Music education for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

The aim of the GIMAS project was to foster the musical abilities of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These disorders are lifelong developmental neurological conditions primarily manifesting in deficits in emotional-social development and also affecting executive functions. The number of children with ASD is increasing, and musical activities are considered one of the most effective didactic approaches when working with this group (Ockelford, 2016). Music is often a strength for these children, and fostering it can positively impact their overall development and has therapeutic value as well. The project aimed to showcase a good practice example of interdisciplinary collaboration in music education for children and adolescents with ASD, as one of the groups with special needs. In practice, there is often a lack of adequately trained staff to teach music theory and instruments to this population. The project's goal was to highlight the need to include practical content on teaching children with special needs in curricula for all students who will teach music, with a focus on selecting appropriate didactic approaches. Since there is a shortage of teaching materials in the Slovenian language for teaching music to children with special needs, another goal of the project was to prepare a handbook for teaching music to children with ASD, thus addressing this gap. https://zalozba.pef.uni-lj.si/index.php/zalozba/catalog/book/132