CymaSense: A Novel Audio-Visual Therapeutic Tool for People on the Autism Spectrum

Music Therapy has been shown to be an effective intervention for clients with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that can affect people in a number of ways. This paper presents a study evaluating the use of a multimodal 3D interactive tool, CymaSense, within a series of music therapy sessions. Eight adults with ASC participated in an 8-week period using a single case experimental design approach. The study used qualitative and quantitative methodological tools for analysis within and beyond the therapy sessions. The results indicate an increase in communicative behaviours for both verbal and non-verbal participants.

[1]  Lewis Sykes The Augmented Tonoscope , 2011, EVA.

[2]  P. Mitchell,et al.  The potential of virtual reality in social skills training for people with autistic spectrum disorders. , 2002, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[3]  Franc Solina,et al.  Visualization of concurrent tones in music with colours , 2010, ACM Multimedia.

[4]  E. Walker,et al.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , 2013 .

[5]  N. Yuill,et al.  Social benefits of a tangible user interface for children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions , 2010, Autism.

[6]  Tiffany L. Hutchins,et al.  Using social stories and comic strip conversations to promote socially valid outcomes for children with autism. , 2006, Seminars in Speech and Language.

[7]  Oliver M. Gingrich,et al.  KIMA - A Holographic Telepresence Environment Based on Cymatic Principles , 2013, Leonardo.

[8]  Cindy Lu Edgerton The Effect of Improvisational Music Therapy on the Communicative Behaviors of Autistic Children , 1994 .

[9]  Mitchell Whitelaw,et al.  Synesthesia and Cross-Modality in Contemporary Audiovisuals , 2008 .

[10]  S. Baron-Cohen,et al.  Systemizing empathy: Teaching adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism to recognize complex emotions using interactive multimedia , 2006, Development and Psychopathology.

[11]  Kostas Giannakis,et al.  A comparative evaluation of auditory-visual mappings for sound visualisation , 2006, Organised Sound.

[12]  Paul Skirrow,et al.  Counselling People on the Autism Spectrum: A Practical Manual , 2008 .

[13]  Kate Simpson,et al.  Music Interventions for Children with Autism: Narrative Review of the Literature , 2011, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[14]  Ronna S. Kaplan,et al.  An analysis of music therapy program goals and outcomes for clients with diagnoses on the autism spectrum. , 2005, Journal of music therapy.

[15]  Juan Pablo Hourcade,et al.  Evaluation of tablet apps to encourage social interaction in children with autism spectrum disorders , 2013, CHI.

[16]  Lilia B. Villafuerte,et al.  Acquisition of social abilities through musical tangible user interface: children with autism spectrum condition and the reactable , 2012, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[17]  D. Aldridge Case study designs in music therapy , 2005 .

[18]  Hayoung A. Lim Effect of "developmental speech and language training through music" on speech production in children with autism spectrum disorders. , 2010, Journal of music therapy.

[19]  Mats B. Küssner,et al.  Shape, drawing and gesture : cross-modal mappings of sound and music , 2014 .

[20]  Anne Marie Piper,et al.  Designing for the Third Hand: Empowering Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment through Creating and Sharing , 2016, Conference on Designing Interactive Systems.

[21]  Sean M. Smith,et al.  A visualization of music , 1997, Proceedings. Visualization '97 (Cat. No. 97CB36155).

[22]  J. Preis,et al.  Does Music Matter? The Effects of Background Music on Verbal Expression and Engagement in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders , 2016 .

[23]  Brian Reichow,et al.  Evidence-based practices and treatments for children with autism , 2011 .

[24]  M. Carter Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. , 2014 .

[25]  Gena R. Greher,et al.  Positive outcomes following participation in a music intervention for adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum , 2012 .

[26]  Christopher Frauenberger,et al.  Blending Methods: Developing Participatory Design Sessions for Autistic Children , 2017, IDC.

[27]  S. Shore The Language of Music: Working with Children on the Autism Spectrum , 2002 .

[28]  Pamela J. Wolfberg,et al.  Supporting Children on the Autism Spectrum in Peer Play at Home and School , 2003, Autism : the international journal of research and practice.

[29]  Theofilos Dimitriadis,et al.  Autistic spectrum disorder and music therapy: theory underpinning practice , 2011 .

[30]  C. Trevarthen Autism, sympathy of motives and music therapy , 2002 .

[31]  Narcís Parés,et al.  Promotion of creative activity in children with severe autism through visuals in an interactive multisensory environment , 2005, IDC '05.

[32]  J. Dattilo,et al.  Evaluating Effects of a Social Story Intervention on a Young Girl with Autism , 1999 .

[33]  Lizbeth Escobedo,et al.  SensoryPaint: a multimodal sensory intervention for children with neurodevelopmental disorders , 2014, UbiComp.

[34]  B. Wheeler Music therapy handbook. , 2015 .

[35]  John McGowan,et al.  CymaSense: A Real-Time 3D Cymatics-Based Sound Visualisation Tool , 2017, Conference on Designing Interactive Systems.

[36]  Mercédès Pavlicevic,et al.  Making music, making friends: Long-term music therapy with young adults with severe learning disabilities , 2014, Journal of intellectual disabilities : JOID.

[37]  Monica Tentori,et al.  BendableSound: An elastic multisensory surface using touch-based interactions to assist children with severe autism during music therapy , 2017, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[38]  Hayoung A Lim,et al.  The effects of music therapy incorporated with applied behavior analysis verbal behavior approach for children with autism spectrum disorders. , 2011, Journal of music therapy.

[39]  Lucy Jane Miller,et al.  Occupational therapy using a sensory integrative approach for children with developmental disabilities. , 2005, Mental retardation and developmental disabilities research reviews.

[40]  F. Michaud,et al.  Mobile Robotic Toys and Autism , 2002 .

[41]  M. Friger,et al.  The Unique Evolutionary Signature of Genes Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder , 2016, Behavior genetics.