Exploring the functions of music in the lives of young people on the autism spectrum

Abstract

Current research investigating the functions of music in everyday life has identified cognitive, emotional, and social functions of music. However, previous research focuses almost exclusively on neurotypical people and rarely considers the musical experiences of autistic people. In addition, there is limited research which focuses explicitly on the musical experiences of young people on the autism spectrum. Current research exploring the functions of music may therefore not accurately represent the experiences of the autistic community. This article aims to explore the function of music in the lives of young people on the autism spectrum through a series of interviews. Eleven young people on the autism spectrum age 12 to 25 ( M = 19.4) were interviewed about the function of music in their lives. An adaptive interview technique, utilizing multiple methods of communication, was employed to account for the participants’ broad communicative and personal needs. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed four key functions of music in the participants’ lives: Cognitive, Emotional, Social, and Identity. Collectively, these results provide a unique insight into the musical experiences of young people on the autism spectrum.

“It is more Important than food sometimes”; Meanings and Functions of Music in the Lives of Autistic Adults Through a hermeneutic-phenomenological Lense

“…Our findings align in several areas with those of Allen and colleagues ( 2009), and with those of Kirby & Burland (2021) even though the latter involved autistic adolescents and not adults. In both of these studies, as well as in ours, the participants used music to support their well-being by managing their arousal and employing music for its "therapeutic" properties (as called by the participants), they used it to reflect upon-and express their identity and they used it to get a sense of connectedness with others.…”

“…Allen and colleagues (2009) report that their participants almost exclusively used music to change the arousal of their states, but not their valence. In the study by Kirby & Burland (2021), as well as in our study, this was not the case. Our participants talked about managing, processing and eliciting a wide range of emotions with the help of music (e.g.…”

“…Another use of music, which is not often mentioned in the literature on non-autistic people, is use of music as an aid in establishing routines. Similarly to Kirby & Burland (2021), we found that our interviewees use music to keep track of time, to know when to start, and to make it easier to start with a routine. In addition to sustaining routines, music helps them to connect with other people in a way that does not require verbal communication (e.g.…”

“…The latest addition to this area is a study by Kirby & Burland (2021). They conducted interviews with 11 autistic adolescents and young adults (aged 12 to 25 years).…”

Understanding the lived music listening experiences of adults on the autism spectrum

“…Therefore, it remains essential to understand the music listening experiences of adults on the autism spectrum. Kirby and Burland’s (2022) interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of the functions of music in the lives of adults on the autism spectrum highlights the important emotional, social, cognitive, and identity-formation functions that music fulfills. Our study further builds on their work by seeking to better understand these functions through the lived experiences that our participants shared with us.…”