Query: study autism and music

title: The Therapeutic Relationship as Predictor of Change in Music Therapy with Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
abstract: This study examined whether the therapeutic relationship in music therapy with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder predicts generalized changes in social skills. Participants (4 7 years, N 48) were assessed at baseline, 5 and 12 months. The therapeutic relationship, as observed from session videos, and the generalized change in social skills, as judged by independent blinded assessors and parents, were evaluated using standardized tools (Assessment of the Quality of Relationship; ADOS; SRS) Linear mixed effect models showed significant interaction effects between the therapeutic relationship and several outcomes at 5 and 12 months. We found the music therapeutic relationship to be an important predictor of the development of social skills, as well as communication and language specifically.

title: Which Virtual Piano Keyboard for Children with Autism? A Pilot Study
abstract: Music can be a powerful therapy for many conditions, including autism syndrome. Technology is usually intrinsically attractive for children with autism, who often interact with apps on tablets and smartphones. It can offer structured, repeatable, and coherent training tools, customizable according to the student's need and preferences. Although many apps for rehabilitation of children with autism are available, only a few of them are accessible to students with autism spectrum disorder due to complex interaction environments, the high number of items, and inappropriate stimuli offered. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, no apps are available for teaching music to people with autism. The Suoniamo project aims to fill this gap by designing an accessible app for teaching piano playing to students with autism. Customization is a key feature when teaching persons with special needs, even more so if dealing with the complexity of the autism spectrum disorder. This paper describes a pilot test with four adolescents with autism, aimed at evaluating the usability of the Suoniamo app user interfaces for the piano keyboard in three different configurations.

title: Experiences of music therapy students working as camp counselors for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A thematic analysis
abstract: The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of music therapy students working as camp counselors for individuals with ASD. We conducted semi structured interviews with graduate and undergraduate students (N 6) and used thematic analysis to analyze data. Three major themes and nine supporting subthemes emerged. The first theme, Various Differences, was supported by four subthemes: Despite having similar diagnoses, all campers are highly idiosyncratic; Success is different for each camper; Camp is unique as nobody is different because everybody is different; and Counselors have a unique and holistic relationship with campers. The second theme, Counselor Learning, was supported by three subthemes: Counselors experienced changed perspectives and learned from the campers; Counselors learned about and practiced techniques through music therapy observations; and Counselors gained confidence, patience, and experienced personal growth. The third theme, Positive Experience, was supported by two subthemes: Being a counselor for individuals with ASD is a rewarding experience; and Counselors had supportive relationships with their peers. Being a camp counselor for individuals with ASD was a uniquely positive learning experience that provided students with a deeper and more holistic understanding of ASD and themselves as prospective clinicians.

title: Evaluation of the Use of Real time 3D Graphics to Augment Therapeutic Music Sessions for Young People on the Autism Spectrum
abstract: The present research evaluates the effectiveness of CymaSense, a real time 3D visualisation application developed by the authors, as a means of improving the communicative behaviours of autistic participants through the addition of a visual modality within therapeutic music sessions. Autism spectrum condition (ASC) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that can affect people in a number of ways, commonly through difficulties in communication. A multi sensory approach within music sessions encourages people with ASC to engage more with the act of creating music, and with the therapists, increasing their level of communication and social interaction beyond the sessions. This article presents a study evaluating the use of CymaSense within a series of therapeutic music sessions, and a follow up series of semi structured interviews. Eight adults with ASC participated in 12 sessions using a single case experimental design approach over a total period of 19 weeks. Using qualitative and quantitative data, the results show an increase in communicative behaviour, for both verbal and non verbal participants, resulting from the use of CymaSense. Qualitative feedback from interviews provided insight into the factors that contribute to the successful use of the application, as well as aspects that could be improved.

title: Impacts of using a social robot to teach music to children with low functioning autism
abstract: This article endeavors to present the impact of conducting robot assisted music based intervention sessions for children with low functioning (LF) autism. To this end, a drum/xylophone playing robot is used to teach basic concepts of how to play the instruments to four participants with LF autism during nine educational sessions. The main findings of this study are compared to similar studies conducted with children with high functioning autism. Our main findings indicated that the stereotyped behaviors of all the subjects decreased during the course of the program with an approximate large Cohen's d effect size. Moreover, the children showed some improvement in imitation, joint attention, and social skills from the Pre Test to Post Test. In addition, regarding music education, we indicated that while the children could not pass a test on the music notes or reading music phrases items because of their cognitive deficits, they showed acceptable improvements (with a large Cohen's d effect size) in the Stambak Rhythm Reproduction Test, which means that some rhythm learning occurred for the LF participants. In addition, we indicated that parenting stress levels decreased during the program. This study presents some potential possibilities of performing robot assisted interventions for children with LF autism.

