Integrated parent–child music classes for preschoolers with and without autism: Parent expectations and experiences

Abstract

Integrated recreational programs designed to support neurodiverse children and their families are important vehicles for community participation. In this mixed-methods study, we investigated the mechanisms by which parent-child music classes for autistic and neurotypical children can support community participation. Parents of autistic (n = 33) and typically developing (TD; n = 28) preschoolers were interviewed about their expectations for and experiences of participating in a 12-week psychoeducational parent-child music program. Parents completed ratings of momentary affect and social connection, and researchers coded children's behavioral engagement during classes at multiple time points throughout the program. Primary motivations for enrolling in an integrated music class included children's interest in music and opportunities for child socialization. Parent-focused reasons were less frequently endorsed as primary motivations for participation. Yet, momentary ratings indicated that music classes supported parents' affect regulation and social connection with other parents at the level of individual classes and across the program. These in-class experiences were echoed by interviews following program completion, which additionally highlighted the use of new parenting strategies through the musical activities. Since parental emotional experiences of activities, supportive community relationships, and parenting confidence are all linked with increased community participation, integrated music classes may support participation and satisfaction with community experiences.

Early social communication through music: State of the art and future perspectives

“…The temporal or rhythmic structure is likely critical for the attentional and emotional power of ID singing ( Trainor and Marsh-Rollo, 2019 ). Caregivers typically provide visual rhythmic signaling during ID singing such that women’s eye-widening and blinking are time-aligned with the rhythm (metrically strong moments) of their ID singing, and infants’ looking to the woman’s eyes also align with the rhythm (i.e., coordination; Lense et al, 2022 ). Thus, the rhythms of ID singing enable rich social-communicative interpersonal engagement and potentially interpersonal synchronization of brain and behavior ( Markova et al, 2019 , Wass et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Music therapy in the context of musical play between children and their caregivers has also been used in populations of older children with social interaction difficulties –particularly in those with autism – with the aims of fostering healthier social development, emotion regulation, and parent-child bonding, as well as building connections with other families ( Crawford et al, 2017 , Lense et al, 2022 , Lense and Camarata, 2020 ). For example, during interactive book reading, although caregiver-toddler dyads involving children with ASD showed less visual attention and interpersonal coordination compared to dyads involving typically developing children, both groups showed greater inter-dyadic visual attention coordination when the stories were sung (musical) compared to spoken (non-musical) ( Liu et al, 2022 ).…”

“…A growing body of research has started examining this issue from a bio-behavioral perspective with a focus on how infants perceive and respond to music made for them ( Cirelli and Trehub, 2020 , Kragness et al, 2022 , Lense et al, 2022 , Nguyen et al, 2020 , Nguyen et al, 2023 ). However, a truly holistic approach to such dyadic or group interaction is lacking.…”

Early social communication through music: State of the art and future perspectives

“…Music therapy in the context of musical play between children and their caregivers has also been used in populations of older children with social interaction difficultiesparticularly in those with autismwith the aims of fostering healthier social development, emotion regulation, and parent-child bonding, as well as building connections with other families (Crawford et al, 2017;Lense, Liu, et al, 2022;Lense & Camarata, 2020). For example, during interactive book reading, although caregiver-toddler dyads involving children with ASD showed less visual attention and interpersonal coordination compared to dyads involving typically developing children, both groups showed greater inter-dyadic visual attention coordination when the stories were sung (musical) compared to spoken (nonmusical) (Liu et al, 2022).…”

Social interaction links active musical rhythm engagement and expressive communication in autistic toddlers

“…Musical play also supports caregivers' use of nonverbal physical responsiveness with their autistic preschoolers (e.g., imitating musical instrument play; Boorom et al, 2020); these types of mirroring or contingent imitation behaviors are associated with children's development of joint attention and language skills (Gulsrud et al, 2016; Ingersoll & Schreibman, 2006). Shared parent–child musical activities promote social bonding in families of autistic toddlers and preschoolers as they do in the nonautistic population (Lense et al, 2020; Lense et al, 2022; Steinberg et al, 2021; Thompson et al, 2014), and parents frequently report using music to practice communication skills or for social interaction games with their young autistic children, though there is substantial variability across families (Steinberg, Shivers et al, 2021). However, despite this potential platform of parent–child musical interaction for supporting child communication skills, relationships between children's musical engagement and their parents' use of and involvement of their children in musical activities have yet to be examined in autism.…”