Autism: Relational Factors in Music Therapy (Science Daily)
It may not be surprising that good relationships lead to good outcomes, as meaningful relational experiences are crucial for all of us in our daily lives. However, developing a relationship with a child with autism can be hampered by the level of symptoms that interfere with the typical development of emotional and social skills.
In a new study, researchers from GAMUT, Uni Research Health, and the University of Bergen have shown that the quality of the therapeutic relationship predicts widespread changes in social skills in children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
This prediction study included 48 children between the ages of 4 and 7 who received weekly improvisational music therapy over a 5-month period. Outcomes related to the children's social skills were measured before and after treatment. Based on session videos, researchers assessed the relationship between the child and the therapist.
The results of this study show a significant reduction in symptoms if a relationship developed in which the therapist was emotionally and musically attuned to the child's expressions. Improved communication and language skills were particularly associated with the quality of the therapeutic relationship.
Tuning as a mechanism of change
Attunement processes between humans are particularly described for early interactions between infants and their caregivers. It has been suggested that the caregiver's ability to tune into and synchronize with the infant's movements, rhythms, and affects influences attachment and the development of social understanding. Within these harmonized musical exchanges, infant experiences are emotionally experienced and understood.
In music therapy with children with autism, therapists try to transfer the principles of early interaction processes by creating music that is specifically tailored to the child's sounds, movements, postures, and emotions. This should allow for moments of synchronization and attunement, explains Karin Mössler at Uni Research.
Mössler is the principal investigator of the study.
Children with childhood autism
Focusing on musical and emotional attunement may be especially important for children with low-functioning childhood autism, as it may be especially powerful when addressing sensory processing, affect regulation, or deviations related to the child's movements, all of which may be crucially affected in these children. Although the primary results of a related study investigating the effects of music therapy with children with autism did not show that music therapy works better than other therapies, subgroup analysis identified that children with childhood autism or coexisting intellectual disability improved to a greater extent from music therapy than children with another autism diagnosis.
Stereotypical behavior as a resource
In this regard, special attention should be paid to intervention strategies that foster relationships through musical and emotional attunement. These strategies should help therapists, but also parents of children with ASD, cope with their child's symptom level, for example, by using their repetitive or stereotypical movements and affective expressions as a resource and starting point for attunement.
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171106095751.htm
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