SHR6E035P~001 ABB23083965- Community Music Project Plan

by

Abbey,Rachael (STUDENT)

Our Community Music project will take place at Specialist Autism Services (SAS) in Leeds, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder develop the skills needed for confident integration into society, including support for achieving independent living and employment. The organisation offers a wide variety of workshops that focus on well-being and personal growth, ranging from film creation to business start-up. During our first visit, we were informed that each workshop is open to self-sign-up, so we expect all participants to have an interest in music, regardless of their diverse abilities and experiences. Participating in workshops offered by SAS can greatly benefit the development of individuals with additional needs, as many of these individuals may not have acquired the essential skills necessary for a fulfilling life through their educational experiences. This shortcoming is largely due to a lack of funding and training for teachers in SEND schools, which leads to many children with learning disabilities not receiving an adequate education (GOV UK, 2025). Additionally, there is a significant challenge in identifying children’s disabilities, which makes it difficult for them to obtain the support they need. Consequently, these students may struggle academically and face the risk of dropping out of school; therefore, this situation can lead to feelings of self-doubt and a sense of losing control over their lives. The absence of support can also hinder their independence and communication skills, issues we aim to address within our project.

We will be working with a small group of approximately 5 to 12 members, aged between 20 and 30 years old. To facilitate collaboration, we have decided to create a 5-week songwriting workshop that allows participants the option to work both independently and in groups. Research by Hoffer (2022) suggests that music has a significant impact on the autonomic nervous system by increasing neurotransmitters such as dopamine, which in turn helps reduce stress and anxiety levels. This aspect is crucial for our project as individuals with autism often experience autonomic dysregulation, meaning “they tend to exhibit a higher at-rest sympathetic activation” (Casanova and Casanova, 2020), resulting in an increased resting heart rate and respiration rate, especially during social interactions. Consequently, this can lead to significant anxiety, particularly social anxiety, within these individuals, further emphasising the importance of allowing them to work individually, so they can express themselves freely within their comfort zone.

Our goal is to create a comfortable and safe environment that utilises approaches tailored to autistic individuals, enabling them to express themselves confidently through music and songwriting. The sessions will last for two hours each week over five consecutive weeks, with each session focusing on a different aspect of songwriting. Throughout the project, participants will collaborate to create a backing track, applying the skills they learn each week. In the final week, they will have the opportunity to add their own lyrics and, if they feel comfortable, perform their work. Each session will follow a simple and consistent structure, starting with a “walk-in” song, where a group member selects a song to play. This helps us understand their musical interests and encourages them to share comfortably with the rest of the group.

Then we will present a quiz related to the topic we will cover that week, as this will help motivate and ease participants into the main activity. For instance, in week 4, which focuses on lyric writing, we will conduct a “finish-the-lyric” quiz. It is essential that we avoid making the quizzes competitive, as individuals with autism often exhibit rigid thinking, which can lead them to feel that if they haven’t won, then they have failed (Wideman-van der laan 2022). Additionally, they may struggle to grasp the concept that not everyone can win, which could lead to emotional outbursts. Therefore, to prevent this, we will encourage them not to disclose their scores, and if they don’t know an answer, to be creative and provide their own.

After the quiz, we will proceed to the main activity, which is creating a backing track. The focus for each week will be as follows: the first week will centre on chords and structure, the second week will explore instruments and rhythm, the third week will emphasise melody, the fourth week will be dedicated to lyric writing, and in the final week, participants will showcase their own lyrical creations set to the backing track they created. A brief overview of what can be expected each week is provided in Appendix A. There will be an element of community singing as we will provide a simple chorus to accompany the backing track. This is designed to encourage individuals to sing along at the choruses, as it is suggested that this practice can improve fluency in speech and promote self-expression (Behavioural Innovations, 2023). These activities will primarily be participant-led, as we will teach them about each element of songwriting and how to create their own song. Afterwards, we will ask if anyone would like to share their ideas for the collaborative track. To ensure everyone has a chance to contribute, we will save multiple versions of the track and edit them together at home. This way, everyone’s contributions will be featured. Consequently, it’s crucial that no one feels left out or develops feelings of rejection if their idea isn’t used in the final track. A common co-occurrence with autism is rejection sensitivity dysphoria, an intense feeling that individuals aren’t good enough or that they are in the wrong when they are turned down. These feelings can often arise due to the difficulty in interpreting social cues, such as facial expressions and tone, which can lead to a perceived rejection (Kelly, 2023). Therefore, by combining everyone’s ideas together, it emphasises that there are no bad suggestions and prevents competitive behaviour.

To make our workshop more sensory-friendly, we will place match-up games on the table. This way, if anyone feels overwhelmed, they can focus on those games instead of the ongoing activity. We also need to be mindful of noise levels and ensure there is clear visual support, using imagery, so that they understand the activity. Additionally, during our first visit to SAS, we learned that they have two sensory rooms; therefore, we will ensure that participants feel comfortable taking a break in those rooms if they need to step away from the session. The information they may share through lyrics or discussions might be personal and sensitive, therefore creating a safe space is crucial for our project.

Having choices is crucial for the development of autistic individuals, as it fosters independence and provides them with control over their environment. However, having too many options can also feel overwhelming and therefore, decision-making can prove challenging due to difficulties in communicating preferences and issues with executive functioning (Bennie, 2024). We will encourage decision-making through our activities by providing participants with a choice of up to four options during certain elements of the songwriting process, such as instrumentation. If participants are having difficulty, we will provide a detailed explanation of each choice to help them visualise it. Additionally, we may create a wheel featuring each option and ask someone to spin it, giving participants a sense of making a decision without the associated stress. However, there may be complications with this, for example, if 2 people wanted different instruments, they may get upset if their choice wasn’t used. During our second visit, SAS informed us that if this situation were to occur, one of their staff members would work with them, as learning to make compromises is a skill taught in other sessions at the organisation.

To conclude the activity, we will ask participants to complete their match-up quizzes, if they haven’t already done so. Additionally, we will encourage them to reflect on what they have learned by requesting their feedback on the sessions, as outlined in Appendix B. Feedback is crucial for our project because, due to the nature of their disabilities, we cannot predict how individuals will respond to each activity until we try it. During our second visit, SAS suggested that we provide them with a weekly itinerary outlining our planned activities, along with explanations of why each activity would be beneficial. This allows us to adjust the plan for the next session after each week, based on which aspects were less effective and which ones they really enjoyed.

Finally, a member of the group will choose a song for everyone to pack up and walk out to, just like they started. This establishes a cyclical structure for the sessions, creating familiarity and a sense of predictability. Structures and routines are essential for autistic individuals because they help with self-regulation and managing unpredictability in their lives (National Autistic Society, 2025). Therefore, it is crucial to maintain consistent timings and structures for each session. It was brought to our attention in our feedback that having a different topic each week may cause stress to some participants if they were enjoying the previous week and would like to continue. In response to this, we will allow members to continue with an activity they enjoyed or provide them with an alternative activity, such as lyric writing. Since our group consists of three members and there are additional staff from SAS, splitting the class into smaller groups for different tasks will be manageable. We have also planned more activities than we have time for, so if something isn’t working, we have alternatives they can try instead. To ensure we are set up and prepared, we will arrive at SAS at least 20 minutes prior to the session’s start time. A complete list of equipment and resources is provided in Appendix C.

We believe that our project will promote emotional growth by enabling participants to express themselves freely, build confidence, and enhance communication skills. The sessions are led by participants and are collaborative, giving them control over how the sessions are conducted.

Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C

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