Music Therapy and Autistic Children

Paper Summary:

Researchers agree that there needs to be more research done on the effect of music therapy on autistic children. The paper shows that while case studies tentatively established a link between music therapy and the reduction of disruptive behavior (head-jerking and screaming, for example), more research is needed to establish positively the effects of music therapy on autism in children.

From the Paper:

"Using the self-reports of adults with autism, Toigo (1992) argues that music therapy is well suited to assisting individuals with autism.There are very few studies that have examined the effectiveness of music therapy with individuals with autism. Indeed, the music therapy profession itself recognises that there is a need to conduct sound research to evaluate the efficacy of music therapy and, in particular, to develop reliable measures of change that may occurduring intervention (Toolan & Coleman, 1994; Wimpory, Chadwick, & Nash,1995). Some research reports in this area rely on single case studies (Monti, 1985).In others, the intervention procedures and the characteristics of the participants arenot clearly explained (Hairston, 1990;)"

More papers on Music Therapy and Autistic Children:

• Research Paper # 111974 : "Music Therapy and Autism"
• Research Paper # 117806 : "Music Therapy"
• Term Paper # 136865 : "Music Therapy: Helping both the Young and the Old"

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