Customizing and Evaluating Accessible Multisensory Music Experiences with Pre-Verbal Children—A Case Study on the Perception of Musical Haptics Using Participatory Design with Proxies

Research on Accessible Digital Musical Instruments (ADMIs) has highlighted the need for participatory design methods, i.e., to actively include users as co-designers and informants in process. However, very little work explored how pre-verbal children with Profound Multiple Disabilities (PMLD) can be involved such processes. In this paper, we apply in-depth qualitative mixed methodologies a case study four students PMLD. Using Participatory Design Proxies (PDwP), assess these customization evaluation of multisensory music experience intended large-scale ADMI. Results from an experiment focused communication musical haptics diversity employed interaction strategies used by children, accessibility limitations current design, importance using multifaceted variety quantitative methods arrive at more informed conclusions when applying proxies methodology.