The Neurodivergent Musician: A Methodology Report on A Participatory Action Research Study

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Détári, A., Dawson, G., Ballam, L., Chapman, A., Redelinghys, J., Baines, E., Furniss, P., Hugill, A., & Heaton, P. (2026). The Neurodivergent Musician: A Methodology Report on A Participatory Action Research Study. Neurodiversity, 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330261434045

Publication date: 1 Apr 2026 Added to AutiHub: 10 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
9
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 9 (11.1%)
  1. Anna Détári
  2. Georgia Dawson
  3. Lydia Ballam
  4. Alex Chapman
  5. James Redelinghys
  1. Emily Baines
  2. Pete Furniss
  3. Andrew Hugill *
  4. Pamela Heaton

Abstract

According to estimates, the prevalence of various forms of neurodivergence is much higher among musicians than in the general population. Despite this fact, we know very little about the lived experiences of neurodivergent (ND) musicians in professional settings, such as educational institutions and places of employment. The lack of information leads to a lack of understanding, appropriate support, and inclusion of ND personnel in these spaces; therefore, it is crucial to gather accurate information directly from the population. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) study was planned and organised by ND musicians, which consisted of an in-person event and online follow-up conversations, where members of the community (ND musicians, music educators, music researchers, and neurotypical allies) were invited to discuss various aspects of their vocational education and professional lives. In alignment with the guiding principles of PAR, all participants were invited to contribute to the outputs to ensure their autonomy and utilise their unique expertise to the fullest. Given the quantity and richness of the data and the limited space, detailed discussions about the findings will be published separately. Here, we opted to focus on the methodological approach and procedure to provide a template for using PAR with adult ND communities.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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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 18:19.

Cited references
77
With a DOI
63
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
14
10 / 77 (13.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 77 (9.1%)
References with detected author names
70 / 77 (90.9%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
7
Without a stable identifier
14
References with raw author names still to review
7
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
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
199
From DOI or external metadata
199
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
31
67 / 199 (33.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 132 / 199 (66.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
18 / 199 (9.0%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 18 / 67 (26.9%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 15 / 191 (7.9%).
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