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"But I want to talk to you!" Perspectives on music therapy practice with highly verbal children on the autism spectrum

Bibliographic Data

ID4617420
AuthorsGrace Thompson (0000-0002-7501-5325), Cochavit Elefant
Year2019
Volume28
Issue4
Pages347-359
Publication date2019-08-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNordisk Tidsskrift for Musikkterapi (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0803-9828 • E-ISSN: 1944-8260
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08098131.2019.1605616
OpenAlexW2938930513
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited23

Introduction: This reflective paper offers a perspective on music therapy practice that explores how shared music experiences may provide opportunities for highly verbal children on the autism spectrum to expand their engagement in social play. Methods: Relevant literature from the fields of music therapy, child development, and the neurodiversity movement are discussed alongside the authors’ reflections on their work with children who bring verbal and gestural motifs into music therapy sessions. The case examples highlight moments where the music therapist transformed the child’s verbal and gestural material into interactive music-based games. Results: This paper proposes practice considerations for music therapists working with highly verbal children that centre around the therapist’s intention to support the child to interact with freedom and joy through musical play and foster relationships with others. These intersubjective moments within creative musical play experiences may create conditions for the child to explore different ways of being, interacting and communicating. Discussion: Musical games within the context of music therapy emphasise the relational value of a mutually created and shared world of meaning between the therapist and the child. The child’s verbal strengths are not simply acknowledged; they become the foundation for musical-play experiences that aim to expand their repertoire of social and relational experiences

Autism · Context (archaeology · Developmental psychology · Meaning (existential · Music and emotion · Music education · Music history · Music therapy · Musical · Pedagogy · Perspective (graphical · Psychotherapist · Repertoire · Visual arts · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Behavioral and Psychological Studies · Family and Disability Support Research · Psychology

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Unique citing works3
Citations per year1,5
Citation span2024 - 2026 (3)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 3

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