Autism in the Music Classroom Strategies for Inclusion

by Simon Amaya Price

Abstract

Genuinely including autistic students in music instruction is a difficult task for any music educator. Discussing the issues currently faced by autistic people, presenting an overview of the characteristics found in autistic people, and synthesizing the needs of autistic students with modern rock and popular music pedagogy, this article will present a set of guidelines and specific pedagogies for the music educator concerned with inclusion of autistic students.

Introduction

Autistic people are one of the largest—and most misunderstood—minorities in the world. About 1 in 54 children are diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in the United States (CDC, 2020). As music educators, we should have knowledge of our students’ perspectives and experiences. No matter where one teaches, autistic students will be part of the classroom demographics as autism is present at the same rate in every racial, national, gender, and socioeconomic group. That said, autistic people face a great amount of difficulty in our modern society: autistic people have a life expectancy of 36 years, half that of the general population, with the leading cause of death being suicide (Guan & Li, 2017; Hirvikoski et al., 2016).

Being autistic is neither a blessing nor a curse. Many autistic people have unique talents or abilities, and severe difficulties with basic, everyday tasks. An uneven cognitive profile is one of the specific patterns that psychoanalysts look for when diagnosing autism (Joseph, et al., 2002). For example, an autistic person might be years ahead in math, but have great difficulty when tying their shoes. There is a large variance in linguistic ability among autistic children: some develop high levels of verbosity at a young age, others experience delayed linguistic development, and still others never develop the ability to speak without aid (Lews et al., 2013; Mody & Belliveau, 2013). There is also a high prevalence of selective mutism among autistic children (Steffenburg et al., 2018). By utilizing inclusive pedagogies, music educators can help autistic students overcome alexithymia (the inability to identify and describe one’s own emotions), build social skills, and express themselves (Mayer-Benarous et al., 2021). Group musical instruction can serve as a form of social scaffolding, such that autistic students have clear social expectations, and build confidence in non-verbal communication.

Autobiographical Info

I am a Boston-based multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, producer, music educator, and autism advocate. I have been performing in a professional capacity since 2019. I was diagnosed with ASD when I was 16 years old. That same year, I went to Simon’s Rock at Bard College to start my bachelor’s degree where I founded the country’s first Neurodivergent Student Union. I am now a student at Berklee College of Music where I am pursuing a degree in professional music.

Anxiety and Overstimulation

Two common difficulties among autistic people are anxiety and overstimulation. Due to the high prevalence of alexithymia in autistic people (Kinnaird, et al., 2019), autistic students will likely not notice they are anxious until they have a breakdown or a shutdown. Anxiety and overstimulation are related in a way which is not fully understood yet (Green & Ben-Sasson, 2010), but often move in parallel. The two main contributors to anxiety and overstimulation in a classroom setting are excessive or cacophonous sound and social situations. The autistic mind has both an amplification of sensory input, as well as a greater ability to perceive detail making it difficult to sort through multiple sources of stimulation (Shirinyan et al., 2013). Managing sound in the music classroom can be challenging. A simple way to prevent sensory overload in autistic students is to provide earplugs. In music ensembles that include amplification, percussion, wind, or brass instruments, it is best practice to have students purchase their own ear plugs or provide them to students. Scheduling breaks during a long class period is also a great way to prevent overstimulation and anxiety.

Building Social Skills Through Social Scaffolding

Social scaffolding is a technique used in both therapeutic and educational environments with autistic children and is well-suited to the music classroom. Autistic children generally find social situations anxiety provoking partially due to the unstructured nature of these situations. The autistic mind craves structure. One can implement social scaffolding in a variety of ways: one can tell students to talk to the person next to them about a song presented in class, or have students give each other compliments and constructive criticism. Playing music with other people is a social act; watch any ensemble and one can notice how the performers communicate with each other since there is a variety of non-verbal communication. Teaching non-verbal communication techniques to be used during performance, e.g., indicating solos or conducting, can help autistic students learn non-verbal communication that can transfer to other situations. Music can serve as a way to learn about emotions for autistic students. Giving students the ability to relate feelings to music can provide a self-reflection technique usable by the youngest of students.

A notable characteristic of recent pedagogical developments in music education has been the concept of the teacher as facilitator (Cremata, 2017). By providing students a framework in which to work, students are able to innovate musically and socially with their peers. Developing creativity is a process, and by providing a framework in which to work, one can break it down into smaller steps. The integration of improvisational and creative exercises in music classes should not be limited to jazz or popular styles. Improvisation can include rapping, dancing, singing, or conducting. Some students may initially be nervous to experiment or play an instrument on which they are unfamiliar, but instructional scaffolding can reduce students’ stress. The jazz tradition of trading fours is easily adapted to a classroom setting where students circle up and play a short solo on an instrument.

Many of the concepts discussed in the previous paragraph are more effective in smaller group settings. While studies have shown that there are no clear benefits or drawbacks to mixed ages groups when compared with traditional age groupings in general instruction (Veeman, 1995), these studies have not accounted for potential benefits to autistic students. Autistic children generally make friends at a higher rate with kids who are not their age than with their neurotypical peers. The mismatch of social skills and other aspects of cognitive development between autistic children and their peers is at the core of social issues that autistic children face. It is for this reason that autistic children tend to get along better with kids who differ in age—as was the case with me—so mixed age groups can aid autistic kids in feeling socially accepted.

The challenges that autistic children face growing up are grave and many. We can help solve these problems by implementing inclusive concepts and strategies such as the ones discussed in this article and engaging in further study. As educators, we have the ability to shift not just the thinking, but also the pedagogical practices that affect autistic children, so that someday they will not be regarded as a problem but simply thought of as members of a diverse learning community in music classrooms of the 21st century. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Data & statistics on autism spectrum disorder. Centers for Disease

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