If you've ever been to a Cleveland Indians home baseball game, chances are about 100 percent that you've heard a tom-tom drum echoing from the top bleacher seats.

The drummer is a guy named John Adams, who besides attending home games since 1973, co-teaches a graduate level course at Cleveland State University on aquatics for kids with disabilities.

We're pretty sure Adams would be delighted to know, if he doesn't already, that drumming does more than rev up a sports crowd. It helps children diagnosed with autism improve their motor control and enhances their powers of concentration and communication.

According to a new study, autistic children who drum for 60 minutes a week experience vast improvement in dexterity, rhythm, and overall timing, along with an improved ability to concentrate on their homework.

And the benefits don't stop there.

Teachers told the researchers that their autistic students who played the drums also were better able to follow instructions, and their social interactions and communication with peers, adults, and school staff improved significantly.

So if you know someone who has autism or someone who has a child with autism, suggest they give "The Kit" (as Ringo Starr calls a drum set) a try, either a traditional model or a newer electronic drum (which is great, because you can control the volume).

Check local music stores for information on lessons. Then you'll discover if you are (or are related to) a budding Buddy Rich or an emerging Sheila E.