Creative practices and reflexive musical interaction with an adolescent with autism

This chapter presents the results of two studies on the interaction between a child with autism and creative musical practices in the context of music lessons. Autism, a developmental disorder of neurobiological causes, is defined according to specific criteria, such as impairment in social interaction, in verbal and nonverbal communication, and the presence of restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behavior patterns, interests or activities (Schwartzman, 2011). Regarding music education and education as a whole, the impairment in social interaction can negatively interfere in the learning process. Parallel to social interaction is musical interaction, vital for music education. In the first study, musical improvisation was part of the learning process of the child with autism. In this context, musical improvisation is understood as a creative process. Furthermore, it has multiple meanings, behaviors and practices and it relies on the socialcultural context in which the individual is found. This creative musical practice allows the child to bring contents, practices and meanings from their contexts and these could be re-signified by the teacher generating new learning. The second study presents an analysis of the musical interaction of children with autism mediated by the MIROR-Impro, a system that promotes reflexive musical interaction. The use of the MIROR-Impro in music lessons with children with autism favors active participation, as well as autonomous learning by the student. Musical interaction was analyzed from the perspective of reflexive interaction (Addessi, 2015) and the Sounds of Intent framework of musical developmental (Ockelford, 2013). The music teacher will be able to guide his student in the best way if he understands how musical interaction works during music lessons, providing favorable conditions for this learning, respecting each individual in their characteristics.