Content Assessment: Professional Changes

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THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC THERAPY FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

The Effects of Music Therapy for Children with Autism

My intended career is occupational therapist. Children with Autism normally have difficulty interacting and communicating with other people. The play skills, activities, and interests of these children are limited most of the times. As an Occupational Therapist, I would do my best to help children with autism develop interactive skills. Occupational Therapists are knowledgeable in physiological, emotional, and social effects of an injury or illnesses. Through a person’s daily activities, occupational therapists study how they interact with their environment and their growth and development. The knowledge gained from studying a person’s daily activities and their interaction with others helps in promoting skills for living independently for people living with autism. Through evaluation and therapy, occupational therapists, parents and teachers, can help the children with autism achieve goals in classroom performance, social interaction and behavior.

Thesis Statement: The Effects of Music Therapy for Children with Autism

The Effects of Music Therapy for Children with Autism

Bharathi, G., Venugopal, A., & Vellingiri, B. (2019). Music therapy as a therapeutic tool in improving the social skills of autistic children. The Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery, 55(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41983-019-0091-x

This article investigates how music therapy improves social skills development in autistic children and whether the improvements are long lasting. The study had 54 children with mild to severe autism. They were divided into an active group and passive group. The study design had a pre-test/post test and a follow-up. For 3 months, the participants received music therapy and a 3 months follow-up was also conducted. The study found that music therapy improves social skills in children with autism and the effects are steady. The article was published in the Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery. Therefore, the information in the article was reviewed by professionals in a similar field hence ensuring its quality. The authors of the article work for the Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology in Bharathiar University. The article was published in 2019, therefore, it is up to date. The article will be useful in explaining the long-term effects of music therapy on children with autism. It will also be useful in determining what social skills are improved through music therapy.

Calleja-Bautista, M., Sanz-Cervera, P., & Tarraga-Minguez, R. (2016). The effectiveness of music therapy in autism spectrum disorder: a literature review. Psychologist Papers, 37(2), 152-160.

This article discusses how music therapy has been used as an intervention mechanism on people with autism. The researchers aimed to determine the degree of effectiveness of music therapy interventions. Of the 18 studies reviewed, there were statistically significant improvements in 11 of the studies. For the other seven studies, there were improvements but not statistically significant. The article was published in the Psychologist Papers journal. Therefore, the information in the article was reviewed by professionals in a similar field hence ensuring its quality. The quality of the article is also assured by the authors who work for the University of Valencia. The article was published in 2019, therefore; it is up to date. The article will be useful for my research since it reviews several studies. The article will make it easier to highlight differences in the studies, especially the difference in methodology and their effectiveness.

Janzen, T., & Thaut, M. (2018). Rethinking the role of music in the neurodevelopment of autism spectrum disorder. Music & Science, 1, 205920431876963. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204318769639

Janzen and Thaut investigate the potential role of music in supporting the neurodevelopment in people with autism. The researchers argue that motor and attention deficits are deeply implicated in the healthy neurodevelopment of socio-communication skills and may be key indicators of structural and functional brain dysfunction in ASD. They provide evidence for motor control and attention through developmental training based on music. Such training can be used in the treatment of autism since auditory-motor entertainment has significant effect on attention and motor functions and brain connectivity. The article was published in the SAGE Music and Science journal. Therefore, the information in the article was reviewed by professionals in a similar field hence ensuring its quality. The quality of the article is also assured by the authors who work for the Music and Health Science Research Collaboratory, Faculty of Music of Toronto. The article was published in 2018, therefore, it is up to date. The study by Janzen and Thaut will be useful as it provides a new research focus compared to previous studies. The study is a new approach in research that focuses on motor and attention functions. Previous studies have focused on improving social-emotional behaviors, communication skills, and social interaction of autistic individuals through music therapy.

Sharda, M., Tuerk, C., Chowdhury, R., Jamey, K., Foster, N., & Custo-Blanch, M. et al. (2018). Music improves social communication and auditory–motor connectivity in children with autism. Translational Psychiatry, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-018-0287-3

Sharda et al. investigate the neurobehavioral outcomes of music intervention while comparing it to a non-music intervention as the control. The interventions are to determine the effect of music on brain connectivity and social communication in school children. 51 children of ages 6 and 12 received 8-12 weeks of music intervention. The control group received a similar duration of non-music intervention. The brain activity and social communication of the participants were tested before and after the intervention. The article was published in the Translational Psychiatry journal. Therefore, the information in the article was reviewed by professionals in a similar field hence ensuring its quality. The quality of the article is also assured by the authors who work for the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Department of Psychology, University of Montreal. The article was published in 2019, therefore, it is up to date. The study finds that music intervention for 8-12 weeks improves functional brain connectivity and social communication, therefore, a useful article for my research. This study is different since it compares music intervention to non-music intervention.

Shi, Z., Lin, G., & Xie, Q. (2016). Effects of music therapy on mood, language, behavior, and social skills in children with autism: A meta-analysis. Chinese Nursing Research, 3(3), 137-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnre.2016.06.018

Shi et al. investigate the effects of music therapy on mood, language, behavior, and social skills in children with autism through a meta-analysis of previous studies. The literature search was conducted on five Chinese databases. The analysis included six articles, with 300 patients. The analysis concluded that music therapy can improve social skills, behavior, sensory perception, language, and mood in children with autism. The article was published in the Chinese Nursing Research journal. Therefore, the information in the article was reviewed by professionals in a similar field hence ensuring its quality. The quality of the article is also assured by the authors who work for the First Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University and Taiyuan Municipal No.2 People’s Hospital. The article was published in 2016, therefore, it is up to date. The article will be useful for my study as it provides evidence on the various effects of music on children with autism.

Woodman, A., Breviglia, E., Mori, Y., Golden, R., Maina, J., & Wisniewski, H. (2018). The Effect of Music on Exercise Intensity among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7(3), 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm7030038

Woodman et al. investigated the effect of music on exercise intensity in school students with autism. The researchers highlighted that children with autism are at risk for obesity, have stereotypic behaviors which negatively affects their learning, and have sleeping disorders. Various forms of exercises can therefore be used to reduce the effects of these studies. 13 students were selected for the study as they underwent structured and unstructured exercise periods for six days. Random music conditions were selected; no music, slow-tempo music, and fast-tempo music. The researchers found that the exercise intensity was highest during structured exercise and during slow music conditions. The article was published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. Therefore, the information in the article was reviewed by professionals in a similar field hence ensuring its quality. The quality of the article is also assured by the authors who work for the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences (University of Massachusetts), Boston Higashi School (Research Division), and Boston Children’s Hospital (Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience). The article was published in 2018, therefore; it is up to date. This article is different since it focuses on the effects of music on physical activities instead of brain activities like the other studies. This article will be useful for my research in highlighting the wide range of positive effects of music on children with autism.

References

Calleja-Bautista, M., Sanz-Cervera, P., & Tarraga-Minguez, R. (2016). The effectiveness of music therapy in autism spectrum disorder: a literature review. Psychologist Papers, 37(2), 152-160.

Janzen, T., & Thaut, M. (2018). Rethinking the role of music in the neurodevelopment of autism spectrum disorder. Music & Science, 1, 205920431876963. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204318769639