A Parent's perspective

Sarah Dunn, Accessible Inclusive Music, UK

This presentation will share how my lived experience as a parent/carer of a physically disabled child and music educator has enabled me to identify some of the barriers individuals with physical disabilities face actively participating in music making. I will share how founding a small and emerging charity, Accessible Inclusive Music (AIM), has attempted to overcome some of the barriers faced by physically disabled children and young people across the UK, enabling them to participate in meaningful music making. Additionally, I will share practical solutions that I have explored with my son to actively participate in music making using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), including using eye gaze technology to make music and perform.

Personal and professional experience shared in this presentation will be underpinned by my own research undertaken as part of my MA in Music and Wellbeing, sharing relevant outcomes of this research including the barriers to active participation in music making faced by children and young people who are physically disabled, possible solutions to these barriers and the impact this may have on wellbeing. The presentation will culminate with how lived experience, research training and impact in the charity sector has led me to doctoral research exploring the possibilities of singing using eye gaze technology for disabled AAC users and the impact this may have on wellbeing.