Shared musical performance as a means of facilitating peer interaction in the classroom including a child with autism

Vidal Velasco, Veronica G.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/91642 Copy

Description

Title

Shared musical performance as a means of facilitating peer interaction in the classroom including a child with autism

Author(s)

Vidal Velasco, Veronica G.

Contributor(s)

• DeThorne, Laura
• Hengst, Julie
• Johnson, Cynthia

Issue Date

2016-10-05

Keyword(s)

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Social Ecological Models
• Social Interaction
• Activity-based Approach
• Mixed Methodology

Abstract

Based on a social-ecological approach to intervention, the present proof of concept study examined the potential of an Activity-based Musical Program (AMP) to facilitate peer interactions between a child with autism, Aaron, and each four peers in an early grade school setting. This project was inspired by an existing music education program in Chile (“Creando a través de señas”), that promotes interaction through a combination of gestures, physicality, and shared experiences between children with autism and professional musicians and builds on the inherent musical interest/talent of many children with autism (Heaton, 2009; Overy & Molnar-Szakacs, 2009). Like the Chilean program, the Activity-based Musical Program designed for this study focused on using a shared interest in music to explore instruments, learn shared conducting gestures, and develop a final culminating performance that could be shared with the class. Leveraging the strengths of both single subject and qualitative methodologies, this study collected single-case data on the frequency of communicative offers during multiple probe across participants and conducted semi-structured interviews of child participants, classroom teachers, and Aaron’s mother. In sum, the intervention appeared to be well-perceived by all participants and led to increased communicative offers between Aaron and 3 out of 4 peers during the course of intervention. The generalization of effects outside of the intervention were not supported by experimental data, but participants reported increased awareness of each other and positive changes in peer interactions. Clinically, this proof of concept study offers interdisciplinary implications for speech-language pathologists and related professionals in regard to how one might facilitate peer interactions for children with autism using a social-ecological perspective and shared interest in music.

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/91642

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

• BecasChile Scholarship, Conicyt, Chile
• Goldstick Fellowship

Owning Collections