Ellena Halliwell HAL23084925 Community Music Project (SHR6EO35P)

by

Halliwell,Ellena (STUDENT)

This project will take place at the Specialist Autism Services (SAS) in Sterton. SAS is a non-profit organisation that supports individuals aged 18 and over who have been diagnosed with autism through educational, expressive, and wellbeing-focused programmes. The organisation aims to promote social inclusion and independence by offering opportunities in areas such as the arts, training, and personal development. Our placement involves planning and delivering a five-week community music programme, with songwriting at the centre to encourage self-expression, creativity, communication, and emotional regulation. The sessions aim to support emotional wellbeing, build confidence, improve communication, and develop musical skills while remaining flexible and participant-led. The purpose of this placement is to design inclusive music sessions that directly respond to the learning needs of autistic individuals, ensuring that every participant feels welcomed and involved, and that each person gains something meaningful from the sessions. Whether this is developing musical ability or strengthening communication, each individual’s growth throughout the sessions is equally important.

This essay will explore research relating to the learning needs of participants at the placement and explain how this research has informed the planning and teaching methods used. It will also critically evaluate the project plan, while considering potential changes and adaptations based on session outcomes and participant feedback. When designing musical activities for autistic adults, it is essential to understand common learning needs, particularly in relation to communication, sensory regulation, predictability, and autonomy. Many autistic individuals experience heightened sensory sensitivity, meaning unpredictable noise levels, unfamiliar routines, or new environments can feel overwhelming. Although there are shared traits among autistic adults, it is important to recognise that each individual has different needs, triggers, and coping strategies. For this reason, the activities have been planned with shared needs in mind while remaining flexible. Clear structure and consistency therefore play an important role in supporting engagement and emotional regulation.

Research suggests that music can be especially beneficial for autistic individuals due to its structured and patterned nature. Music can support emotional regulation, communication, and social interaction. Interactive music-making can provide a safe, non-verbal means of expression for adults with learning disabilities. Music’s predictable elements, such as rhythm, repetition, and instrumentation, can help reduce anxiety and create a sense of security. Neurological research further supports the use of music for wellbeing. Hoffer et al. (2022) explain that music can regulate the autonomic nervous system and increase neurotransmitters such as dopamine, which are linked to pleasure, motivation, and stress reduction. This is particularly relevant for autistic individuals, who may experience higher levels of anxiety. By engaging in music within a supportive and consistent environment, participants can experience calming effects while also developing musical and social skills.

Choice-making is another important learning need. While having control over decisions can be empowering, too many options can feel overwhelming. Research shows that disabled adults often have limited choice over their free time, highlighting the importance of offering meaningful but manageable choices. This project addresses this by allowing participants to choose instruments, tempos, lyrics, and melodies, while also using strategies such as limiting options, clearly explaining choices, and using visual tools to reduce decision-making pressure. Many autistic individuals also demonstrate strong pattern recognition skills, which naturally align with songwriting. Song structures, chord progressions, rhyming patterns, and repeated melodies provide logical frameworks that can encourage engagement and skill development. By embedding repetition and predictability into the programme design, the sessions aim to meet participant learning needs while supporting expression, confidence, and communication.

This project is planned as a five-week songwriting programme with a consistent session structure to support predictability and emotional safety. Each session will follow the same format: a walk-in song, a warm-up game or quiz, a main activity, a calm cool-down activity, and a walk-out song. Following feedback on this plan, table-based activities such as matching games will also be available at all times, allowing participants who do not wish to join the main activity to still take part in musical activities. This repetition will help participants understand what to expect each week, reduce anxiety, and support engagement. The teaching approach will be participant-led and sensory-friendly, with activities designed to be adaptable so that everyone can engage at their own pace and comfort level. However, to avoid overwhelming participants with responsibility, sessions will be gently guided and directed by facilitators. Quieter table-based games will always be available, recognising that not everyone will feel comfortable taking part in group activities all of the time.

Each week will build carefully on the previous one and support predictability, engagement, and emotional safety. A consistent session structure will be used throughout the programme to reduce anxiety and support wellbeing regulation, as research has highlighted how important routine and predictability are, especially for adults with autism.

