Academic Scientific JournalsMusic therapy microanalysis of parent-infant interaction in a three-month-old infant later diagnosed with autism
Keywords:
autism, infant, music, microanalysisAbstract
Background
Infant research literature has described for a long time the main aspects of parentese (motherese and fatherese) referring to musicality and specifically to musical language. It is believed that there is a deep analogy between the vital affects experienced by the child during interaction with the parent and the type of parentese that is a direct representation of them. Disruption of parentese has been described in early autism. The aim of this paper was to achieve a better understanding of this disruptive process.
Participants and procedure
Sequences of parent-infant interaction extracted from one home movie of a child later diagnosed with autism were analyzed in a micro-musical way in order to create a musical score that allows the description of parent-infant interaction in a new way (considering form, pulse, rhythm, melody, timbre and silence).
Results
Musical microanalysis is able to highlight features not brought out by other kinds of analysis. The first fragment is dominated by the anxiety of the mother, who attempts to stimulate the unresponsive infant. In the second fragment there is a change in musicality parallel to changes in the relationship: the mother participates in and coordinates the infant’s experience through rhythm, prosody and musical dynamics. This change persists in the third fragment.
Conclusions
Musical transcription of parent-infant interactions has allowed us to highlight changes occurring in a short time during early interactions and to get a closer view of the disruptive process created by autism. This kind of research represents a potential shift in autism research, by focusing on dynamic parent-infant interactions instead of single behaviors of the child or of the parent. The usefulness of Stern’s concept of intersubjective communion is discussed.
Downloads
References
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). 5th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Ansdell, G., Davidson, J., Magee, W. L., Meehan, J., & Procter, S. (2011). From “this F*** life” to “that’s better” in four minutes: an interdisciplinary study of music therapy’s “present moment” and their potential for affect modulation. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy Publisher Routledge, 19, 3–28.
Apicella, F., Chericoni, N., Costanzo, V., Baldini, S., Billeci, L., Cohen, D., & Muratori, F. (2013). Reciprocity in interaction: a window on the first year of life in autism. Autism Research and Treatment, 705895. doi: 10.1155/2013/705895.
Bruscia, K. (1987). Improvisational models of music therapy. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher.
Burnham, D., Kitamura, C., & Vollmer-Conna, U. (2002). What’s new, pussycat? On talking to babies and animals. Science, 296, 1435.
Cohen, D., Cassel, R. S., Saint-Georges, C. C., Mahdhaoui, A., Laznik., M-C., Apicella, F., Muratori, P., Maestro, S., Muratori, F., & Chetouani, M. (2013). Do parentese prosody and fathers’ involvement in interacting facilitate social interaction in infants who later develop autism? PLoS One, 8, e61402.
Danon-Boileau, L. (2007). Early signs related to posturę and communication: the child’s attitude, and the mother’s reaction. In S. Acquarone (ed.), Signs of autism in infants: recognition and treatment (pp. 63–79). London: Karnac Books.
De Backer, J. (2004). The transition from sensorial play to musical form. Dissertation for PHD Thesis Institute of Music and Music Therapy, Aalborg University. Doussard-Roosevelt, J. A., Joe C. M., Bazhenova, O. V., & Porges, S. W. (2003). Mother-child interaction in autistic and nonautisitic children: characteristics of maternal approach behaviors and child social responses. Developmental Psychopathology, 15, 277–295.
Durkin, K., Rutter, D. R., & Tucker, H. (1982). Social interaction and language acquisition: Motherese help you. First Language, 3, 107–120.
Ferguson, C. A. (1964). Baby talk in six languages. American Anthropologist, 66, 103–114.
Fernald, A. (1985). 4-month-old infants prefer to listen to motherese. Infant Behavior & Development, 8, 181–195.
Fisher, C., & Tokura, H. (1995). The given-new contract in speech to infants. Journal of Memory and Language, 34, 287–310.
Garcıa-Perez, R. M., Lee, A., & Hobson, R. P. (2007). On intersubjective engagement in autism: a controlled study of nonverbal aspects of conversation. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 37, 1310–1322.
Geretsegger, M., Holck, U., Carpente, J. A., Elefant, C., Kim, J., & Gold, C. (2015). Common characteristics of improvisational approaches in music therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder: developing treatment guidelines. Journal of Music Therapy, 52, 258–281.
Giusti, M., & Suvini, F. (2014). Music therapy and ASD: Psychodynamic Music Therapy and Inter- subjectivity. In G. Corrado, G. La Malfa, & A. Stefano (eds.), Qualità della Vita tra mente e Corpo [Quality of Life between Mind and Body] (pp. 118–138). Edizioni Maddali e Bruni Florence.
Gratier, M. (2009). Grounding in musical interaction: Evidence from jazz performance. Musicae Scientiae, 12, 71–110.
Grieser, D. L., & Kuhl, P. K. (1988). Maternal speech to infants in a tonal language: Support for universal prosodic features in motherese. Developmental Psychology, 24, 14–20.
Holck, U. (2004). Interaction Themes in music therapy: definition and delimitation. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 13, 3–19.
Holck, U., & Geretsegger, M. (2016). Musical and emotional attunement: unique and essential in music therapy with children on the autism spectrum. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 25, Suppl, 34–35.
