Effects of a music therapy group intervention on enhancing social skills in children with autism
LaGasse AB
Journal of music therapy · 65 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2014-07-22 · J Music Ther · vol. 51 · issue 3 · pp. 250–275
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Cited
- 175 citations · more than 95% of similar papers · 4.1× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 39 works
- Access
- Paywalled
- Research areas
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Music Therapy and Health · Family and Disability Support Research
- Keywords
- Music therapy, Joint attention, Psychology, Autism, Psychological intervention, Social skills, Intervention (counseling), Clinical psychology, Checklist, Autism spectrum disorder, Group psychotherapy, Social relation, Developmental psychology, Psychotherapist, Psychiatry, Social psychology, Cognitive psychology
- MeSH
- humans, music therapy, social behavior, peer group, cognition disorders, child development disorders, pervasive, developmental disabilities, psychotherapy, group, music, child, female, male, social skills
1 author
From US
- A Blythe LaGasse · correspondingColorado State University
Abstract
Background
Research indicates that music therapy can improve social behaviors and joint attention in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); however, more research on the use of music therapy interventions for social skills is needed to determine the impact of group music therapy.
Objective
To examine the effects of a music therapy group intervention on eye gaze, joint attention, and communication in children with ASD.
Method
Seventeen children, ages 6 to 9, with a diagnosis of ASD were randomly assigned to the music therapy group (MTG) or the no-music social skills group (SSG). Children participated in ten 50-minute group sessions over a period of 5 weeks. All group sessions were designed to target social skills. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), and video analysis of sessions were used to evaluate changes in social behavior.
Results
There were significant between-group differences for joint attention with peers and eye gaze towards persons, with participants in the MTG demonstrating greater gains. There were no significant between-group differences for initiation of communication, response to communication, or social withdraw/behaviors. There was a significant interaction between time and group for SRS scores, with improvements for the MTG but not the SSG. Scores on the ATEC did not differ over time between the MTG and SSG.
Conclusions
The results of this study support further research on the use of music therapy group interventions for social skills in children with ASD. Statistical results demonstrate initial support for the use of music therapy social groups to develop joint attention.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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