A step towards identifying the sound preferences of children with autism

Abstract

Music-based therapies are increasingly being used to support children with autism with promising clinical results. However, we have a little understanding of which are the most appropriate sounds to be used in music-based interventions for children with autism. In this paper, we describe a pilot study to understand the attention and emotions of children with autism when listening to different sounds. We measured participants' attention using a wearable brain-computer headband, and a psychologist scored their emotions through direct observation. We compared 15 sounds including three natural sounds, and a melody and a single note being played with cello, clarinet, and piano, in a low and high pitch. Our results show children with autism stay more focused when listening to a melody being played with a cello in a low pitch. Additionally, they were more distracted and felt more negative emotions when listening to natural sounds. We close discussing how our results could be a first step towards a potential understanding of what are the proper selection of sounds that could inform the design of pervasive healthcare applications for this population.