Music Inspired Framework for Remediating Emotional Deficits in Autism

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a lifelong communication disorder that limits the abilities of diagnosed individuals to relate socially and interpret emotional cues. Thus, it is important to have early interventions in the domains of social and affective functioning. Recent research efforts have focused on the innovative applications of Assistive Technologies (AT) for rehabilitation efforts. However, despite excellent preliminary findings, the efficacy of AT remains limited. This paper aims to fill the identified efficacy gap by proposing a framework incorporating music as a therapy which will be developed into a technological application to help children with autism to deal with their emotional dysfunctions. The proposal is also based on findings which show that this special population prefers and has successfully used technological devices such as the iPad for learning new skills.