Building musical lives: The impact of supporting musical play in the everyday lives of autistic children and their families

Caitlin Shaughnessy, Adam Ockelford, Arielle Bonneville-Roussy, Wolfgang Mann

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    Abstract

    Musical spaces have been observed to be highly engaging for autistic children, ameliorating barriers often experienced in communication and interaction. Music interventions with this group are widespread and have frequently noted the importance of integrating caregivers. Yet beyond music therapy, there is limited research on how to support music-making in daily life for autistic children and their families. In particular, there is a lack of long-term ecological evidence with this group for how music can support everyday functioning, care routines, and wellbeing. In this study, 25 families participated in a 12-month program which supported the integration of music into everyday life. Families were interviewed at the end of the project regarding the effectiveness of music as a support for daily routines, play, and wellbeing. Qualitative thematic analysis highlighted how families implemented musical strategies in widespread ways as a medium to support communication, create valued opportunities for shared interaction, and as a way to scaffold everyday caring routines. Families’ uses of musical play strategies, as observed in this study, emphasize the importance of incorporating caregivers and home environments as part of arts programs for autistic children, and the effectiveness of empowering parents to use music as a tool to navigate everyday life.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)267-283
    Number of pages17
    JournalPSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC
    Volume52
    Issue number3
    Early online date3 Oct 2023
    DOIs
    Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 3 Oct 2023

    Keywords

    • autism
    • early years
    • everyday life
    • caregiver
    • musical care
    • musical play

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