THE EFFECT MUSIC THERAPY IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: A SCOPING REVIEW
Abstract
To carry out a scoping review of the scientific literature to help answer the question: “What do studies published from January 2014 until February 2021bring about the effect of music therapy in children with autism?”; summarize and disseminate research data and identify existing gaps. Method: PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): checklist and explanation (Tricco et al., 2018). Search strategies were developed in national and international databases in health sciences: PUBMED, EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE, PSYCHINFO, SCOPUS and LILACS to retrieve articles published between 2014 and February 2021. Results: 50 articles were read in full and analyzed by reviewers, and 16 were selected for their eligibility. Only one article failed to determine the gains of music therapy. Conclusions: The results of this review showed the positive effects of music therapy for communication and social interaction in children with autism. Most of the works are case studies, and the sample size is small, but the results achieved were quite favorable. Some works invested in long-term accompaniments to verify that the benefits of music therapy are stable and lasting; more follow-up work needs to be done and published. This review focused on the lack of a father figure in the music therapy process, a point that could be analyzed in future research.
Downloads
References
Bharathi, G., Venugopal, A., & Vellingiri, B. (2019). Music Therapy as a Therapeutic Tool in Improving the Social Skills of Autistic Children. Egypt J Neurol Psychiatry Neurosurg, 55, 44. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41983-019-0091-x.
Bieleninik, L., Geretsegger, M., Mössler, K., Assmus, J., Thompson, G., Gattino, G. … Gold, C. (2017). Effects of Improvisational Music Therapy vs Enhanced Standard Care on Symptom Severety Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The TIME-A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 318(6):525-535. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.9478.
Carpente, J. A. (2017). Investigating the Effectiveness of Developmental, Individual Difference, Ralationship-Based (DIR) Improvisational Music Therapy Program on Social Communication for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Music Therapy Perspectives, 35(2)160-174. doi: 10.1093/mtp/miw013.
Charoenphol, N., Chiengchana, N., & Tayrattanachai, N. (2019). The Effects of Parent-child Interactive Music Therapy on Sentence Verbalization in a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Study. MJM, 8:86-95. Recuperado de
https://ejournal.upsi.edu.my/index.php/MJM/article/view/1878
Freire, M., Martelli, J., Estanislau, G., Parizzi, B. (2018). O Desenvolvimento Musical de Crianças com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo em Musicoterapia: Revisão de Literature e Relato de Caso. Orfeu, 3(1), 145-171. doi: 105965/2525530403012018145.
Geretsegger, M., Elefant, C., Mössler, K.A., Gold, C. (2014). Music Therapy for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014(6):CD004381. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004381.
Geretsegger, M., Holck, U., Carpente, J. A., Elefant, C., Kim J., Gold, C. (2015). Common Characteristics of Improvisational Approaches in Music Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Developing Treatment Guidelines. J Music Ther, 52(2):258-81. doi: 10.1093/jmt/thv005.
Ghasemtabar, S. N., Hosseini, M., Fayyaz, I., Arab, S., Naghashian, A., Poudineh, Z. (2015). Music therapy: An Effective Approach in Improving Social Skills of Children with Autism. Adv Biomed Res, 4: 157. doi: 10.4103/2277-9175.161584.
LaGasse, A. B. (2014). Effects of a Music Therapy Group Intervention on Enhancing Social Skills in Children with Autism. J Music Ther, 51(03):250-75. doi: 10.1093/jmt/thu012.
Lucero, A., Vivés, J.-M., & Rosi, F. S. (2021). A Função Constitutive da Voz e o Poder
da Música no Tratamento do Autismo. Psicologia em Estudo, doi: https://doi.org/10.4025/psicolestud.v26i0.48054.
McGowan, J., Sampson, M., Salzwedel, D., Cogo, E., Foerster, V., Lefebvre, C. (2016). PRESS – Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies: 2015 Guideline Explanation and Elaboration. (PRESS E&E). Otawa: CADTH.
Magraner, J. S. B., & Valero, G. B. (2016). La Musicoterapia em el Contexto Escolar: Estudio de un Caso con Transtorno del Espectro Autista. Revista Electrônica de LEEME, 37:1-19. Recuperado de
https://musica.rediris.es/leeme
Mössler, K., Gold, C., Abmus, J., Schumacher, K., Calvet, C., Reimer, S. … Schmid, W. (2019). The Therapeutic Relationship as Predictor of Change in Music Therapy with Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism and Dev Disorder, 49(7):2795-2809. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3306-y.
