SOUNDSCAPES OF THE MIND: IDENTIFYING SOUND AND MUSICAL PREFERENCES IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER IN RESPECT TO SOUND ENVELOPE, PITCH REGISTER, AND SOURCE

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social communication, behavior, and self-regulation across emotional, motor, and verbal domains. Many individuals with ASD experience auditory sensitivities, which makes them more susceptible to experiencing a sensory overload which often triggers adverse reactions. Many individuals with ASD strongly resonate with certain kinds of music despite these sensitivities, while others may steer away from music education, performance, and therapy altogether to avoid uncomfortable stimuli. While people with ASD have varying opinions of music and sound, music therapy and intervention for children with ASD have been shown to lead to positive impacts, such as facilitating preference expression, communication, and more. To better understand auditory preferences in children with ASD, I developed a survey featuring 30 sound samples that varied by sound envelope characteristics (ADSR: attack, decay, sustain, release), pitch register (high, medium, low), and source type (synthesized, acoustic, ambient) that was taken by 11 children with and without ASD. Results indicate that children with ASD show a stronger preference for slow decays, long sustains, and slow releases compared to their neurotypical peers. While both groups generally favored similar sound features, such as acoustic over synthesized or ambient sources, the degree of preference varied significantly in some variable levels. Notable differences were observed in response to sharp and weak attacks, slow decays, long sustains, extreme release speeds, high pitch registers, and non-acoustic sound sources. This study contributes to the growing body of research on auditory perception in individuals with ASD. Its findings may guide music therapists and educators in tailoring musical experiences that align more closely with the auditory preferences of children with ASD, thereby fostering more positive and effective outcomes in therapeutic and educational contexts.