Andrew Monaghan, Chief Executive Officer, Hampshire Autistic Society

Teachers convinced that autistic children benefit from interacting with music and song can say goodbye to nursery rhymes and welcome a bhangra beat, thanks to the work of Jessica Curry.
Times Educational Supplement, September 2005. Click here for the full article

Connections is a unique and highly original resource that has generated a lot of interest and positive feedback from our customers since its launch last year. It will be of great interest for anyone working with individuals on the Autistic Spectrum. We have found it to be of great value for parents, carers and teachers alike and it has proved to be just as popular with use with teenagers and young adults as it has been with young children. A fantastic and invaluable addition to the Winslow catalogue.
ROMPA/Winslow

The music, songs and games aim to promote social engagement and encourage interaction. They provide a fun and exploratory teaching aid to the fundamentals of communication and social skills. Furthermore, the music creates a calm atmosphere and promotes opportunities for relaxation. The pack contains 2 CD’s together with a userguide which provides words to the songs and suggests various activities and equipment that accompany the song. The first CD generally consists of action based songs, rhymes and stories, and the second CD consists of relaxation music. The pack is designed for children and young adults with ASD, and can be used in a variety of contexts such as circle times in school settings, drama sessions, music lessons, sensory sessions, and in home settings. It is ideal for teachers, carers, and parents .
Kellyanne Thornton, Special! (2006). For the full review, click here

As a residential school for secondary age students with autism and SLD resulting in challenging behaviour we are pleased to have found connections and consider it to be a valuable resource. For us the curriculum is seen as a vehicle through which to develop our students’ social communication skills, independence and ability to self manage their behaviour through structure and mutually enjoyable interactions. We therefore incorporate music into a range of lessons to enrich the experience of working together with others, peers and adults. With tempo and repetition geared to ASD students we have, in the short time we have had access to this resource, already used it successfully in Music, Dance, PSHE, Aromatherapy and have plans to incorporate it into Assemblies and the next Geography and Speaking and Listening modules. Please keep us informed of any further developments.
Geoff Turner; Deputy Head and John Wardle Curriculum Co-ordinator

The first thing that struck me was the professionalism of the complete package, not only did the double CD come in a robust and engaging outer package but inside there was a useful book relating to all the songs. The production of the music was of a high standard and had been done in a professional studio with some thought given to the arrangements so that they were engaging and contemporary whilst not masking the voice which for this type of educational CD is the most important part. There is also an additional track to each song without the vocals to encourage home/school performances and give ownership to the music.
The songs are of a suitable length and contain songs about everyday actions and feelings. This is a very useful and lively tool for learning in the special needs market place and I wish it all the success it deserves.
Andrew Atkins, Head of Music Service, Portsmouth

The children in my mainstream class love Connections - it immediately establishes a calm and thoughtful atmosphere, and gives opportunities for reflection to even the most unsettled child. We play it as we come into the classroom - at the start of the day, for example (and especially after windy lunchtimes!) as a way of re-establishing the way we want to be together.
Lou Harrison, Advanced Skills Teacher

We have thoroughly tried and tested your CD's: what a brilliant piece of work you have achieved. Many thanks for letting us be part of the trials and giving us the benefit of your experience. CD2 is wonderful as a movement lesson background or just as calming for background in the classroom. It is perfect to use in the sensory room. It can be used for 'thinking music' for art or craft activities also good for one to one work in the swimming pool.

The booklet is excellent, clear and simple format is good and size is right. It has all the elements that are needed, quickly available to hand. The back cover is very useful. The aims are clear and relevant and you provide good easy to follow sections for 'at home' ideas.
We liked the framework suggestions in particular for staff, who might arrive at any time during session, enabling them to pick up what is happening and work from the same base without lengthy explanations. This was temporary as staff became familiar with the content very quickly. Useful equipment section especially for students or volunteer helpers to help set up activity, saves teacher time.

The very best track for us was No.11 the workout. You left us wanting more! This would be good for us on a CD with similar tracks of active music and movement to provide work out actions for the whole body. Our class is frenetic and active and quick fire movement goes down very well. The Upper juniors use the CD for background and thinking music. The older SLD children loved the repetition and it suited them well. The timing is good for slow reactions.

We all wish you well with the project as it continues and we look forward to hearing more about what you are doing next. You deserve to win an award and please let us know how you get on.
Ceri Fairbrother Unit Head MLD and SLD

Connections has also been featured in Unique Magazine, Special Children Magazine and the RSA Journal. 

If, after purchasing Connections, you have any comments or feedback, it would be gratefully recieved and will enable me to enhance any future products of this nature. Please email me at info@connectionsmusic.co.uk and please state if you would be happy for me to include any endorsements of the product on this website.