Health in childhood and youth

Autism-CHIME

Autism-CHIME is a major research initiative that combines a national clinical trial with the co-development of evidence-informed music therapy toolkits for autistic children and their families. Together, they aim to improve social communication, emotional wellbeing and everyday family life by translating research into practical, accessible resources.

A primary school aged boy sitting on the floor with a row of different-coloured handbells. There is a freestanding keyboard in the background.

The scientific research comprises a nationwide randomised controlled trial involving autistic children aged 7–11 years, which evaluates whether individual improvisational music therapy, delivered alongside usual care, improves children's social communication, emotional wellbeing and overall quality of life, while the toolkits are designed to help families incorporate music therapy and its benefits into the home environment.

Music provides a natural and motivating way for many autistic children to communicate and engage with others. During improvisational music therapy, children and therapists create music together in responsive, non-verbal interactions that encourage joint attention, turn-taking, emotional expression and relationship building. By evaluating these approaches in a large-scale clinical trial, Autism-CHIME will provide robust evidence about the role music therapy can play in supporting autistic children.

Alongside the clinical trial, the Autism-CHIME Toolkits translate this growing evidence base into practical resources for families and practitioners. Led by a dedicated research team, the toolkits are being co-produced alongside parents, carers and professionals who support autistic children. They are being trialled by autistic children, and the project is steered by a lived experience Community Engagement Group. This participatory approach ensures that the resources are scientifically robust while reflecting lived experience and the realities of everyday family life.

The toolkits include music-based activities, guidance for parents, downloadable resources and multimedia materials that support communication, emotional regulation, social interaction and shared musical experiences at home. Resources are being developed in accessible formats, including print, digital and video, with clear language, visual supports and subtitles to ensure they can be used by diverse families.

Together, the Autism-CHIME trial and Autism-CHIME Toolkits demonstrate CIMTR's commitment to moving beyond research publication towards meaningful impact. By combining rigorous clinical evidence with co-produced resources, the programme aims to improve outcomes for autistic children, empower families and inform future clinical practice and service delivery.

  • Autism-CHIME randomised controlled trial completed and data analysis underway.
  • Toolkit framework developed using evidence from Autism-CHIME and stakeholder consultation.
  • Co-design workshops with autistic children, parents and practitioners completed.
  • Toolkit prototypes piloted and refined through user feedback.
  • Final Autism-CHIME Toolkits launched with supporting digital resources and dissemination programme.
  • Findings and toolkit resources shared with families, practitioners and policymakers to maximise real-world impact.

If your school is interested in taking part, or you are a music therapist who could run sessions as part of this trial, contact [email protected]

Publications

Jaschke, A. C., Howlin, C., Pool, J., Greenberg, Y. D., Atkinson, R., Kovalova, A., ... & Baron-Cohen, S. (2024) 'Study protocol of a randomized control trial on the effectiveness of improvisational music therapy for autistic children', BMC Psychiatry, 24(1), pp. 1-12.

Poster presentations

Pallas-Ferrer, I., Jaschke, A. C., Howlin, C., Pool, J., Greenberg, Y. D., Atkinson, R., Kovalova, A., Merriam, E., , Williams, S., Moore, C. , Hayden, K., Allison, C., Odell-Miller, H. and Baron-Cohen, S. (2024) 'A Randomised control trial on the effectiveness of improvisational music therapy for autistic children aged 7-11 [Autism-CHIME Trial]', poster presentation at the Music and Neuroscience Conference 2024, Helsinki, Finland.

Howlin, C., Allison, C., Odell-Miller, H., Greenberg, D. Pool, J. and Baron-Cohen, S. (2023) 'Evaluating the effectiveness of Music Therapy on autistic children’s social communication and wellbeing. [Autism-CHIME]', poster presentation at the 17th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition and the 7th Conference of the Asia-Pacific Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, Tokyo, Japan.

Paper presentations

Howlin, C., Allison, C., Pool, J., Greenberg, D., Odell-Miller, H. and Baron-Cohen, S. (2024) 'What are the cognitive factors that contribute to effective music therapy for autistic children aged 7 -11? Introducing a longitudinal randomised controlled trial', paper presentation at the 12th triennial conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM 12), York, UK.

Howlin, C., Allison, C., Odell-Miller, H., Greenberg, D. Pool, J., Jaschke, A. and Baron-Cohen, S. (2024) 'Designing the Autism-CHIME music therapy clinical trial: striking the balance between creative approaches, scientific rigour, and neuroinclusivity', paper presentation, Arts and Health Symposium, The International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, Palma, Mallorca, Spain.

Howlin, C. (2024) 'Designing the Autism-CHIME music therapy clinical trial: striking the balance between creative approaches, scientific rigour, and neuroinclusivity', paper presentation, Exploring Medical and Health Humanities in TCD, Long room hub, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Registration of study protocol

Baron-Cohen, S., Allison, C., Greenberg, Y. D. M., Pool, J., Jaschke, A., Odell-Miller, H. and Howlin, C., 'Autism - Children's Improvisational Music Therapy Evaluation (CHIME)', ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06016621.

Autism-CHIME - Anglia Ruskin Clinical Trials Unit (ARCTU)

Project team

Jonathan Pool

Jonathan W Pool

Senior Research Fellow

Jonathan W Pool's profile page

[email protected]

Follow Jonathan on Twitter

Profile photo of Rebecca Atkinson

Rebecca Atkinson

Researcher/Institute Operations Manager

Rebecca Atkinson's profile page

[email protected]

Connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn

View Rebecca's ORCID profile