Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
The potential benefits of music therapy as it applies to autism have long been recognized, and schools sometimes offer music therapy to their students. But even though music therapy has proven helpful for individuals from very young to long past school age, music therapy services outside these institutions remain limited.
WHO can benefit from music therapy
Music therapy supports children, adolescents and adults with autism as they work towards therapeutic goals. Music therapy can be particularly effective with this clientele because they relate well to music, a form of non-verbal communication and expression.
Music therapy helps this clientele to:
- Recognize, express and/or manage emotions
- Develop tools and resources to address emotional expression
- Improve self-esteem and confidence
- Decrease anxiety
- Improve concentration
- Enhance feelings of empowerment
- Have enjoyable experiences
- Improve self-regulation
- Explore personal relationships with music
- Diversify interests
- Enhance relaxation
- Work towards self-acceptance and expression
HOW music therapy is used
A variety of music therapy interventions, methods and techniques can be used with this clientele. The methods chosen may be receptive, improvisational, compositional, or re-recreative.
Sessions can include:
- Relaxation with musical imagery
- Song choice, listening, and discussion
- Singing and playing songs
- Lyric analysis
- Song writing and composition
- Vocal and instrumental improvisation
- Music creation using technology
- Music and movement experiences
- Music listening and visual arts experiences.
Research and references
At the Institute, we believe sharing knowledge is a fundamental part of our role. Our Resources includes a growing list of research articles, presentations, videos and other documents, all dedicated to demonstrating how music therapy can positively impact this population and many others.
You will find these references, and more:
- Bruscia's clinical techniques for improvisational music therapy in autism research: A scoping review
- The effects of structured musical activity sessions on the development of a child with autism spectrum disorder: A case study
- How voicework in music therapy helped a young girl with severe learning disabilities and autism to engage in her learning.
To read these and other sources of information, click here: Resources & references about Autism