Making a connection: randomised controlled trial of family centred music therapy for young children with autism spectrum disorder

© 2012 Dr. Grace ThompsonYoung children with autism spectrum disorder vary greatly in their social and communication skills, from non-verbal and difficult to engage socially, to using some sentences and showing social interest in other people. For those children who are non-verbal and difficult to engage socially, there is minimal evidence to help parents and early childhood intervention service providers determine which interventions will most successfully foster the social communication development of these young children. There is, however, increasing awareness in the literature of the positive impacts a strong parent-child relationship can have on social communication development in both typically developing children and children with ASD. The use of music therapy to assist children with autism to develop social communication skills has a long history, dating back to the 1960s. While the use of music therapy with children who have social communication impairments has been widely described, evidence into the effectiveness of music therapy with children with autism spectrum disorder has primarily taken the form of case studies, small quasi experimental research and small experimental designs. This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate whether family-centred music therapy positively influenced the social communication development of preschool aged children with severe autism spectrum disorder. 23 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years and their families were randomly allocated to either the treatment group or the control; with each participant receiving 16 weeks of family-centred music therapy sessions which took place in the family home. A variety of data was collected including 4 standardised measures, 1 non-standardised measure, a survey of the use of music in the home, and a structured interview with the participating parent. Quantitative analysis showed that children in the treatment group made improvements in the quality of their social interactions in the home and community, as well as their level of engagement within the music therapy sessions. The qualitative and mixed data analysis suggested that there were also improvements in the closeness of the parent-child relationship. Further, parents were able to adapt music activities to support their child in various activities in the home and community. These outcomes provide preliminary support for family-centred music therapy’s effectiveness in promoting developmental change in children’s social communication skills, and fostering greater closeness in the parent-child relationship