“The room is a mess”: Exploring the co-creation of space for attunement dynamics between an autistic child and a non-autistic music therapist

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Mössler, K., Halstead, J., Metell, M., Gottschewski, K., & Schmid, W. (2023). “The room is a mess”: Exploring the co-creation of space for attunement dynamics between an autistic child and a non-autistic music therapist. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 32(4), 321-340. https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2022.2145346

Publication date: 1 Jan 2023 Added to AutiHub: 10 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Karin Mössler
  2. Jill Halstead
  3. Maren Metell
  4. Katja Gottschewski *
  5. Wolfgang Schmid

Abstract

Introduction Music therapy practice and research in the field of autism has often followed medical narratives that reinforce neurotypical normalcy by locating the difficulties of social interaction in the autistic person. By exploring the relational phenomenon of attunement, this paper focuses on the social and material ecology of interactions. The authors try to unpack circumstances that can support or hinder attunement dynamics between autistic and non-autistic people.Method A video-vignette from music therapy with an autistic boy, who explores the sound of building blocks formed the point of departure for this research. The vignette was self-identified by the music therapist as an apparently failed attunement experience. Based on this vignette, we conducted an interview with the therapist and focus groups with parents of autistic children and colleagues from different professions, one of whom is autistic. We used an interpretative hermeneutical methodology for crystallisation of perspectives.Results We uncovered four spaces that impacted on the mutuality and co-creation of attunement dynamics. The room (physical space), the school context (professional space), and the material (sensory space) afford the interaction (relational space) between the child and the therapist in enabling and disabling ways. Listening to the child's sound making with the building blocks was identified as the autistic child’s way of knowing and sounding that needs to be listened to carefully, rather than being questioned or disregarded.Discussion Findings of this research might encourage therapists to foster an understanding of social interaction that is mutually co-constituted and enactive, and that contradicts the mainstream pathologisation of autism.

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 01:05.

Cited references
65
With a DOI
42
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
21
7 / 65 (10.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
5 / 65 (7.7%)
References with detected author names
63 / 65 (96.9%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
21
References with raw author names still to review
1
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
126
From DOI or external metadata
126
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
1
62 / 126 (49.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 64 / 126 (50.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
7 / 126 (5.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 7 / 62 (11.3%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 5 / 103 (4.9%).
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