Nagaishi, K. Y., & Cipullo, M. A. T. (2017). Canção como Recurso de Trabalho para
Pscólogos: um levantamento de Artigos Publicados. Boletim de Psicologia,
v. 67, n. 146:067-082. ISNN 0006-5943.
Nielsen, J. B., & Holck, U. (2020). Synchronicity in Improvisational Music Therapy – Developing in Intersubjective Field with a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 29:2,112-131. doi: 10.1080/08098131.2019.1680571.
Rabeyron, T., del Canto, J. P. R., Carasco, E., Bissson, V., Vrait, F. X., Berna, F., Bonnot, O. (2020). A Randomized Controlled Trial of 25 Sessions Comparing Music Therapy and Music Listening for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Psychiatry Res, 293:113377. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113377.
Rojas, D.G., Angulo, G. P., & Rodrigues, R. M. S. (2018). Efectos de la Musicoterapia en el Transtorno de Espectro Autista. Revista de Educación Inclusiva, 11(1), 175-192. Recuperado de
https://revistaeducacioninclusiva.es/index.php/REI/article/view/317
Salomon-Gimmon, M., & Elefant, C. (2019). Development of Vocal Communication in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder During Improvisational Music Therapy. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 28:3, 174-192. doi: 10.1080/08098131.2018.1529698.
Sharda, M., Tuerk, C., Chowdhury, R., Jamey, K., Foster, N., Custo-Blanch, M. … Hyde, K. (2018). Music Improves Social Communication and Auditory-Motor Connectivity in Children with Autism. Transl Psychiatry, 8(1):231. doi: 10.1038/s41398-018-0287-3.
Sharda, M., Silani, G., Specht, K., Tillmann, J., Nater, U., Gold, C. (2019). Music Therapy for Children with Autism: Investigating Social Behaviour Through Music. Lancet Child Adolesc Health; 3(11):759-761. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30265-2.
Thompson, G. (2012). Family-centered Music Therapy in the Home Environment: Promoting Interpersonal Engagement Between Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Parents. Music Therapy Perspectives, 30(2):109-116. doi: 10.1093/mtp/30.2.109.
Thompson, G., McFerran, K., & Gold, C. (2014). Family-centred music Therapy to Promote Social Engagement in Young Children with Severe Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Study. Child: Care, Health Dev, 40(6):840-52. doi: 10.1111/cch.12121.
Thompson, G. A. (2018). Long-term Perspectives of Family Quality of Life Following Music Therapy with Young Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Phenomenoligical Study. J Music Ther, 54(4):432-459. doi: 10.1093/jmt/thx013.
Tricco, A. C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O'Brien, K. K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D. … Straus, S. E. (2018). PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. Ann Intern Med, 169(7):467-473. doi: 107326/M18-0850.
Zorba, R.S., Akçamete, G., & Özcan, D. (2020). The Analysis of the Music Therapy Program’s Effect on Turn-sharing Skills and Expressing Feelings of Children with Autismo Spectrum Disorder. Croatian Journal of Education, 22(2):631-656. doi: 10.15516/cje.v22i2.3405.
Copyright (c) 2025 Psicologia em Estudo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
As opiniões emitidas, são de exclusiva responsabilidade do(s) autor(es). Ao submeterem o manuscrito ao Conselho Editorial de Psicologia em Estudo, o(s) autor(es) assume(m) a responsabilidade de não ter previamente publicado ou submetido o mesmo manuscrito por outro periódico. Em caso de autoria múltipla, o manuscrito deve vir acompanhado de autorização assinada por todos os autores. Artigos aceitos para publicação passam a ser propriedade da revista, podendo ser remixados e reaproveitados conforme prevê a licença Creative Commons CC-BY.
The opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of the author (s). When submitting the manuscript to the Editorial Board of Study Psychology, the author (s) assumes responsibility for not having previously published or submitted the same manuscript by another journal. In case of multiple authorship, the manuscript must be accompanied by an authorization signed by all authors. Articles accepted for publication become the property of the journal, and can be remixed and reused as provided for in theby a license Creative Commons CC-BY.