Week 1 will focus on introductions and rhythm-based activities, using icebreakers, a “Guess the Song” quiz, and group percussion to help participants settle into music-making while building trust and familiarity within the group. Rhythm will be introduced early as it provides a clear, repetitive structure that supports pattern recognition and emotional regulation for autistic individuals. Exploring tempo in Week 1 allows participants to engage musically without pressure to perform or communicate verbally. A short video explaining four-chord songs (Ed Sheeran) will be used to introduce basic song structures in a visual and accessible way, helping participants understand how popular music is built through repetition. This approach aligns with research suggesting that predictable musical frameworks can reduce anxiety and encourage participation (Hoffer et al., 2022).

Weeks 2 and 3 will focus on the same musical material, responding directly to research and presentation feedback highlighting the importance of repetition. Research suggests that autistic individuals often benefit from revisiting activities multiple times, as confidence and enjoyment may take more than one exposure to develop. In Week 2, participants will explore instruments, tempo, and begin creating a backing track using Logic, MIDI instruments, and drum patterns. Working on a single shared Logic project will support collaboration and social interaction while reducing pressure. This backing track will later be used as a foundation for lyric writing, creating continuity across sessions.

Week 3 will act as a consolidation week and will closely reflect Week 2. This repetition allows participants to continue working at their own pace, reinforcing familiarity and confidence. The session will be more flexible and participant-led, allowing those who wish to continue developing the backing track to do so, while others may begin exploring lyric ideas. This structure reflects presentation feedback suggesting Week 3 should remain freer and responsive, allowing participants to remain where they feel most comfortable. Within one of these weeks, we will show a short video of “We will rock you” to show the famous clap, as a call and response activity.

Week 4 will shift the focus towards lyrics, using structured and familiar activities such as quizzes and rhyme-matching games. These activities provide clear boundaries and reduce cognitive load while encouraging creativity and self-expression. Participants will describe films they enjoy to generate descriptive language rooted in personal interests, which will then be transformed into simple rhymes and lyrics. Research supports this approach, as linking creative tasks to familiar interests can increase engagement and reduce anxiety . Lyrics will be written collaboratively while still allowing flexibility for those who prefer to work individually.

Week 5 will centre on creativity, reflection, and performance, celebrating participants’ work through optional sharing. Performance will not be compulsory; participants may perform themselves or choose to have facilitators perform on their behalf to ensure autonomy and emotional safety. Community singing, particularly in choruses, will be encouraged, as group singing can support communication and social connection. This final session will focus on building confidence and recognising achievement rather than perfection.

Throughout the project, weekly session plans will be created and shared with the Specialist Autism Services prior to each session to track progress and ensure clarity. After each session, reflective notes will be written to evaluate what has worked well and what could be improved the following week. This reflective practice aligns with the principles of reflection-in-action and will allow the project to remain responsive to participant needs.

Reflection on the project will focus on participant engagement, confidence, and communication, particularly in relation to the effectiveness of a consistent session structure. Consideration will be given to how familiar routines and repeated songwriting activities support musical understanding and reduce feelings of being rushed. Reflection will also examine how participant-led choice-making is experienced. While choice is intended to increase ownership and motivation, feedback will be used to assess whether options are given in a way that avoids participants feeling overwhelmed. Sensory factors, including noise levels, session pacing, and the availability of calm alternatives, will be reviewed to evaluate how well they support emotional regulation. Feedback from tutors and participants will be valuable when informing future projects.

In conclusion, this placement is designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of inclusive, participant-centred community music practice when working with autistic adults. Through structured, repetitive, and sensory-aware songwriting sessions, participants will hopefully develop musical skills, communication, and confidence. Tangible outcomes, such as collectively completing a song with lyrics, aim to provide a sense of achievement, while the process itself will hopefully promote sustained positivity and self-expression. For me, community music is a musical area that highlights the importance of inclusion and musical education, which is why this project keeps these values at its core. I hope to develop a deeper understanding of how music education can be adapted to support individual wellbeing and enhance personal growth.

Bibliography

Below is the Video of my presentation, if this video doesnt work ive also attached a file of the video aswell.

presentation liked file below.

videoDownload

Below are my notes from my feedback, my 2nd visit to SAS and learning needs research