THE EFFICACY OF MUSIC-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR ENHANCING SOCIAL SKILLS IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Abstract

Autism is a disorder that includes differences and/or challenges in social communication skills, fine and gross motor skills, speech, and intellectual ability. Autism is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, including deficits in social reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, and skills in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships. This paper aims to study the effectiveness of Music Therapy in enhancing the Social Skills on Children with Autism. The sample consisted of six children, each having mild level of Autism and the Age ranging from 8 to 12 years were selected for improving social skills. The sample was taken from Child Guidance Clinic (CGC), Department of Pediatrics, SVRR Government General Hospital, Tirupati. Both therapist and parent undergone forty 45-minutes sessions of Social Skills training through Musical Activities for three months. Before and after intervention, Autism Social Skills Profile (ASSP) scale was administered to both of parents towards children with Autism which included two components of Social/Emotional Reciprocity (SER) and Social Participation (SP). The findings from Means, SDs and the paired t-test revealed that the effect of intervention in improving Social Skills and in two the Social Skill areas or components were statistically significant. There is a significant improvement in social skills among children with Autism (Music Intervention Package). The findings of the study further support the fact that Music Activity is an effective way of improving Social Skills among children with Autism.