Current research investigating the functions of music in everyday life has identified cognitive, emotional, and social functions of music. However, previous research focuses almost exclusively on neurotypical people and rarely considers the musical experiences of autistic people. In addition, there is limited research which focuses explicitly on the musical experiences of young people on the autism spectrum. Current research exploring the functions of music may therefore not accurately represent the experiences of the autistic community. This article aims to explore the function of music in the lives of young people on the autism spectrum through a series of interviews. Eleven young people on the autism spectrum age 12 to 25 (M = 19.4) were interviewed about the function of music in their lives. An adaptive interview technique, utilizing multiple methods of communication, was employed to account for the participants’ broad communicative and personal needs. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed four key functions of music in the participants’ lives: Cognitive, Emotional, Social, and Identity. Collectively, these results provide a unique insight into the musical experiences of young people on the autism spectrum.

当前研究音乐在日常生活中的功能的研究已经确定了音乐的认知，情感和社会功能。但是，以前的研究几乎只针对典型的神经病患者，很少考虑自闭症患者的音乐经历。另外，仅有有限的研究明确地集中在自闭症谱系的年轻人的音乐经验上。因此，目前探索音乐功能的研究可能无法准确地代表自闭症社区的经历。本文旨在通过一系列访谈来探讨音乐在自闭症谱系中的年轻人生活中的作用。自闭症谱系中的11位年轻人为12至25岁（M = 19.4）接受了有关音乐在生活中的作用的采访。一种自适应采访技术，利用多种交流方法，用于解决参与者的广泛交流和个人需求。解释性现象学分析揭示了音乐在参与者生活中的四个关键功能：认知，情感，社交和认同。总的来说，这些结果为自闭症谱系中的年轻人的音乐体验提供了独特的见解。