Journal of Music Therapy. XU (2). 2004.90-106 © 2004 by the American Music Therapy Association Music in Intervention for Children and Adolescents with Autism:

This meta-analysis of 12 dependent variables from 9 quanti-tative studies comparing music to no-music conditions dur-ing treatment of children and adolescents with autism re-suited in an overall effect size of d =.77 and a mean weighted correlation of r =.36 (p =.00). Since the confidence interval did not include O, results were considered to be significant. All effects were in a positive direction, indicating benefits of the use of music in intervention. The homogeneity Q value was not significant (p =.83); therefore, results of included studies are considered to be homogeneous and explained by the overall effect size. The significant effect size, com-bined with the homogeneity of the studies, leads to the con-clusion that aft music intervention, regardless of purpose or implementation, has been effective for children and adoles-cents with autism. Included studies are described in terms of type of dependent variables measured; theoretical approach; number of subjects in treatment sessions; participation in and use, selection, and presentation of music; researcher discipline; published or unpublished source; and subject age. Clinical implications as well as recommendations for fu-ture research are discussed. According to the National Center on Birth Defects and Develop-mental Disabilities of the Centers for Disease Control (n.d.), the in-cidence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in the United States is not known. It is clear, however, that the rate of diagnosis of chil-dren has increased in recent years to the point that more than 15,000 3- through 5-year-old children and 78,000 6- through 21-year-old students received federally funded services during the 2000-2001 school year based on a diagnosis of autism. This does not include students with ASDs classified by a different category or re-ceiving regular classroom, private school, or home school education