A Systematic Review of Music Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Music therapy has been suggested to be effective in Autism. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of music therapy as a potential treatment option for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. To obtain published records, a PubMed search was conducted with the search term “music therapy autism,” which generated 187 studies. Each study was evaluated for relativity to the topic at hand. The remaining 151 articles were assessed for support status, as well as other later suggested research, in order to more confidently support music therapy as a treatment option for ASD patients. Approximately 79% of the articles support music therapy as an effective way to reduce symptoms of ASD, including social communication issues, vocal stereotypies, stimming, and emotional outbursts in stressful situations. 44 articles (29%), both neutral and supporting in status, suggest further research is needed to move forward more confidently with music therapy as a treatment for ASD. This systematic review implies that music therapy is sufficiently supported as an effective means for reducing ASD symptoms and can be considered in the repertoire of treatment options available to those who are diagnosed with ASD