Exploring the lived experiences of young autistic adults in Nordoff-Robbins music therapy

An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID4720073
AuthorsMeng-Yeow Low (0000-0002-9835-1970), Katrina Skewes Mcferran (0000-0003-0699-3683), Michael Viega (0000-0002-4269-5184), Amy Carroll-Scott (0000-0002-2421-5351), Elizabeth Mcghee Hassrick (0000-0002-0520-2598), Joke Bradt (0000-0001-7313-9829)
Year2023
Volume32
Issue4
Pages341-364
Publication date2023-08-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNordisk Tidsskrift for Musikkterapi (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0803-9828 • E-ISSN: 1944-8260
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08098131.2022.2151640
OpenAlexW4313418704
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited51

Introduction Research in music therapy and autistic people to date has predominantly focused on communication and social interaction outcomes. The purpose of this exploration was to explore the lived experiences of young autistic adults in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. To our knowledge, the body of research that seeks to understand participants’ perspectives regarding their experiences of music therapy and the goals they want to pursue is limited.Method Four autistic young adult men who had received at least 6 months of Nordoff-Robbins music therapy services at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at New York University participated in this study. Each participant engaged in four to five interview sessions to share their experiences of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the role it plays in their life. Interviews were analyzed using the IPA method. A summary of the results was shared with each participant to ensure sensitivity to and accuracy of their lived experiences.Results Three themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Participants attend Nordoff-Robbins music therapy to develop their musicianship and personal selves; (2) participants create meaningful relationships with their peers, music therapists, and music; and (3) participants bring their sociocultural identities into music therapy sessions.Discussion Participants’ responses led to a critical reexamining of “the music child”, challenging music therapy research and practice agendas of normalizing autistic social and communication behaviors, and suggest the need for more research that collaborates and centers the autistic community.KEYWORDS: Autismmusic therapyNordoff-Robbins music therapyinterpretative phenomenological analysisneurodiversity AcknowledgmentsThis study was completed in partial fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Drexel University. We, the authors, would like to thank Dr. Alan Turry and the staff and therapists at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at New York University for their support and assistance throughout the study. We would also like to express gratitude to the participants of this study for sharing their valuable experiences with us.Disclosure statementJoke Bradt is Editor-in-chief of the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy. To avoid conflict of interest, Joke Bradt was fully masked to the editorial process including peer review and editorial decisions and had no access to records of this manuscript. No other potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Additional informationFundingThe authors reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.Notes on contributorsMing Yuan LowMing Yuan Low, PhD, MT-BC, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapist is an assistant professor of music therapy at Berklee College of Music. His research interests include participatory action research in partnership with autistic people and critical inquiries in music therapy.Katrina Skewes McFerranKatrina Skewes McFerran is Professor of Music Therapy and Head of the Creative Arts Therapy program at The University of Melbourne. She is a music therapist, lecturer, and researcher whose work has focused on young people using music for wellbeing in a range of contexts. She has created an open-access MOOC called How Music Can Change Your Life, and a TedX talk on Coming Back From the Darkside with Music. She has also published 5 books and more than 90 refereed journal articles. Kat privileges qualitative research that provides rich and reflexive accounts of music and music therapy in people’s lives.Michael ViegaMichael Viega, Michael Viega, Ph.D., LCAT, MT-BC, is an Associate Professor of Music at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, and a Fellow in the Association of Music and Imagery.Amy Carroll-ScottMing Yuan Low, PhD, MT-BC, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapist is an assistant professor of music therapy at Berklee College of Music. His research interests include participatory action research in partnership with autistic people and critical inquiries in music therapy.Amy Carroll-Scott is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Prevention and the Urban Health Collaborative at the Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health. Her research focuses on understanding and addressing urban health inequities and underlying social inequities, in partnership with community anchor institutions. Current projects include the evaluation of the West Philly Promise Neighborhood, research partnerships with community-based organizations to support their community violence work, and scholarship focused on how research and governmental institutions can support community agendas. Prior to Drexel, Dr. Carroll-Scott was Director of Research for the Yale Community Alliance for Research and Engagement. She received her MPH from UC Berkeley, her PhD from UCLA, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale School of Public Health. She co-leads the Policy and Community Engagement Core of the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative.Elizabeth McGhee HassrickElizabeth McGhee Hassrick, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the AJ Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University and faculty lead at the Social Dynamics of Intervention Lab. Dr. McGhee Hassrick’s work focuses on: 1) identifying ecosystems of support that provide social capital for autistic people at different life stages; 2) investigating social network interventions for autistic children, their families and providers in schools, districts and community organizations; and 3) using network data to support collaborative networks among community, educational and service sector organizations that serve underrepresented autistic children, youth and adults and their families and communities and has a history of NIMH funding as Co-PI (R21MH121731-01A1) and multiple other federal agencies (e.g., IES, HRSA).Joke BradtJoke Bradt, PhD, MT-BC is Professor and Director of the PhD Program in Creative Arts Therapies at Drexel University. Her federally funded research has focused on the use of music therapy interventions for chronic pain and illness, and symptom management.Correction StatementThis article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article

Developmental psychology · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Music therapy · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Sociology · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Family and Disability Support Research · Psychology

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