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Catalog of Assessment Tools

Musical Functional Assessment Profile (MFAP)/ Perfil Funcional Musical (PFM)

To assess strengths, challenges, difficulties and supports provided in seven developmental functions, delineate music therapy goals and intervention planning, provide recommendations for the environment.

Title (Acronym) Musical Functional Assessment Profile (MFAP)/ Perfil Funcional Musical (PFM)
Author(s) Nuria Inés Alicia Marsimian (Argentina)
Publication date 2019, 2025
Publisher info MFAP Manual. Spanish version. Manual del Perfil Funcional Musical (PFM). Not published. Contact nuriamarsimian@gmail.com
Purpose To assess strengths, challenges, difficulties and supports provided in seven developmental functions, delineate music therapy goals and intervention planning, provide recommendations for the environment.
Test category Test, Observational
Population Children and adolescents with autism spectrum and neurodevelopmental conditions
Scores

7 functions: Social interaction, communication and language, flexibility and anticipation, symbolization, memory functions, motor functions and sensory functions.

Raw scores are obtained for each domain and its subdomains.

Total of 130 assessment items organized from a developmental perspective. The items present conditional logics, according to age and language level.

Five-option scale, considering levels of support (physical, visual, verbal and gestural).
Administration Individual. With support from primary caregivers
Time

4 sessions x 30 minutes

Designed to be used as an initial assessment and for follow-up assessment
Comments
  • Originally developed in Spanish
  • Administered by a trained music therapist
  • Specialized training is required
  • Specific procedures are required to carry out the assessment
  • Content validity evidence and two publications
  • The author has developed the MFAP Manual, and is currently validating the usability of PFMapp, technological application of the tool.
CROSS REFERENCES

Marsimian, N. I. A., & Nuzzi, M. (2025). Presentation of the Postgraduate Course in Music Therapy and the Autism Spectrum: Training and Specialization for Music Therapists in Latin America. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 25(3). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v25i3.4621

Marsimian, N. I. A. (2024). Reflections on Supervision in Music Therapy in the Context of Autism. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v24i2.3731

Marsimian, N. (March, 16, 2024). Inclusion of caregivers in the implementation of the Musical Functional Assessment Profile in Autism (MFAP) assessment tool. Music Therapy with Families in the Americas. Online Event. Music therapy with families hub. https://www.mdw.ac.at/mt-family/upcoming-events/03-2024/

Marsimian N. (2024). Perfil Funcional Musical en Autismo (PFM). XII Simposio Latinoamericano de Musicoterapia. https://youtu.be/C5m6f3bUNyI

Marsimian, N. (2023). Assessment processes in Music Therapy. Practical application in a case of a child with Autism. Revista Científica De Musicoterapia Y Disciplinas Afines, 8, 033. https://doi.org/10.24215/27186199e033

Musical Care International Network (MCIN) (2023). Completion of the content validity process of a music therapy assessment tool called Musical Functional Assessment Profile in Autism (MFAP). https://musicalcareresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/musical-care-international-network-small-grant-report-nuria-marsimian-argentina.pdf

Reference

Marsimian, N. (2025). The development and design of the Musical Functional Assessment Profile (MFAP) in autism. Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.56883/aijmt.2024.42

Marsimian, N. (2019). Protocolo de evaluación de funciones musicales en Trastorno del Espectro del Autismo. Revista Digital Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Musicoterapia para la Primera Infancia, 4(1), 29-33. https://online.fliphtml5.com/cybsx/npsh/
REVIEW None
Description The Musical Functional Assessment Profile (MFAP), originally developed in Spanish as Perfil Funcional Musical (PFM), is an observational assessment tool to provide qualitative and descriptive information about the functionality of the child and adolescent on the autism spectrum and neurodevelopmental conditions in a music experienced-based frame. It assesses seven developmental functions: social interaction, communication and language, flexibility and anticipation, symbolization, memory functions, motor functions and sensory functions. The MFAP values strengths, challenges, difficulties and supports provided, from the perspective of neurodiversity. It collaborates in the establishment of music therapy goals and the intervention planning related to a person-centered and a strength-based approach. It also provides recommendations for the environment.