Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Music therapy has been highly recommended as a treatment in facilitating communication. People with autism are crippled with significant

Music being a lifeline for individuals with all types of isolating emotional, physical, neurological and psychological conditions, has incredible effect to the autistic children. It enables the autistic children to interact and communicate to others and have improved learning

Being that many children with autism (30%) are nonverbal, communication is a major goal of many therapies. In one case, a child who was almost completely nonverbal was able to sing during a therapy session. This is not uncommon, because, as music therapist Megan Taylor words it, “sometimes, it’s easier to sing than speak” A large part of the success of music therapy is the music itself. Listening to the lyrics of songs can increase vocabulary, while the repetitive “question-answer” and structured format of music engages the child while reinforcing the learning of speech patterns (Gilbert).

From 1997 to about 2007 the number of children with autism spectrum disorder has increase from 42,517 to about 258,305 and has risen since (Reschke-Hernández, 2011). With this rise of children who have autism, the rise of music therapy has since appeared greatly. When music therapy was first documented, the music was used in both group and individual settings. It was used with those who lacked social skills, those who needed rehabilitation, for self-expression, for psychological improvement and also recreational purposes (Rescheke- Hernández, 2011). Music therapist use techniques such as improvisation music therapy, dancing and singing, speech dynamics, and rhythm to help clients with social skills, body awareness and communication skills (Rescheke- Hernández, 2011). Children who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder can be treated through music therapy to enhance their social skills, learning skills, and coordination.

When addressing the needs of clients in the social work field, implementing interventions that are evidence-based can ensure the most effective outcomes. As social workers serve a wide range of populations, there are multiple evidence based interventions used for these different populations and their specific needs. Reciprocal Imitation Training has shown to be a successful and effectual intervention that addresses the needs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Supported by several professional research studies, this evidence-based training could be a beneficial intervention for social workers serving this specific population.

One of the major deficits that come along with autism is communication skills. Some people with autism may have the language skills and don’t know how to put them to use and others may not have the language skills and have not been taught how to communicate their wants and needs (Eren, 2015; Gattino, Riesgo, Longo, Leite, & Faccini, 2011; Kern, Wolery, & Aldridge, 2006; Kim, Wigram, & Gold, 2008; Lagasse, 2014;Thompson, Mcferran, & Gold 2013). On the other side of communication is the social aspect of it. People with autism, especially adolescents and adults, are most of the time socially awkward. They may use their body language wrong or they may not understand others body language and they may not do simple things we take for granted such as eye contact when talking or listening. A lot of the time they don’t understand what personal space is or just plain how to be socially accepted (Eren, 2015; Gattino, Riesgo, Longo, Leite, & Faccini, 2011; Kern, Wolery, & Aldridge, 2006; Kim, Wigram, & Gold, 2008; Lagasse, 2014;Thompson, Mcferran, & Gold 2013). The role that music therapy plays in changing the social and communication skills in people with Autism is presented in this review. It is conjectured that music therapy will has a positive effect on communication and social skill in people with autism by increasing the skills so that they are more socially accepted. The following reviews of literature look at both side of the perspective of having a positive affect and no affect

This discussion paper aims to highlight the importance of imaginary play for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Furthermore it aims to highlight the need for further research on the effectiveness of the Learn to Play program as an effective imaginary play intervention tool.

In the last decade, the rate of autism has experienced a dramatic increase (Gerber 1). There used to be a speculation of an apparent correlation between the numbers of vaccines children receive and the increase of autism. A predominant controversy regarding vaccinations was whether or not one of the side effects of vaccines is Autism Spectrum Disorder. The probability of vaccines in children resulting in autism was challenged by various researchers from around the world has proven to be untrue (Gerber 2, 3, 5). The importance of vaccination is being underestimated by a number of parents in today’s society and that has a large impact on the immunity herd.*talk about the 3 hyp*

Play is one of the most crucial ideas in the development of all children. Children play for many reasons including learning, exercise, stimulation, and for pure entertainment. They are learning and exploring the world around them by testing out ideas and just having fun playing with simple objects. However, like language, play is a skill that develops in stages. As a child gradually learns to understand the world around him or her, they begin to play and learn by engaging in exploratory and manipulative play. This is no different for children with Autism except the Autism Spectrum Disorder can impact on how play develops. Play is important for not only developing and advancing their thinking, comprehension and language skills, but also the emotional and creative skill development of children with autism. The stage of symbolic and imaginative play is the one that is often considered to be the most difficult for children with autism because too many presume they are unable to play and pretend. However, this stage is not just about role playing, it is also about learning to substitute one object for another or coming up with a new function for an object. The goal for helping children with autism should be to not necessarily change the things they play with or to teach them to play in the same way that their peers do, but instead to help them use the way they play and the things they find engaging to progress through the developmental stages to develop other more

Learning to sleep through the night is something that all children have to do. But its often a much more difficult process for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It is very common among kids with ASD to have challenges with sleep. Setting up a good schedule and setting a clear expectations and having is clear rules that parents follow through with. A survey study was done in which parents were questioned about sleep problems in their children with ASD. The current range quoted was about 50% to 80% of children with ASD have some sort of significant sleep problems. The survey study shows good evidence that sleep problems tend to persist in kids with ASD from the youngest stage into adolescents and adulthood. So it’s just not a problem

Music therapy is becoming a widely popular intervention tool used to help students develop more extensive communication skills. In order to narrow the understanding of effectiveness the parameters of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was added in conducting the research. Communication can be defined as intentional or deliberate actions that influence and impact a receptive partner. The research will focus on intentional communication, meaning that the communication piece must either be initiated by the student and/or an intentional response by the student to a stimulus. The studies must include a communication piece in which an intentional message was received. For example, communication might include: prolonged eye contact, gestures, use of alternative assistive technology, or traditional verbal language. Non-examples include: stimulating movements or

III. Efficacy of an Intervention to Enhance Reading Comprehension of Students With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Musicians in the community , amateur and professional, came to “Veterans hospitals around the country to play for the thousands of veterans suffering both physical and emotional trauma from the wars. The patients' notable physical and emotional responses to music led the doctors and nurses to request the hiring of musicians by the hospitals” (American Music Therapy Association). Soon after the practice began to taught in colleges throughout the country. The number of individuals diagnosed with autism is increasing at such an alarming rate worldwide that today it affects one in every 152 children in the U.S (rathus, p.224). As autism is disorder that affects everyone who has it differently, no one method or approach works for every single autistic person. Music, however, is an engaging stimulus for children with autism. Every single piece of works on autism states that children who do not respond to speech will often respond to music. In fact, they respond more often and appropriately to music than any other auditory stimulus. In addition to responding positively to music, children with autism are often musically

Music therapy is not a very well known form of therapy. I believe that many people think that listening to music can make you feel better but don’t actually know that it can be used in real therapy sessions. Music therapy is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, cognitive, emotional, and social needs of an individual. (AmericanMusicTherapyAssociation) In this paper I will be talking about how music therapy is effective in individuals with autism, the history of music therapy, and how it’s effective in people for pain management.

For most, music plays an integral role in life. Whether it’s putting a playlist on to get hyped-up for a daily workout, or shuffling through an Adele album to get through a bad break-up. In short, music is connected to our mood. Henceforth, it should come as no surprise that music therapy (MT) has been used in various forms of rehab, specifically in terms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is a condition masked with impairments to social functioning, speech, and language along with unusual behaviors such as fixations and repetitive movements (Boso et al., 2007). Therapy associated with ASD has usually been associated with speech & fixation therapy or occupational and physical activity/challenged-based therapy, to name a few, however