Maestro, S., Muratori, F., Cavallaro, M. C., Pei, F., Stern, D., Golse, B., & Palacio-Espasa, F. (2002). Attentional skills during the first 6 months of age in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 1239–1245.
Maestro, S., Muratori, F., Cesari, A., Cavallaro, M. C., Paziente, A., Pecini, C., Grassi, C., Manfredi, A., & Sommario, C. (2004). Course of autism signs in the first year of life. Psychopatology, 38, 26–31.
Malloch, S. (1999). Mothers and infants and communicative musicality. Musicae Scientiae (Special Issue), 29–57.
Muratori, F., Apicella, F., Muratori, P., & Maestro, S. (2011), Intersubjective disruptions and caregiver infant interaction in early autistic disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5, 408–417.
Muratori, F., & Maestro, S. (2007). Autism as a downstream effect of primary difficulties in inter-subjectivity interacting with abnormal development of brain connectivity. International Journal for Dialogical Science, 2, 93–118.
O’Neill, C. T., Trainor, L. J., & Trehub, S. E. (2001). Infants’ responsiveness to fathers’ singing. Music Perception, 18, 409–425.
Oono, I. P., Honey, E. G., & McConachie, H. (2013). Parent-mediated early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 4, CD009774.
Saint-Georges, C., Cassel, R. S., Cohen, D., Chetouani, M., Laznik., M.-C., Maestro, S., & Muratori, F. (2010). What studies of family home movies can teach us about autistic infants: a literature review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4, 355–366.
Saint-Georges, C., Chetouani, M., Cassel, R. S., Apicella, F. C., Mahdhaoui, A., Muratori, F., Laznik., M-C., & Cohen, D. (2013). Motherese in interaction: at the cross-road of emotion and cognition? A systematic review. PLoS One, 8, e78103.
Saint-Georges, C., Mahdhaoui, A., Chetouani, M., Cassel, R. S., Laznik., M.-C., Apicella, F., Muratori, P., Maestro, S., Muratori, F., & Cohen, D. (2011). Do parents recognize autistic deviant behawior long before diagnosis? Taking into account interaction using computational methods. PLoS One, 6, e22393.
Schore, A. N. (2014). Early interpersonal neurobiological assessment of attachment and autistic spectrum disorders. Frontiers Psychology, 5, 1049.
Schumacher, K., & Calvet, C. (2007). Music therapy with children based on developmental psychology, using the example of “synchronization” as a relevant moment. In U. Stiff & R. Tüpker (eds.), Kindermusiktherapie – richtungen und methoden [Music therapy for children – directions and methods] (pp. 27–61). Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht.
Soderstrom, M., Blossom, M., Foygel, R., & Morgan, J. L. (2008). Acoustical cues and grammatical units in speech to two preverbal infants. Journal of Child Language, 35, 869–902.
Stern, D. (1985). The interpersonal world of the infant: a view from psychoanalysis and developmental psychology. 1st ed. New York: Basic Books.
Stern, D. (2004). The present moment in psychotherapy and everyday life. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Stern, D. (2010a). The issue of vitality. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 19, 88–102.
Stern, D. (2010b). Forms of vitality. Exploring dynamic experience in psychology and the arts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Suvini, F. (2015). Microanalisi e musicoterapia. Un possibile dialogo tra musica e parole [Looking for a dialogue between music and words]. In P.L Postacchini (ed.), Musicalità e Musicoterapia [Musicality and musictherapy]. Edizioni Carocci Roma.
Suvini, F., & Muratori, F. (2016). Musicoterapia e autismo. Pratica clinica e Ricerca [Musictherapy and autism. Clinical treatment and research]. Editore Morlacchi, Perugia.
Trehub, S. E., & Nakata, T. (2002). Emotion and music in infancy. Musicae Scientiae (Special Issue), 37–61.
Trevarthen, C., & Aitken, K. J. (2001). Infant inter-subjectivity: Research, theory and clinical applications. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1, 3–48.
Trevarthen, C., & Daniel, S. (2005). Disorganized rhythm and synchrony: early signs of autism and Rett syndrome. Brain and Development, 27, S25–S34.
Wan, M. W., Green, J., Elsabbagh, M., Johnson, M., Charman, T., & Plummer, F. (2012). Parent-infant interaction in infant siblings at risk of autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 33, 924–932.
Wigram, T., & Elefant, C. (2009). Therapeutic dialogues in music: Nurturing musicality of communication in children with autistic spectrum disorder and Rett syndrome. In S. Malloch & C. Trevarthen (eds.), Communicative Musicality (pp. 423–446). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wigram, T., & Gold, C. (2006). Music therapy in the assessment and treatment of autistic spectrum disorder: Clinical application and research evidence. Child: Care, Health and Development, 32, 535–542.
Wimpory, D. C., Hobson, R. P., & Nash, S. (2006). What facilitates social engagement in preschool children with autism? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 564–573.
World Health Organization (WHO). (1992). International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. 10th ed. Geneva: World Health Organization.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2012). International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).
Wosch, T., & Wigram, T. (2007). Microanalysis in music therapy. Philadelphia, USA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
