Authors: Mathieu Pater, Tom Van Yperen.
Music therapy is often used to improve the social skills of children with autism. In this study, the development of social skills of an 8-year-old boy, diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), was monitored before and during music therapy. At the start, he experienced many difficulties in his contact with other children, which made him lose more and more of his own self-confidence. He was offered 20 weeks of music therapy. The development was monitored by means of a weekly questionnaire completed by the boy's mother.
The weekly scores show significant progress compared to baseline in the areas of 'Making eye contact','Concentration', 'Coping with changes', 'Verbal communication', 'Joint Attention', 'Taking the other person into account', and 'Taking Initiative'. This progress is confirmed by the VISK scores of different informants, all showing significant progress. This case description offers an indication that music therapy may support development, although further research is required
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