Adolescents with intellectual disabilities and their siblings: the musical relationship

The purpose of this doctoral thesis ‘adolescents with intellectual disabilities and their siblings: the musical relationship’ is to investigate how music and musical creation can affect the relationship and the interaction between adolescents with intellectual disabilities and their siblings. The adolescent and his siblings take part in music workshops, where they play and improvise, guided by a music therapist. After the workshops, this (musical) material is given shape into a musical creation by a composer. The focal point is the (musical) design of the interaction between the adolescent and his siblings. The research is a multiple case study and uses a participatory co-design. In this process key mechanisms of interventions during musical creation are identified and supported by the expertise of the siblings; an intervention strategy is developed and the role of musical creation is explored. Methods such as literature study, observation, in-depth interviews and action research are used. This research will lead to the development of innovative interventions for, and the support of the role of music and musical creation in the interaction between siblings when one of them has a disability.