Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The author would like to acknowledge Dr. Deanna Hanson-Abromeit and Dr.
Gabriel Hernandez for their extensive support and feedback throughout the
development of this paper.
170 Journal of Music Therapy
TABLE 1
A Summary of Historical Approaches in Music Therapy for Children with Autism, 1940-89
(potentially) connects
with the child
Use an instrument/voice as Benenzon, 1976
intermediate communicative
contact with the child
Create communicative Benenzon, 1976
recordings of sounds/
messages
Expressive (Techniques not specified) *Gilliland, 1955; Kessler,
language 1967
Warwick, 1984;
Warwick, 1984
child's comprehension
& vocal range
Rhythmic songs Goldstein, 1964
TABLE 1
Continued
musical attributes
Speech Oral motor exercise (e.g., Thaut, 1984; Farmer, 1985
accompaniment
Melodically shape speech Thaut, 1984; Farmer, 1985
(high/low, loud/soft)
Stress patterns Thaut, 1984
TABLE 1
Continued
Goal
Technique Citations
Identification
Body part songs Romerhaus, 1968
hello song
. Social Skills (Technique not specified) Ellper, 1968; Romerhaus,
1984
improvisation
Shared musical experience Agrotou, 1988; Bryan,
Warwick, 1984
1984
contact")
Playing favorite songs Werbner, 1968
(group)
Connecting instrument North, 1966; Warwick,
Thaut, 1984
music to therapist-directed
music
Transition from therapist Warwick, 1984
TABLE I
Continued
group MT experience
Improvised hello/ Nordoff & Robbins, 1965
goodbye songs
Mainstreaming in Music *Harbert, 1955
Education
Imitation/ Rhythm band, rhythmic Euper, 1968
Observation activities
Appropriate & Action songs Romerhaus, 1968
adulthood/
Community
Tum taking/ Playing favorite songs Werbner, 1968
Sharing (group)
Establish rapport Child-directed music Goldstein, 1964; Nordoff &
Robbins, 1968, 1977
(child-directed)
Improvisation Saperston, 1973; WalWick,
1984
(autoharp)
Emotional & Psychological
Self expression, Singing groups *Scheerenberger, 1953
1984
co-improvisation
184 Journal of Music Therapy
TABLE 1
Continued
TABLE 1
Continued
TABLE 1
Continued
TABLE 1
Continued
instrument (consider
timbre/sensory input)
Instrument exploration Farmer, 1985; Thaut, 1984
(during movement)
Feeling instrument Farmer, 1985; Warwick,
violin, autoharp)
"Feeling the music" Bryan, 1989
through group
improvisation/
co-improvisation
Exposure to & exploration Alvin, 1969
of variety of instrument
timbres/volumes
Musical Skills
Recreation/ Adapted music education *Gerard, 1955;
Instrument Romerhaus, 1968
*Scheerenberger, 1953
improvisations
Reactions to (Technique not specified) Euper, 1968; Romerhaus,
music/ 1968
Warwick, 1984
TABLE 2
Histmical Levels ofResearch Evidence in Music Therapy for Children with Autism, 1940-89
Level 1a:
Systematic Review" (SR) No citations met these criteria.
of Randomized
Controlled Trialsb (RCTs)
TABLE 2
Continued
Level 4c:
Qualitative Study Kessler, 1967; Nordoff & Robbins, 1965; Thaut,
Anecdotal Study 1984 (protocol)
Assessment
Appropriate assessment has become a prominent issue for
music therapists working with children with autism. In the past
decade, Wigram (2000) has begun to illustrate the advantages of
music therapy diagnostic assessment for children with autism and
the importance of assessment in the referral and treatment
process (2002). Similar to Sherwin (1953), he has suggested that a
music therapy diagnostic evaluation could provide a unique
perspective on the strengths and needs of a child. He has also
argued the importance of including musical evidence to support
the conclusions of a music therapy assessment.
The Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Trans
actional Support (SCERTS) curriculum model has been explored
as an applicable intake and ongoing assessment tool in music
therapy for children with autism (Walworth, 2007). Based on a
survey, the author concluded, "music therapists are not using a
consistent assessment method with autism spectrum disorder
clients" (p. 17). The lack of a quality, universal assessment tool has
caused difficulty for music therapists trying to disseminate
treatment outcomes due to the lack of· a common language
192 Journal of Music Therapy
TABLE 3
A Summary of Recent Approaches in Music Therapy for Children with Autism, 1990-2009
communication
Following directions Musically adapted social Brownell, 2002
stories
Social Skills Family-based group with Allgood, 2005
various structured and
unstructured
interventions
Improvisation Donnell, 2007; Edgerton,
1994; Kim et ai., 2009
Music and art therapy Hairston, 1990
incorporated in special
education classroom
developmental therapy
curriculum
In teraction themes Holck,2004
(improvisation)
Sharing an instrument Starr & Zenker, 1998
Goodbye song
Conducting game Woodward, 2004
Vol. 48, No.2, Summer 2011 195
TABLE 3
Continued
TABLE 3
Continued
TABLE 3
Continued
TABLE 4
Recent Levels of Research Evidence in Music Therapy for Children with Autism, 1990-2009
Level la:
Systematic Review" (SR) of No citations met these criteria.
Randomized Controlled
Trialsb (RCTs)
TABLE 4
Continued
Level4c:
Qualitative Study' Accordino et aI., 2007; Baker et aI., 2008,
Anecdotal Studyi 2009 (sulVey); Holck, 2004; Lim, 2009;
SUlVey Research i
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