Marie Wilborn’s eight-year-old so, Justin, has always loved music. Now, he can call himself a musician.

Last spring, Justin participated in a program called Vivo, a music class for children in kindergarten through fifth grade with autism spectrum disorders.

"The class gave Justin the chance to learn in an environment with kids just like him and it was a great experience," Wilborn says.

Vivo is part of the Da Capo Institute, an emergent music community founded in 2006 by Jeff and Tracee Prillaman. The school offers musical training through choruses, private instruction and ensembles. Instead of simply teaching music lessons, instructors at Da Capo strive to create a community of musicians.

Vivo is the most recent extension of Da Capo’s musical community.

"All people respond and relate to music, it reaches people and touches them in a special way," Tracee Prillaman says. "Our goal is to provide families a musical outlet in an environment where their kids will be valued, challenged and encouraged and come away with a love of music."

Justin took part in a seven-week Vivo pilot program last spring. A 10-week fall session will begin Sept. 22. Three sessions will be held at Huguenot Road Baptist, Bon Air Presbyterian and River Road Presbyterian Churches.

"It was an incredible experience for Justin," Wilborn says. "They used basic lessons to teach them the elements of music and they experienced music in a way that helped them really appreciate it. [The instructors'] expectations were high but achievable, so the kids had a real sense of accomplishment."

Justin has tried other music classes in the past, but none of them reached him the way Vivo did.

"We took him to piano lessons but he just went because we took him. He never really showed interest until Vivo. He was excited to go, interested in his homework and he really wanted to do well," Wilborn says.

The cause of autism spectrum disorders is unknown, but diagnoses of the developmental disability are on the rise.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in 150 children have an autism spectrum disorder; for boys, that figure is one in 90.

Lead instructor Heidi Thurmond and Tracee Prillaman teach Vivo classes. They focus on a curriculum of creative repetition to keep the students engaged and learning.

"Part of the challenge is to come up with new and different methods of presenting information," Prillaman says. "There are a number of social, emotional and physical challenges with any student so you have to tailor your classroom for the student."

"I remember one day they had the students listen to the rhythm of their heartbeats with a stethoscope and it really clicked with Justin," Wilburn says.

Thurmond, who has a master's degree in music therapy, said music is a valuable channel of expression and communication, particularly for students with autism who have limited language skills.

"There's an internal connector with music," she said. "Music can garner a response from students that have a hard time communicating."

Vivo instructors help students develop the singing voice, introduce rhythm and melody, movement in response to music and teach students to play instruments. The session concludes with a finale concert.

Musical skills, however, are just the beginning of the benefits.

Thurmond explains, "Music is an outlet for all and this program provides a musical outlet for these students. It presents challenges and gives them a sense of achievement."

Wilborn hopes programs like Vivo will help dispel misconceptions that children with autism can’t learn, "there's a lot of misinformation out there about autism. It's important for the community that these young folks have the opportunity to be exposed to all kinds of art and means of expression."

For more information about Vivo and the Da Capo Institute visit www.dacapoinstitute.org.