Synchronicity in improvisational music therapy – Developing an intersubjective field with a child with autism spectrum disorder

Nielsen, Johanne Bøgh; Holck, Ulla

doi:10.1080/08098131.2019.1680571

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Psychological contact mediated by imitation has been shown to reduce stereotypies, anxiety and challenging behaviours, thus affording new possibilities for action, interaction and learning. Reciprocity in this rhythmic exchange of expressive body movement is the basis of dance movement therapy known to improve social well-being in autism [70], with the potential to become elaborated in the musicality of shared meaning-making [71, 72].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

et al. 2020

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Shared understanding is generated between individuals before speech through a language of body movement and non-verbal vocalisation, expression of feeling and interest made in gestures of movement and voice. Human understanding is co-created in these embodied projects, displayed in serially organised expressions with shared timing of reciprocal actions between partners. These develop in narrative events that build over cycles of reciprocal expressive action in a four-part structure shared by all the time-based arts: "introduction," "development," "climax," and "conclusion." Prelinguistic narrative establishes the foundation of later, linguistic intelligence. Yet, participating in social interactions that give rise to narrative development is a central problem of autism spectrum disorder. In this paper, we examine the rapid growth of narrative meaning-making between a nonverbal young woman with severe autism and her new therapist. Episodes of embodied, shared understanding were enabled through a basic therapeutic mode of reciprocal, creative mirroring of expressive gesture. These developed through reciprocal cycles and as the relationship progressed, complete co-created narratives were formed resulting in shared joy and the mutual interest and trust of companionship. These small, embodied stories enabled moments of coregulated arousal that the young woman had previous difficulty with. These data provide evidence for an intact capacity for non-verbal narrative meaning-making in autism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

et al. 2020

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“…Once we have established a scaffolding pattern in which our focal accent is a selected aspect of the client's behavior -for example, a vocalization -we could adjust the rhythm to bring our reflection of their vocalization into closer synchrony with our shared forward-moving pulse (and therefore, complementarity). This can function as rhythmic repair of rhythmic irregularity (Nielsen and Holck, 2020). This can also evolve into co-vocalizing, where we mirror elements of the client's vocalization, bring it into a rhythm, and make up "songs" (verbal or non-verbal) as a development.…”

Section: Rhythmic Synchrony Scaffolding (Modified)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rhythmic Relating: Bidirectional Support for Social Timing in Autism Therapies

Daniel¹,

Wimpory

Delafield‐Butt

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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We propose Rhythmic Relating for autism: a system of supports for friends, therapists, parents, and educators; a system which aims to augment bidirectional communication and complement existing therapeutic approaches. We begin by summarizing the developmental significance of social timing and the social-motor-synchrony challenges observed in early autism. Meta-analyses conclude the early primacy of such challenges, yet cite the lack of focused therapies. We identify core relational parameters in support of social-motor-synchrony and systematize these using the communicative musicality constructs: pulse; quality; and narrative. Rhythmic Relating aims to augment the clarity, contiguity, and pulse-beat of spontaneous behavior by recruiting rhythmic supports (cues, accents, turbulence) and relatable vitality; facilitating the predictive flow and just-ahead-in-time planning needed for good-enough social timing. From here, we describe possibilities for playful therapeutic interaction, small-step co-regulation, and layered sensorimotor integration. Lastly, we include several clinical case examples demonstrating the use of Rhythmic Relating within four different therapeutic approaches (Dance Movement Therapy, Improvisational Music Therapy, Play Therapy, and Musical Interaction Therapy). These clinical case examples are introduced here and several more are included in the Supplementary Material (Examples of Rhythmic Relating in Practice). A suite of pilot intervention studies is proposed to assess the efficacy of combining Rhythmic Relating with different therapeutic approaches in playful work with individuals with autism. Further experimental hypotheses are outlined, designed to clarify the significance of certain key features of the Rhythmic Relating approach.

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“…Moreover, literature on music therapy and ASD is continuously growing (Thompson and Elefant, 2019 ; Epstein et al, 2020 ; Nielsen and Holck, 2020 ), and the benefits of DMT may partly be due to the therapeutic effects of music by itself. Perhaps future research could incorporate an experimental design in which DMT-C could be compared with a control group exposed to the same music but without the dance element to determine the effect of dance on its own.…”

Section: Dmt-c For Asdmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Potential Benefits of Dance Movement Therapy in Improving Couple Relations of Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Review

Engelhard

Vulcan

2021

Front. Psychol.

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A review of current literature indicates that adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) feel the need for intimate and sexual relationships and maintain such relationships despite and alongside their difficulties in emotional communication, social interactions, reciprocity, and verbal and non-verbal expression. This understanding calls for the development of intervention programs designed to support the specific needs and address the problems of couples where one partner is diagnosed with ASD. In view of the relevance and significant part played by body and movement in emotional development and psychotherapy, the present article offers a review of studies examining the contribution of dance movement therapy to both the quality of life and functioning of adults with ASD and therapeutic processes in couple therapy. This review aims to establish an infrastructure for the construction of intervention programs and for future studies designed to enhance the quality of life and independence of adults with ASD.

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Synchronicity in improvisational music therapy – Developing an intersubjective field with a child with autism spectrum disorder

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

Rhythmic Relating: Bidirectional Support for Social Timing in Autism Therapies

The Potential Benefits of Dance Movement Therapy in Improving Couple Relations of Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Review

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