Efficacy of musical interventions on social, maladaptive and language outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder, a systematic review and meta-analysis
There is considerable interest in using music interventions (MIs) to address core impairments present in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An increasing number of studies suggest that MIs have positive outcomes in this population, but no systematic review employing meta-analysis to date has investigated the efficacy of MIs across three of the predominant symptoms in ASD, specifically social functioning, maladaptive behaviors and language impairments. In this thesis, all available peer-reviewed studies (n = 17) comparing active MIs to non-music interventions (NMIs) were systematically summarized and evaluated using quality assessment based on the CONSORT statement. Eleven studies fulfilled inclusion criteria for meta-analysis, which differentiated between within-session and longitudinal outcomes. The quantitative analyses results supported the effectiveness of MI in ASD, and particularly for measures sensitive to social maladaptive behaviors. Comparing between MI and NMI, the results were generally suggestive of benefits of MI over NMI for social outcomes, but did not find benefits for non-social maladaptive behaviors or language outcomes. The systematic review revealed important methodological issues present in these studies, such as small sample sizes, restricted durations and intensities of interventions, missing sample information and matching criteria, and attrition bias. Together, the combined systematic review and meta-analyses provided an up-to-date evaluation of the evidence for MI’s benefits in ASD children and provide key recommendations for future clinical interventions and research about best practice in the domain.
ASD Autism Music Music intervention Social behavior Maladaptive Behavior Language Systematic review Meta-analysis