Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
FrancoAngeli Journals

Articles/Articoli

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2026): Educating for Complexity: Intersectionality, Decolonial Approaches to Teaching, and Practices of Care in Education

Music therapy strategies for inclusive care and inclusive learning with people with Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Special Educational Needs

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/ess1-2026oa22483
Submitted
aprile 10, 2026
Published
2026-07-28

Abstract

The contemporary educational landscape requires timely responses to the complexity of learning and Special Educational Needs (SEN). Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as SLD, ADHD, and ASD, present critical challenges in attention, emotional regulation, and social participation. Within a

framework of pedagogical innovation (Baldacci, 2014) oriented toward care, music therapy emerges as a functional intervention channel to foster self-regulation processes and interpersonal synchronization through non-verbal pathways. The sonic mediator offers an intersubjective support framework aimed at promoting development in neurodivergent profiles through ‘communicative musicality’. This paper analyses a research-intervention project conducted with 10 participants (aged 5-20) over an 8-session course. The pedagogical design adopts a mixed-methods methodology, integrating quantitative tools (scales and grids) and qualitative ones (clinical diaries and interviews). The objectives lie in evaluating the effectiveness of the sonic mediator in enhancing executive functions and cooperative communication. The study proposes an integrated model combining music therapy, pedagogy, and the psychology of learning to support the development of evidence-based protocols aimed at systematic inclusion.

References

  1. Aleandri G. (2011). Educazione permanente nella prospettiva del lifelong e lifewide learning. Roma: Armando Editore.
  2. Aleandri G. (2012). Scritture adulte. L’autobiografia come ricerca e costruzione del sé. Roma: Armando Editore.
  3. Aleandri G. (2025). L’educazione degli adulti nel paradigma dell’educazione permanente dieci anni dopo l’avvio dei Centri Provinciali per l’Istruzione degli Adulti (CPIA). EPALE Journal on Adult Learning and Continuing Education, 17, giugno, 10-17.
  4. Aleandri G., Russo V. (2017). L’autobiografia come metodo educativo, autoeducativo e di ricerca nella prospettiva del «lifelong learning»: progetto per una indagine esplorativa. Journal of Educational, Cultural and Psychological Studies (ECPS Journal), (16): 295-316. doi: 10.7358/ecps-2017-016-alea.
  5. Aleandri G., Consoli E. (2020). Metodi autobiografici e coding per lo sviluppo dell’autoconsapevolezza e delle competenze trasversali. Journal of educational, cultural and psychological sudies, 21: 275-300.
  6. Baldacci M. (2014). Metodologia della ricerca pedagogica. Milano: Mondadori.
  7. Baldacci, M. (2014). Per un’idea di scuola: Istruzione, lavoro e democrazia. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  8. Barkley R. A. (2014). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (4th ed.). New York: Guilford Publications.
  9. Bocci F. (2025). La flessibilità, per un approccio inclusivo (con accenni alla creatività). In L. Farroni e B. De Angelis (a cura di), Ambienti flessibili. Indagini interdisciplinari sulla flessibilità (22-29). Roma: Roma TrE-Press.
  10. Boffo V. (2022). La cura in pedagogia.mlinee di lettura. Bologna: CLUEB.
  11. Braun V. and Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2): 77-101.
  12. Bronfenbrenner U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(6): 723-742.
  13. Canevaro A. (2006). Le logiche del confine e del sentiero. Trento: Erickson.
  14. Cornoldi C. (2007). Difficoltà e disturbi dell’apprendimento. Firenze: il Mulino.
  15. Cottini L. (2017). Didattica speciale e inclusione scolastica. Roma: Carocci.
  16. D’Alonzo L. (2016). La differenziazione didattica per l’inclusione. Trento: Erickson.
  17. Damiano E. (2013). La mediazione didattica. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  18. Fabbri D. (2012). Strategie del sapere. Milano: Guerini e Associati.
  19. Frabbroni F. & Pinto Minerva F. (2001). Manuale di pedagogia generale. Roma-Bari: Editori Laterza.
  20. Geretsegger M., Elefant C., Mössler K. A., & Gold C. (2014). Music therapy for people with autism spectrum disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (6).
  21. Giannandrea L. & Rossi P. G., a cura di (2026). Diventare insegnanti. Fondamenti, riflessioni e domande per una professione complessa. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  22. Gibson J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  23. Glaser B.G. & Strauss A. (2009). La scoperta della Grounded Theory. Strategie per la ricerca qualitativa. Tr. it. Roma: Armando Editore.
  24. Habib M., Lardy C., Desiles T., Commeiras C., Chobert J. and Besson M. (2016). Music and dyslexia: A new musical training method to improve reading and related disorders. Frontiers in Psychology, 7.
  25. Ianes D. (2005). Bisogni educativi speciali e inclusione: Valutare le reali necessità e attivare tutte le risorse. Trento: Erickson.
  26. Medeghini R., D’Alessio S., Marra A. D., Vadalà G., & Valtellina E. (2013). Disability Studies. Emancipazione, inclusione scolastica e sociale, cittadinanza. Trento: Erickson.
  27. Meirieu P. (2007). Pedagogia: Il dovere di resistere. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  28. Mortari L. (2006). La pratica dell’aver cura. Milano: Bruno Mondadori.
  29. Nussbaum M. C. (2011). Creating capabilities: The human development approach. Harvard University Press.
  30. Patel A. D. (2008). Music, language, and the brain. Oxford University Press.
  31. Palmieri C., Prada G. (2008). Non di sola relazione. Per una cura del processo educativo, Milano: Mimesis.
  32. Papa A. (2014). L’identità esposta. La cura come questione filosofica. Milano: Vita e Pensiero.
  33. Rivoltella P. C. (2012). Neurodidattica: Insegnare al cervello che apprende. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  34. Sen A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  35. Stegemöller E. L. (2019). Music therapy and neuroscience. In: The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  36. Thaut M. H., McIntosh G. C. and Hoemberg V. (2015). Neurobiological foundations of neurologic music therapy: Rhythmic entrainment and the motor system. Fron-tiers in Psychology, 5.
  37. Tierney A. and Kraus N. (2013). Music training for the development of reading skills. In: M. M. Merzenich, M. Nahum and T. M. Van Vleet, a cura di, Progress in Brain Research (Vol. 207, pp. 209-241). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  38. Trevarthen C. (2002). Communication and cooperation in early infancy: A description of primary intersubjectivity. Developmental Review, 22(2): 115-163.
  39. Viafora C., Zanotti R., Furlan E., a cura di (2007). L’etica della cura: tra sentimenti e ragioni. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  40. Wigram T. (2004). Improvisation: Methods and techniques for music therapy clinicians, educators, and students. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...