Music-Based Intervention Reporting for Children with Autism: Implications for Music Therapy Publication Guidelines

The concept "evidence-based practice" first appeared in the early 1990s and has since been applied in medical, behavioral, and alternative therapeutic treatment and research (Eddy, 1990; Evidence Based Medicine Working Group, 1992; Robb & Carpenter, 2009). Evidence-based practice combines practitioner wisdom with knowledge from rigorous clinical research to address the needs and desires of a client through effective treatment interventions (Detrich, 2008). It is currently considered a "powerful force in today's health care environment and has grown ... to prominence in the development of clinical standards and guidelines to improve quality of care" (Davidson et al., 2003, p. 162).Researchers in both music therapy and in other fields have evaluated the level of evidence supporting music therapy practice for children with autism. Although some have suggested that music therapy is an appropriate treatment option for children with autism (e.g., Gold, Wigram, & Elefant, 2006; National Autism Center, 2009; Reschke-Hernandez, 2011b; Whipple, 2004), all have exposed a need to validate the efficacy of music therapy with this clinical population (Accordino, Comer, & Heller, 2007; Gold et al., 2006; National Autism Center, 2009; New York State Department of Health Early Intervention Program, 1999; Reschke-Hemandez, 2011b; Romanczyk & Gillis, 2005; Whipple, 2004; Wigram & Gold, 2006). A recent historical review of music therapy treatment interventions for children with autism has indicated that intervention techniques used in the past continue to be utilized despite an absence of sufficient research evidence (Reschke-Hernandez, 2011b). One of the potential causes of this continued recycling of interventions without sufficient supporting evidence could be the result of general insufficient reporting of music-based treatment interventions for children with autism in the literature.Intervention reporting provides a detailed account of the rationale for why an intervention was chosen, how it was executed and by whom, and how others can replicate the intervention for application in practice. Published clinical research provides a venue for explaining the details of these intervention techniques through qualitative and quantitative methods and thus informs music therapy clinical practice and future research. Without detailed intervention reporting in clinical literature, music therapy clinicians cannot adequately determine the quality of a treatment intervention or the research supporting it. It is also difficult to derive accurate and complete information to replicate the study, conduct systematic reviews, or apply the intervention in practice (Des Jariais, Lyles, Crepaz, & the TREND Group, 2004; Robb & Carpenter, 2009). Inadequate intervention reporting leaves music therapists unable to validate music therapy as an evidence-based treatment option for children with autism to other professionals, clients and their families, and third party providers. Guidelines for reporting the wide variety oi music-based intervention techniques for this population in the literature are needed.Guidelines for transparently reporting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been presented in the medical literature. The Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement (CONSORT, 2010) is a free 25-item checklist to guide authors in supplying the detailed information that is necessary in a study in order for readers to adequately understand and evaluate the research. It specifies how authors should report information in all aspects of published research. Since its first publication in 1996, the CONSORT statement has had a significant positive impact on transparent research reporting, particularly in journals that have adopted the guidelines (Moher, Jones, & Lepage, 2001). "Adherence to reporting guidelines . . . decreases honest reporting errors, helps to uncover bad research practice, and improves the reliability and usefulness of publications" (Altman & Simera, 2010, p. …