Music in everyday life by parents with their children with autism

Background: Music therapy has a long history in working with children with autism in both traditional settings and those which include working with the parents. Recent studies show that music therapy programs aimed at supporting parent–child interaction have resulted in significant gains in social communication skills of children with autism, and improved parental competency perception. However, little is known about the amount or type of musical play that parents engage in with their child with autism, or whether parents use music as a facilitator in certain daily situations. Objective: The Music in Everyday Life (MEL) assessment, developed by Gottfried and Thompson, was confirmed with evidences of validity to assess the use of music in everyday life by parents with their children with autism, and was used within a large multisite research project (TIME-A) in four countries. Discussion: This round table brings together four expert clinicians and researchers from four countries, who will present the research and clinical applications of the MEL assessment, focusing on Music-Oriented Counselling, Family-centred MT, MT-based DIR parent coaching, and using musical-play in parent counselling

Autism · Developmental psychology · Everyday life · Music therapy · Psychotherapist · Family and Disability Support Research · Psychology