Autism prevalence is rising globally (Government of Canada, 2015), but appears to be  under-detected among First Nations children in BC, Canada (Lindblom, 2014). Music interventions for children with ASD can be beneficial (e.g. Greher, Hillier, Dougherty & Poto, 2010; Simpson and Keen, 2011). There is a scarcity of research on First Nations, autism and music. The aim of this PhD project was to investigate the meaning of music for First Nations children with ASD in BC, Canada.

The research was conducted within an Indigenist paradigm (Adams, Wilson, Heavy Head & Gordon, 2015, p. 20). Methods used were intuition, dreams, feelings, spirituality, conversations, observations, and video-recorded observations and interventions. The research partners are five First Nations children with ASD in BC, their parents, caregivers, teachers, music therapists and others. Conversation transcripts, notes and selected coded video recordings from the research questions were compared in the analysis.

Results show that the diagnosis of autism is based on a Western deficit model and does not fit within a First Nations worldview. Music is important in the lives of the five participants and it contributes greatly to their well-being, happiness and communication.

Music was not used as a tool for inclusion nor was traditional Indigenous music used in school settings. (Lindblom, 2016a, Lindblom, 2016b). The children and their families are dependent on the dominant school, health and support systems. Therefore, it is important to decolonize music interventions and support to better meet the needs of the children, families, and ultimately, the communities.