A joint music making game augmenting social skills in autistic individuals

Project Information

AUTISMUS

Grant agreement ID: 101158070

DOI

10.3030/101158070

Project closed

EC signature date 3 April 2024

Start date 1 January 2025

End date 30 June 2026

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 150 000,00

Coordinated by

FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AUTISMUS (A joint music making game augmenting social skills in autistic individuals)

Reporting period: 2025-01-01 to 2026-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The objectives of this project were twofold. First, we aimed to develop an accessible game that enables individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to make music interactively with other people. Second, we sought to test whether long-term, home-based practice with the game could help strengthen the social skills of individuals with ASD. The project was motivated by a long-standing body of research showing that many autistic individuals have a particularly strong interest in and responsiveness to music, sometimes finding it more engaging and accessible than conventional forms of communication. Building on this observation, we explored whether music could provide a welcoming and enjoyable setting in which individuals with ASD could practise interacting with others. In particular, shared music-making may offer opportunities to listen, respond, take turns, coordinate actions, and adjust one’s behaviour in response to another person. The game developed through this project represents an innovative approach because it allows people to participate in music-making regardless of their previous musical education, technical ability, or experience. Rather than requiring users to learn an instrument, read musical notation, or perform complex musical sequences, the game is designed to make musical interaction immediately accessible. This allows participants to focus on the social aspects of playing together. Such an approach is especially relevant because interpersonal adaptation—the ability to adjust one’s actions in response to another person—and interpersonal synchrony—the coordination of actions or timing between people—are increasingly recognized as important components of human social interaction. Music naturally involves both of these processes: people playing together must attend to one another, coordinate their timing, and continually adapt to what others are doing. Music may therefore provide a particularly promising environment for developing enjoyable, accessible interventions that support social interaction and allow individuals with ASD to practise interpersonal coordination in a meaningful everyday context.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project was conducted by a multidisciplinary team led by two principal investigators (PIs): one specializing in social neuroscience and the neuroscience of music, and the other in neuroscience and autism. They worked with a PhD student and research assistant supported by the current funding, as well as several volunteer collaborators. Together, the team completed the project’s main stages, from securing ethical approval and developing the technology to recruiting families and delivering the home-based intervention.
Following ethical clearance, the team developed the musical game and its supporting software and hardware. Two players use specially designed e-music boxes to control the tempo of different parts of the same song. To produce a coordinated performance, they must listen to each other and continually adjust the speed of their movements.
The team also created an accessible visual interface showing two planets orbiting the Sun, each representing one player’s circular movements. The space theme was intended to engage children. A dedicated survey was used to identify music suitable and enjoyable for the target age group. After testing the game, the team manufactured several portable equipment sets, enabling families to participate at home rather than travel regularly to the laboratory.
Families with a child aged 4–14 years were then recruited. During an initial laboratory visit, each child completed baseline assessments combining implicit and explicit measures of social skills, social responsiveness, and ASD-related characteristics. Implicit measures captured social responses that may not be readily described through questionnaires.
Families were divided into two groups. Participants in the interactive condition received equipment to play the musical game with another person at home for at least 30 minutes per week over three months. The control group received the same equipment and followed the same schedule but played with a virtual partner that maintained a constant tempo and did not adapt to the child. This comparison allowed the researchers to test whether mutual interaction and adaptation provided benefits beyond simply playing the game.
Because the available budget allowed only a limited number of sets to be manufactured, the study involved two consecutive participant cohorts. During each three-month period, the researchers remotely monitored the number and timing of playing sessions. They also maintained regular contact with families to provide support, resolve technical or practical difficulties, and help ensure a positive experience.
After the intervention, participants returned to the laboratory and repeated the baseline assessments. Comparing pre- and post-intervention results allowed the researchers to examine whether regular practice was associated with changes in social abilities, social responsiveness, or other ASD-related characteristics. Retention was very high: only one family requested to complete the final assessment early.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The game and its visual interface were very well received by most of the children who participated in the study. During their first laboratory visit, the large majority showed considerable enthusiasm about trying the game and were excited by the prospect of taking the equipment home. This positive response indicated that the design, musical content, and space-themed visual interface were engaging and appropriate for the target age group. Importantly, the children appeared interested in the game even though it required them to play and coordinate with another person. This was a particularly encouraging observation because the social component was not simply an additional feature of the game; it was central to the purpose of the intervention.
Engagement generally remained high during the first few weeks of home use, although it gradually decreased during the second and third months. Some reduction in interest over a three-month period was expected. One possible explanation is that many of the children learned how to play the game very quickly and were soon able to perform the task with a high degree of accuracy. Once the activity had been mastered, it may have offered less novelty and challenge. In addition, the game included a limited number of songs, meaning that repeated practice may eventually have become less varied and stimulating. These observations suggest several possible improvements for future versions, such as introducing a larger music library, offering different levels of difficulty, and adding new challenges as the player’s ability develops.
Despite the gradual reduction in use, all children played weekly, as requested, and on several occasions multiple times within a given week. These overall qualitative results were highly encouraging. Observations made by the research team, together with feedback provided by parents, indicated that the game was enjoyable, accessible, and appropriate for children with ASD. The positive response also showed that a game centred on shared musical interaction can appeal to children while encouraging them to engage with another person. From a design and feasibility perspective, the project therefore succeeded in producing a functional and promising tool for this population.
The researchers also compared the measures of social functioning collected before and after the intervention. The initial analyses revealed an encouraging pattern of results, suggesting that participation in the musical activity may have been associated with improvements in some aspects of social competence. However, these findings must be interpreted cautiously. Some of the observed effects did not reach conventional levels of statistical reliability, meaning that the available evidence is not yet strong enough to determine with confidence whether the improvements were produced by the intervention rather than by chance or other factors.
A larger group of participants is therefore needed to test whether the observed pattern can be replicated and to provide a more precise estimate of the game’s potential benefits. Using internal resources, the research team is currently continuing recruitment and collecting additional data. Once an adequately sized sample has been reached, the complete dataset will be analysed again. This additional work will be essential for drawing reliable conclusions about the effectiveness of the intervention and for determining what further development, testing, and validation would be required before the game could be considered for broader distribution or commercialization.