Development of Academic Skills in Children with Autism

Abstract

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the functioning of the brain and consequently other areas of development in an unstable and irregular way. There are many therapeutic approaches to autism and one of them is music therapy. Music therapy is a purely therapeutic treatment (Anagnostopoulou & Manti, 2009). It does not seek entertainment or music education. Music therapy is used as a means of expression and creativity, giving people with limited verbal communication capabilities such as autistic people an alternative way of communicating and expressing themselves. The purpose of this research is to investigate the development of social and communication skills through music therapy in children with ASD, focusing on emotional development, behavioral problems and academic performance. For the purposes of investigating the above purpose, the quality method and the data collection tools that helped to implement it were the semi-structured interview and the structured observation. In the interview were special therapists who implement music therapy approaches and observation was used to record a possible change in the unacceptable behaviors of a child attending a music therapy program. The results obtained from the qualitative analysis of the data demonstrate a significant weakness of the child with ADHD. both in terms of communication and sociability. Music therapy seems to be helpful in their academic skills. The results of the research show that music therapy plays an important role in early intervention to address the weaknesses faced by children with ASD.