Conference Program

Neurodevelopmental disorders and Special Educational Needs (SEN) consist in a complex framework characterised by marked functional heterogeneity, behavioural variability, and the clinical necessity for highly personalised educational and rehabilitative approaches. Children and adolescents with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently exhibit deficits in sustained attention, emotional regulation, impulse control, and social participation. Those factors negatively impact academic courses, the quality of interpersonal relationships, and overall psychophysical well-being.

Within such a scenario, music therapy proves to be a privileged pedagogical intervention strategy, capable of simultaneously activating cognitive, emotional, and relational processes due to its intrinsically accessible and integrated nature. The proposed musical activities—specifically clinical improvisation, sonorous dialogue, shared listening, and the structured use of rhythm—stimulate complex neural circuits involved in self-regulation, interpersonal synchronization, working memory, and selective attention. The non-verbal characteristic of music further facilitates the activation of alternative and spontaneous forms of communication, proving particularly effective for neurodivergent profiles.

The study analyses the impact of a research-intervention protocol consisting of eight sessions (individual or small group) conducted on a sample of ten participants, aged between 5 and 20 years, with diagnoses of SLD, ADHD, ASD, or other certified and non-certified forms of SEN. The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative tools, such as assessment scales and observation grids, with qualitative instruments including the music therapist's clinical diaries, semi-structured interviews with parents, and thematic analysis of direct observations. In this paper we will present some preliminary findings.

The primary objectives aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment in improving attentional skills, emotional self-regulation, and social participation. Secondarily, the study investigates how improvisation and sonorous dialogue can act as catalysts for communication and cooperation. A distinctive element of this work is the inclusion of the family perspective to monitor the transferability of changes emerged in the musical setting to daily and school life. Finally, the study proposes an integrated operational model that combines music therapy, educational psychology, and special pedagogy. The intent is to expand the empirical evidence on the use of music in the psycho-educational field, offering theoretical and practical contributions for the creation of replicable, evidence-based protocols to support the development of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.