Designing Sensory NIME for Autism

Aditya Arora, Erica Tandori, James Marshall, and Stuart Favilla

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

This paper explores how sensory NIME design principles may inform the design of musical interfaces tailored for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), focusing on their sensory processing challenges. Given the prevalence of sensory over-responsivity (SOR) and under-responsivity (SUR) in ASD, traditional sensory interventions often fail to accommodate the highly individualized and fluctuating sensory needs of autistic individuals. The authors highlight the potential for multisensory NIME to address the diverse range of sensory needs, promoting emotional regulation and sensory balance through new creative musical opportunities and activities. This paper presents research in the form of a narrative review and comparative case study of recent NIME and sensory intervention research, exploring emerging approaches, rhythm-based interventions, generative algorithms, play-centered designs and other possibilities for enhancing sensory engagement and emotional regulation. Drawing on insights from 30 recent NIME papers, this research explores the boundaries of current approaches and seeks to establish an understanding of multisensory NIME for ASD. The research underscores the profound variability in sensory profiles for ASD, necessitating a shift from clinician-directed interventions to creative, inclusive, multisensory solutions. Finally, a set of sensory NIME design principles are offered, emphasizing the importance of sensory perception, sensory equilibrium and the promotion of emotional regulation for ASD.

Citation

Aditya Arora, Erica Tandori, James Marshall, and Stuart Favilla. 2025. Designing Sensory NIME for Autism . Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15698920 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@article{nime2025_63,
 abstract = {This paper explores how sensory NIME design principles may inform the design of musical interfaces tailored for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), focusing on their sensory processing challenges. Given the prevalence of sensory over-responsivity (SOR) and under-responsivity (SUR) in ASD, traditional sensory interventions often fail to accommodate the highly individualized and fluctuating sensory needs of autistic individuals. The authors highlight the potential for multisensory NIME to address the diverse range of sensory needs, promoting emotional regulation and sensory balance through new creative musical opportunities and activities. This paper presents research in the form of a narrative review and comparative case study of recent NIME and sensory intervention research, exploring emerging approaches, rhythm-based interventions, generative algorithms, play-centered designs and other possibilities for enhancing sensory engagement and emotional regulation. Drawing on insights from 30 recent NIME papers, this research explores the boundaries of current approaches and seeks to establish an understanding of multisensory NIME for ASD. The research underscores the profound variability in sensory profiles for ASD, necessitating a shift from clinician-directed interventions to creative, inclusive, multisensory solutions. Finally, a set of sensory NIME design principles are offered, emphasizing the importance of sensory perception, sensory equilibrium and the promotion of emotional regulation for ASD.  },
 address = {Canberra, Australia},
 articleno = {63},
 author = {Aditya Arora and Erica Tandori and James Marshall and Stuart Favilla},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.15698920},
 editor = {Doga Cavdir and Florent Berthaut},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 numpages = {7},
 pages = {436--442},
 title = {Designing Sensory NIME for Autism },
 track = {Paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2025/nime2025_63.pdf},
 year = {2025}
}