Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants

Abstract

Descriptions of autistic musical savants suggest that they possess extraordinary skills within the domain. However, until recently little was known about the musical skills and potential of individuals with autism who are not savants. The results from these more recent studies investigating music perception, cognition and learning in musically untrained children with autism have revealed a pattern of abilities that are either enhanced or spared. For example, increased sensitivity to musical pitch and timbre is frequently observed, and studies investigating perception of musical structure and emotions have consistently failed to reveal deficits in autism. While the phenomenon of the savant syndrome is of considerable theoretical interest, it may have led to an under-consideration of the potential talents and skills of that vast majority of autistic individuals, who do not meet savant criteria. Data from empirical studies show that many autistic children possess musical potential that can and should be developed.

What aspects of autism predispose to talent?

“…the melody ( Takeuchi & Hulse 1993). People with ASC show much better performance, regardless of age, on tests of memory for pitch, and absolute pitch seems to be more common in ASC than in comparable groups (see Heaton (2009), for a review). The argument is that detail-focused processing bias, which in ASC lasts throughout life, makes it easy for individuals with ASC to establish pitch-label representations that are stable and enduring.…”

The beautiful otherness of the autistic mind

“…This might seem self-evident, but stands in contrast to the tendency to see narrow and obsessive interests as maladaptive and limiting. Heaton (2009) makes a strong case in her paper that learning to play music has benefits for both social integration and personal development for young people with autism. Her work suggests untapped potential special to ASD, which makes the task of teaching children with sociocommunicative impairments particularly important.…”

“…This puzzle is paralleled in the case of acquired skills following neurological damage or induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), as reported by Snyder (2009 One possibility is that all people with autism have the potential to develop savant skills, and that chances of exposure and opportunity play a large part in determining outcome. Heaton (2009) reports data from musically untrained young people with autism and suggests that a substantial minority show potential to develop skills in music perception and performance. Better pitch and timbre discrimination appear to be widespread in ASD.…”

Vowels—Sonic Gems of Emotion for Social Communication: Practical Singing Strategies for Non-musician Teachers with Developmentally Diverse Young Children

“…This simplicity is especially true in traditional children's music with its repetitive musical patterns. Moreover, recent neuroscience research validates music's powerful role in eliciting emotions, including the initial stage of garnering attention in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Heaton 2009;MolnarSzakacs and Overy 2006).…”