Hendrickson’s Perception of Theory of Transfer and Multi-sensory Processes in Developing Violin Skills and Promoting Speech in Non-verbal Autistic Children

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Franzy

South Australian, Lyndall Hendrickson AM (1917-2017) led a lifetime of achievements as a prodigy concert violinist, polio survivor, instructor, and teacher of language and music for non-verbal autistic students. After polio halted her career at 34, she researched theories of human performance and developments in cognitive neuroscience, then in the 1970s tested multi-sensory violin teaching to support motor skill recovery. Her transfer-and-perception framework produced an exercise series mapping unconventional finger-movement orders for beginners and later informed a multi-sensory program encouraging speech.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Synaesthesia and sensory perception

Early violin training and pedagogy

Recovery from polio and later research

Identical elements

Theory of transfer and positive/negative transfer

Applying advanced techniques to beginner lessons

Hendrickson’s perception of theory of transfer and multi-sensory processes in developing violin skills and likewise promoting speech in non-verbal autistic children a u s t r a l i a n a s o c i e t y s f o r m u s i c m e d u c a t i o n e i n c o r p o r a t e d Ibolya Mikajlo University of Western Australia Abstract South Australian, Lyndall Hendrickson AM (1917-2017) led a lifetime of achievements as a prodigy, concert violinist, polio survivor, violin instructor and teacher of language and music to non-verbal autistic students. Her career halted when she contracted poliomyelitis at the age of 34. To regain motor skill, Hendrickson researched theories of human performance and followed developments of cognitive neuroscience. In the 1970s, she experimented with violin teaching and learning through multi-sensory channels of information. Whilst Hendrickson was not the only teacher who wrote drills, used large notation, colour, stories and focused on the actions of technique, she formulated her own series of exercises designed to map an order of finger movements, that would normally not be employed in beginner lessons. Hendrickson used theories of transfer and perception in explaining violin exercises. At the age of 73, she followed new career paths in working with non-verbal autistic children and developed a multi-sensory based program aimed to encourage speech. Keywords: violin, somatosensory, autism, synaesthesia, pedagogy Introduction As a child, Hendrickson noted that she visualized the colour brown and smelt earth in hearing the note C (439hz). Hendrickson reflected that her mind was constantly active with these parallels whenever she was in the bush, desert, or was hearing sounds in traffic. She stated “if I hear a sound, I see a colour, and if I see a colour, I hear asound”(Hendrickson, c. March 2008, p. 1). Professor John Bradshaw from Monash University, noted that the binding of sensory information known as synaesthesia, is possibly related to persons with more brain connections than most (Giles, 2000). This synaesthesia possibly guided Hendrickson’s ability in the application of sensory connections in her method. Hendrickson started violin study at the age of three, trying her father’s instrument and experimenting with playing. Her first teacher Louise Hakendorfwas a pupil of Gerald Walenn. In childhood, Hendrickson studied Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and describes her teacher Heather Gell, as giving her freedom of movement and a consciousness of being ‘loose’ which she then transferred to performing on the violin (Cox, Holmes, & Pope, 1995). In 1936, Hendrickson studied violin with Ludwig Schwab, a student of famous pedagogue Otakar Ševčík. By 1939 she was performing as a soloist under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Malcolm Sargent and many other conductors. In 1951, Hendrickson suffered paralysis after polio (Polio-Australia, 2019). Exercises designed by her husband, Dr Graeme Robson, led to a recovery period of around eight years. Whilst bed ridden, she read books on psychology, attention theory, pedagogy, and taught herself to write with the right-hand. Reflecting on her recovery, Hendrickson wrote to American music critic Henry Roth, that she regained her former motor skills and gained further flexibility, when she applied elements of her husband’s rehabilitation exercises to her violin practice (Hendrickson, 22 April 1993). Over the past 60 years, numerous teachers including Hendrickson, have developed their own style of pedagogy, focusing on developing the mechanics of string playing (Gerle, 1983; Givens, 1981; Nelson, 1973; Rolland & Mutschler, 1974; Szilvay, 1980). What sets Hendrickson’s pedagogy apart, is the development of her multi-sensory approach to processing music, the belief in allowing the student to explore all parts of the fingerboard from the start, the hierarchy of written drills, and her translation of learning theories. Her aim was to encourage students t

FAQs

How did Hendrickson’s polio affect her career and later research?

Her career halted when she contracted poliomyelitis at age 34. To regain motor skill, she researched theories of human performance and followed developments in cognitive neuroscience, then experimented with multi-sensory approaches to violin learning in the 1970s.

What is “theory of transfer” and how does it relate to Hendrickson’s teaching?

Theory of transfer explains how learned skills can apply to improve performance in other tasks when identical elements are present. Hendrickson used transfer and perception theories to justify including advanced skill elements and designing exercises for beginners.

How did Hendrickson use multi-sensory methods to support non-verbal autistic children?

At 73, she pursued new work with non-verbal autistic children and developed a multi-sensory based program aimed to encourage speech, informed by her multi-sensory processing of music and sensory connections.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Franzy