Ferdinando Suvini

This article presents the model of improvisational music therapy and its use with people with autism. Firstly, the author provides a brief definition of some theoretical ideas and the clinical characteristics of improvisational music therapy, a relatively new treatment which is becoming more wide-spread on a global level. Particular reference is made to the possibilities which music offers in the creation of relational experiences, and the role of time, rhythm and repetition as regulatory elements both in music and in intersubjective relationships. Following this, the efficacy of improvisational music therapy with people with autism is discussed, with regard to research in the field of neuroscience (specifically, the Mirror Neuron System) and the impact of a multimodal stimulus such as music making. The final section outlines the results of the international research project RCT TIME-A, in which improvisational music therapy was used with children with autism. The literature analysis shows that music therapy has significant effects and contributes to improvements in several aspects of the autistic disorder, such as autistic mannerisms, social awareness and social affect. We can consider these results as the beginning of a pathway towards validating improvisation music therapy as a treatment for children with autism.

background Synchrony is an essential component of interactive exchanges. In mother-infant interaction, synchrony underlies reciprocity and emotive regulation. A severe lack of synchrony is indeed a core issue within the communication and interaction deficit that characterizes autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in accordance with the DSM-5 classification. Based on emerging evidence that music therapy can improve the communication and regulation ability in children with ASD, we aim to verify quantitatively whether: 1) children with ASD improve synchrony with their therapist during music therapy sessions, and 2) this ability persists in different structured contexts.

Music therapy may facilitate skills in areas affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as social interaction and communication. To evaluate effects of improvisational music therapy on generalized social communication skills of children with ASD. Assessor-blinded, randomized clinical trial, conducted in 9 countries and enrolling children aged 4 to 7 years with ASD. Children were recruited from November 2011 to November 2015, with follow-up between January 2012 and November 2016. Enhanced standard care (n = 182) vs enhanced standard care plus improvisational music therapy (n = 182), allocated in a 1:1 ratio. Enhanced standard care consisted of usual care as locally available plus parent counseling to discuss parents' concerns and provide information about ASD. In improvisational music therapy, trained music therapists sang or played music with each child, attuned and adapted to the child's focus of attention, to help children develop affect sharing and joint attention. ...

Background Synchrony is an essential component of interactive exchanges. In mother-infant interaction, synchrony underlies reciprocity and emotive regulation. A severe lack of synchrony is indeed a core issue within the communication and interaction deficit that characterizes autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in accordance with the DSM-5 classification. Based on emerging evidence that music therapy can improve the communication and regulation ability in children with ASD, we aim to verify quantitatively whether: 1) children with ASD improve synchrony with their therapist during music therapy sessions, and 2) this ability persists in different structured contexts. Participants and procedure Twenty-five children, aged from 4 to 6 years (M = 57.80, SD = 16.70), with an autistic disorder diagnosis based on DSM IV-TR and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), participated in the study. An observational tool for coding behaviors and emotive states of synchrony (Child Behavioral ...

Background Infant research literature has described for a long time the main aspects of parentese (motherese and fatherese) referring to musicality and specifically to musical language. It is believed that there is a deep analogy between the vital affects experienced by the child during interaction with the parent and the type of parentese that is a direct representation of them. Disruption of parentese has been described in early autism. The aim of this paper was to achieve a better understanding of this disruptive process. Participants and procedure Sequences of parent-infant interaction extracted from one home movie of a child later diagnosed with autism were analyzed in a micro-musical way in order to create a musical score that allows the description of parent-infant interaction in a new way (considering form, pulse, rhythm, melody, timbre and silence). Results Musical microanalysis is able to highlight features not brought out by other kinds of analysis. The first fragment is ...

The rapid development of music therapy in Europe is reflected in the increasing number of trained professionals, music therapy positions and research publications. A development of the discipline implies increased requirements regarding the skills and competences of music therapy clinicians, and therefore the training of students, continuing education and research. This leads to a further demand for recognition of music therapy as a profession and for regulation, registration and governmental recognition. Looking back over the past 60 years, we are able to define some common paths of development in relation to the music therapy profession throughout the European countries. With this as a starting point, as well as our own engagement in the European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC) for more than a decade, we will explore the innate complexity of the profession and formulate our views for the future directions of the music therapy profession in Europe and the potential role of the E...