Use of Music to Improve Speech Production in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Theoretical Orientation

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to review research literature on the perception and production of speech and music in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to explain the common principles and mechanisms of music and speech perception and production in the children. Pattern perception and production are a common phenomenon for speech and music. Children with ASD appear to have an intact ability to perceive and produce speech patterns and demonstrate Gestalt processing in their language acquisition such as echolalia. They also have intact auditory areas and functions to process various patterns in musical sounds. Collectively, children with ASD follow the same principles of Gestalt pattern perceptual organization for music and speech. The capacity of musical pattern perception and production might influence the speech production by activating the common mechanisms involved in both music and speech. Children with ASD might perceive important linguistic information embedded in the music stimuli and produce them as functional speech. This review provides a theoretical implication for the use of music as an effective way to enhance speech production in children with ASD. Autism is a type of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) and is defined by a certain set of behaviors. Autism is considered as a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a group of complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first 3 years of life and currently affects 1 in every 150 American children. ASD is identified as a behavioral Iy defined syndrome with a broad range of severity, resulting from brain dysfunction (Rapin & Dunn, 2003). The diagnostic schemes and description of the underlying deficits in ASD have evolved and changed since Leo Kanner's first description of infantile autism in 1943 (Prizant & Wetherby, 2005). One criterion for diagnosis, which has remained constant, however, is the difficulty in the development of social communication (American Psychiatric Association IAPA], 2000). In particular, speech and language impairment has been regarded as one of the most significant deficits in ASD (Lord & Paul, 1997; Rapin & Dunn, 2003). Music has been used for ASD treatment for decades because of the beneficial effects of musical stimuli and the positive musical responses in children with ASD (Thaut, 1999). In fact, because of the positive musical responses in children with autism, many clinicians have utilized music for development in various areas such as fine and gross motor coordination, attention span, social-interpersonal skills, concept of self, and verbal and nonverbal communication (Thaut, 1999). Music therapy literature has reported the positive effects of musical activities on cognitive, social, and sensory development for children with ASD as well as their communication and language improvement (Applebaum, Egel, Koegel, & lmhoff, 1979; Berger, 2002; Blackstock, 1978; Brownell, 2002; Buday, 1995; Edgerton, 1994; Frith, 1972; Hoskins, 1988; Kaplan & Steele, 2005; Kim, Wigram, & Gold, 2008; Kolko, Anderson, & Campbell, 1980; O'Connell, 1974; Seybold, 1971; Thaut, 1987, 1988, 1999; Walker, 1972; Whipple, 2004). Researchers concluded that music could be an effective part of intervention for communication and language development for children with ASD; however, they did not provide an explanation of how those skills or responses transferred to such nonmusical functions as speech production and use of language in children with ASD. Results of these studies did not provide the rational connection between music therapy interventions and the positive outcomes (Kaplan & Steele, 2005; Whipple, 2004). A few studies that mentioned a strong beneficial effect of music on speech and language development of children with ASD did not indicate a theoretical paradigm to validate the use of music on improving speech production. …