title: Utilizing social virtual reality robot (V2R) for music education to children with high functioning autism
abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) technology is a growing technology that has been used in various fields of psychology, education, and therapy. One group of potential users of VR are children with autism who need education and have poor social interactions; this technology could help them improve their social skills through real world simulation. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of conducting virtual music education programs with automatic assessment system for children with autism at treatment/research centers without the need to purchase a robot, resulting in the possibility of offering schedules on a larger scale and at a lower cost. Intervention sessions were conducted for five children with high functioning autism ranging in age from 6 to 8 years old during 20 weeks which includes a baseline session, a pre test, training sessions, a post test, and a follow up test. Each music education sessions involved teaching different notes and pieces of music according to the child's cooperation, accuracy, and skill level utilizing virtual reality robots and virtual musical instruments. Actually, by analysis of psychological tests, and questionnaires conducted by a psychologist, we observe slight improvements in cognitive skills because of the ceiling effect. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the proposed method was proved by conducting statistical analysis on the child's performance data during the music education sessions which were obtained by using both video coding and the proposed automatic assessment system. Consequently, a general upward trend in the musical ability of participants was shown to occur in these sessions, which warrants future studies in this field.

title: Introducing music therapy techniques into early years special needs education for young children with autism in China
abstract: This research thesis explores the introduction of a musical intervention (Developing Communication Through Music, DCTM) for young children with autism in China. The intervention was designed to combine techniques from both music therapy and Intensive Interaction in order to support the development of children whose social communication and social abilities are impaired. There is evidence about the effectiveness of both these techniques in the UK and other countries, but no such evidence in China. This research therefore represents the first systematic exploration of an intervention combining music therapy with Intensive Interaction in the cultural context of China, where these techniques are rare and where teacher training for autism is under developed. Using the established principles of action research this study aimed to explore how DCTM musical intervention could be implemented within the current educational system in one community centre. The action focused on the introduction of DCTM in two cycles, first with the DCTM implemented by the researcher (a music therapist) and the second implemented by local staff. The goal was to improve understanding of how music can be used to help young children with autism in tandem with brining about beneficial change for young children and the adults communicating with and teaching them. There were multiple methods used when collecting data, the most important of which included video recordings, field notes and reflective journals regarding key children, which were all systematically analysed in relationship to the learning for the children and staff. Video recording and informal discussion were the main methods based on the merging principles of Nordoff Robbins and Intensive Interaction. The young children with autism responded differently to the methods and approach of DCTM in this project. In particular, the children responded better in cycle 1 than in cycle 2. Upbeat music had a particularly positive impact in terms of social communication and sharing attention. The researcher and local staff faced considerable challenges when incorporating the new techniques into their daily teaching. The findings indicate that participating teachers need more help to develop musical and intervention skills and make the necessary micro adjustments needed to engage and hold the children's interest. Additionally, teacher training would need to incorporate relevant DCTM competencies. If this can be achieved, then more children with autism, or children with similar difficulties, could benefit from DCTM. The action research process, findings, and supporting data, suggest that the local educators may be positively influenced by this innovative method.

title: Music Therapy and Social Skills in Autism: Underlying Biological Mechanisms
abstract: (c) 2018 Advanced Biomedical Research Published by Wolters Kluwer Medknow To the Editor, Ghasemtabar et ] sought to investigate the role of music therapy (MT) in the amelioration of autistic symptoms in a sample of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) The authors included 27 children with a moderate performance level on the childhood autism rating scale questionnaire. The parent's form of the social skills rating system scale P was administered at three time points of the study: a pretest, a posttest, and at a 2 month follow up point. The MT followed the Orff Schulwerk with the aid of two music therapists. The results of the clinical trial noted that social skills were significantly enhanced among children with autism in the MT intervention, even after 2 months of follow up.

title: Increasing On Task Behavior of Students with Autism using Classical Music
abstract: On task behavior is linked to higher achievement in school, but students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often have difficulty staying on task. Effective interventions are needed to help students with ASD stay on task and be successful at school. This study provided classical music during independent student work to determine if playing classical music during independent learning activities would increase on task behavior. This study utilized a single case AB design with three participants. During the baseline phase, no music was played while students worked independently. During the intervention phase, classical music was played while students completed their assignments. Results showed varied effectiveness, but all participants had increased on task behavior during the intervention phase. This indicates that using classical music might be an effective strategy to increase on task behaviors in for some students receiving special education services for ASD.

title: The Effects of a Course of Motor Activities Along with Music on the Balance, Running Speed and Agility in Children with Autism
abstract: Autism is one of the most common disorders affecting children. People with Autism disorder have problems with many motor skills, such as balance and walking speed. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of a period of motor activities along with music on balance performance and running speed in the children between 6 to 9 years old suffering from autism disorder.  This study was a semi experimental research. Among children with autism disorders in care centers of autistic children in 2017 in Isfahan, 16 children were selected using screening tests. They were randomly divided into two groups (interventional and control) and in each group 8 patients using the Bruninx Oseretsky test as a pre test, after assessing balance performance and running speed and agility. Then, the interventional group performed motor activities along with music for 8 weeks and 3 sessions per week. Finally, all subjects were subjected to post test using balance performance and running speed. In order to investigate the natural distribution of data, Shapiro Wilco test was used and the covariance analysis by SPSS 21 was used for the research hypothesis.  The findings of this study showed that the groups were homogeneous in terms of age, IQ and severity of autism. The findings of this study also showed that motor activities along with music in the interventional group was effective on the balance performance, running speed and agility of children suffering from autism disorder and they were significantly improved compared with the control group (P=0.001)  According to the results, motor activity can be considered with music to improve balance performance, speed and agility in children with Autism disorder. Hence, the use of motor activity along with music is suggested as a suitable interventional method for children with Autism disorder.