Randomised controlled trial of improvisational music therapy’s effectiveness for

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/12/2

BMC Pediatrics, Vol. 12 (2012), pp. 2
Randomised controlled trial of improvisational music therapy’s effectiveness for children with autism spectrum disorders
Geretsegger, M., Holck, U., & Gold, C.

Abstract:

Impaired or delayed development in social interaction and communication are the core characteristics of ASD. One of the primary goals for children with ASD is to create meaningful language and social communication skills. Music therapy has been used to treat clients with autism for a long period of time. Thus far, findings only show that music therapy may enhance skills of social communication (e.g. – initiating and responding). Improvisational music therapy for children with ASD is catered to the client and makes use of the potential for social engagement and expression of emotions occurring through improvisational music making. Improvisational music therapy provides a meaningful framework that impersonates the mother-infant interaction (i.e. – shared interaction, turn-taking, and musical and emotional attunement (congruency?)).
The big question when it comes to working with this cliental population is, Does improvisational music therapy improve core symptoms of ASD in a generalized setting outside of the therapeutic sessions?

Objectives

The objectives of this study are as follows:

1.) To determine whether music therapy is superior to standard care in improving social communicative skills in children with ASD as assessed by independent clinicians at the end of the treatment period.

2.) To determine whether music therapy is superior to standard care in improving social responsiveness in children with ASD as assessed by parents/guardians at the end of the treatment period.

3.) To determine whether the response varies with variation of treatment intensity.

4.) To determine how the development of social communicative skills proceeds until follow-up twelve months after the start of treatment.

The prediction for this case study was that the clients social and communication skills would improve better with music therapy compared to standard care.

Method:
The study included children from health institutions. The ages were between 4-6. Children with autism that were included in the study did not have any serious sensory disorder, no previous music therapy experience, and was a mixed group of both nonverbal and verbal children

Assessment:
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule was used to measure outcome of participants.
Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was used to assess cognitive ability of participants.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following three conditions:

1. High-intensity music therapy 2. Low-intensity music therapy 3. Standard care

The study was to be five months. The duration of sessions were to be 30 minutes. Therapists conducting the music therapy sessions were qualified music therapists with clinical experience of working with children with ASD.

Keywords: Autism, Improvisational Music Therapy, Children