Bridging neuroscience and practice: A semi-structured music therapy approach with autistic children

Music therapy has long been recognized as a valuable approach for supporting autistic children, yet its individualized and improvisational nature has made it challenging to evaluate and articulate within research frameworks. This paper presents a neuroscience-informed framework that connects theory, research, and practice by describing how the inherent capacities of music can support sensory, emotional, and social development. Drawing on findings from developmental psychology and neuroscience, it outlines how processes such as auditory–motor coupling, neural synchrony, and experience-dependent plasticity may help explain the therapeutic effects of music. The framework also proposes a semi-structured intervention design that balances flexibility with consistency, offering a practical scaffold for both clinical implementation and research. Core therapeutic principles—such as rapport, attunement, joint play, and providing choices—are articulated as foundations for fostering engagement and communication. By integrating neuroscientific insight with therapeutic practice, this framework complements existing clinical approaches and clarifies how music therapy can be understood, adapted, and studied as a dynamic, child-centered intervention grounded in both developmental and neuroscientific knowledge. • Describes a neuroscience-informed music therapy approach for autistic children • Links music’s emotional and rhythmic elements to brain-based change processes • Connects music therapy practice with theories of sensory and motor development • Offers a structured yet adaptable intervention for clinical and research use • Bridges neuroscience and the arts through a semi-structured therapeutic guide