would somebody please comment on the article below on music therapy and autism?

THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Volume 13, Number 7, 2007, pp. 709–712
© Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/acm.2006.6334
Effect of Long-Term Interactive Music Therapy on Behavior
Profile and Musical Skills in Young Adults with Severe Autism
MARIANNA BOSO, M.D.,1 ENZO EMANUELE, M.D.,2 VERA MINAZZI, D.Mus.,1
MARTA ABBAMONTE, M.D.,1 and PIERLUIGI POLITI, M.D., Ph.D.1,*
ABSTRACT
Background: Data on the potential behavioral effects of music therapy in autism are scarce.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether a musical training program based on interactive
music therapy sessions could enhance the behavioral profile and the musical skills of young adults affected
by severe autism.
Methodology: Young adults (N with severe (Childhood Autism Rating Scale 30) autism took part
in a total of 52 weekly active music therapy sessions lasting 60 minutes. Each session consisted of a wide range
of different musical activities including singing, piano playing, and drumming. Clinical rating scales included
the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Musical skills—including
singing a short or long melody, playing the C scale on a keyboard, music absorption, rhythm reproduction,
and execution of complex rhythmic patterns—were rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from
“completely/entirely absent” to “completely/entirely present.”
Results: At the end of the 52-week training period, significant improvements were found on both the CGI and
BPRS scales. Similarly, the patients’ musical skills significantly ameliorated as compared to baseline ratings.
Conclusions: Our pilot data seem to suggest that active music therapy sessions could be of aid in improving
autistic symptoms, as well as personal musical skills in young adults with severe autism.
ORIGINAL PAPERS
709
INTRODUCTION
Music therapy is an arts-based tool that is increasingly
being applied in the field of a number of psychiatric
conditions, including rehabilitation strategies for patients
with severe neurodevelopmental disorders.1–4 Accordingly,
analyses of published data have provided initial evidence
that structured music therapy interventions could exert beneficial
short-term effects in individuals with autistic spectrum
disorder (ASD).1,2
ASD is a life-long disabling condition characterized by
severe impairments in social functioning and reciprocation,
deficits in speech and language, and unusual behavioral
manifestations such as habitual repetitive movements and
great distress from environmental changes.1 Associated comorbidities
in some patients may include, but are not limited
to, mental retardation, seizure disorders, chronic gastrointestinal
disorders, and hyperactivity.
Given the presence of severe deficits in social behavior
and social communication, improvement of social functioning
in ASD individuals is of paramount importance. In this
regard, significant improvements in the fields of communicative
behavior and emotional responsiveness by means
of music interventions have been repeatedly reported by sev-
1Department of Health Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
2Interdepartmental Center for Research in Molecular Medicine (CIRMC), University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
*On behalf of the PALab—Pavia Autism Laboratory, Pavia, Italy (Stefania Ucelli di Nemi, M.D., Ilaria Bonoldi, M.D., Davide
Broglia, M.D., Lara Mancini, M.D., Mara Marini, M.D., Beatrice Sommo, M.D., and Francesco Barale, M.D.).
eral independent investigators.1–3 Music has an intrinsic
communication potential that has stimulated clinical research
aiming to test its efficacy in ameliorating communication
skills and social interactions,5 which are profoundly
and characteristically impaired in autism.6
Although initial results have been promising, it should be
acknowledged that so far only studies with small sample
sizes have been performed, thus limiting the generalizability
of such findings in clinical practice.1 More importantly,
reports published to date in the field have usually exploited
brief music therapy interventions—typically daily sessions
over 1 week—without focusing on the possible behavioral
and social effects of long-term therapeutic programs in
ASD.1–4 Starting from these premises, in this report we
aimed to examine the effects of a long-term active music
therapy program on the behavioral profile in a group of
young adults with severe autism recruited in a single farm
community center. We also wanted to investigate the effects
of active music teaching on musical skills—including
singing a short or long melody, playing the C scale on a
keyboard, music absorption, rhythm reproduction, and execution
of complex rhythmic patterns—in our patient cohort.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study participants
A total of 8 young adults with ASD (7 males and 1 female;
mean age: 30.2 5.5 years; range: 2

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