New research is suggesting that there are benefits for the brains of children with autism when they play music whether it be playing the piano or singing a song. According to these researchers, musical therapy can increase the connectivity in key brain networks. Plus, these sessions can improve the child’s social communication skills as well as the quality of life for their family.
The study’s co-senior author Aparna Nadig said: “the universal appeal of music makes it globally applicable and can be implemented with relatively few resources on a large scale in multiple settings such as home and school.” The study that was performed included 51 children who had autism, aged 6 through 12 and they were assigned to either a music therapy group or a control group at random.
The children who were in the music group participated in 45-minute sessions where they sang, played a variety of instruments while working with a therapist to engage in interaction. The children in the control group also worked with the same therapist to engage in their interaction, but they did not partake in any musical activities.
After three months, the parents of the children who were in the music group reported that there were greater improvements in their child’s communication skills and the quality of life for the family as opposed to the parents who had children in the control group. However, the parents of children in both groups did not report any reductions in the severity of the autism.
The brain scans revealed that the children who were in the music group increased the connectivity between the auditory and motor regions of the brain. They also, however, decreased the connectivity between the auditory and visual regions and those are often overconnected in people with autism according to the authors.
Megha Sharda who is a postdoctoral fellow at the International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound at the University of Montreal recently said in a university news release “these findings are exciting and hold much promise for autism intervention.”
The study’s authors noted that further research would be required.