An Investigation of a Classroom-Based Specialized Music Therapy Model for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Voices Together Using the VOICSS^™Method

Abstract

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have marked deficits in social communication skills, which can challenge their ability to participate in academic and social activities. Music therapy is a popular intervention for children with ASD, and although research evidence supporting its effectiveness is growing, methodological flaws limit interpretation. The present study proposes a new measure, the DUACS, to assess outcomes associated with a group music therapy program, Voices Together. Participants were 64 elementary students from nine self-contained autism classrooms who attended 16 weekly intervention sessions. Teacher-reported behavior questionnaires and direct student behavioral measures were administered at baseline, during, and after treatment. Increases in communication and social skills suggested program effectiveness, particularly among students with higher baseline skills. Further investigation of this program approach will help to better understand its mechanisms and for whom it works best.

Music therapy improves social interaction and verbal communication skill among children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Our systematic and meta-analysis reviewed studies based on a literature search according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We identified 16 studies fulfilling the criteria for the systematic review and 11 studies for meta-analysis [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. The characteristics of the included study are presented in Table 1.…”

“…The efficacy of MT on verbal communication, reported by five studies [12,14,18,24,25], was evaluated through meta-analysis. The data were derived from a total of 783 patients (302 versus 481 for intervention versus control, respectively).…”

Participation à une activité de chorale et retombées en littératie : une étude de cas auprès de trois élèves autistes du primaire ayant une déficience intellectuelle

“…Ainsi, il apparait essentiel de proposer des approches alternatives plus adaptées aux besoins des enfants autistes. Des interventions artistiques intégrant la musique, par exemple, sont de plus en plus suggérées dans la littérature et auraient des retombées positives auprès d'enfants autistes au plan du langage et des habiletés sociales (Cook et al, 2019;Geretsegger et al, 2014;Ghasemtabar et al, 2015;LaGasse, 2014;Schmid et al, 2020). D'abord, les interventions musicales proposent des activités agréables où les enfants sont invités à interagir avec d'autres personnes.…”

“…Enfin, une récente revue de la littérature sur les interventions musicales réalisées en groupe a relevé d'autres bienfaits pour soutenir le développement social et langagier d'enfants autistes âgés de 6 à 12 ans (Bédard-Bruyère et al, 2022). Dans certains cas, les programmes musicaux utilisant des chansons permettraient aux participants autistes d'améliorer leurs habiletés de communication (Mendelson et al, 2016;Schmid et al, 2020). Plusieurs interventions plaçaient aussi les enfants autistes dans une posture active en leur offrant des occasions d'interagir et de s'exprimer par la pratique de chansons, ou parfois même en partageant leur ressenti (Cook et al, 2019;Eilat et Raichel, 2016;Mendelson et al, 2016).…”

Intervenção de musicoterapia nos sinais vitais de crianças com transtorno do espectro autista: Estudo piloto

“…Assim, a intervenção de musicoterapia compreende uma importante abordagem popular para crianças com TEA, cujas evidências científicas encontram-se em constante avanço, existindo, porém, limitações metodológicas que reduzem o potencial de generalização dos resultados obtidos e que podem predizer seu real efeito nas habilidades sociais. Por isso, ressalta-se a importância de estudar mecanismos de mudança que as experiências musicais podem proporcionar para o desenvolvimento de crianças com TEA (Schmid et al, 2020), com destaque para a relação com a variação de sinais vitais durante a abordagem terapêutica.…”