Effect of music therapy on children with autism spectrum disorder:a meta-analysis
10.3969/j.issn.1006-9771.2025.04.007
- VernacularTitle:音乐治疗对孤独症谱系障碍儿童干预效果的Meta分析
- Author:
Yong ZHANG
1
;
Zeng CAI
;
Fengping XU
;
Dan LIU
;
Hongjuan CHANG
Author Information
1. 武汉科技大学艺术治疗与心理健康研究中心,湖北 武汉市 430065
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
autism spectrum disorder;
children;
music therapy;
meta analysis
- From:
Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Theory and Practice
2025;31(4):423-430
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To explore the effect of music therapy on children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD).Methods A systematic search was conducted in databases including CNKI,Wanfang data,VIP,PubMed,Elsevier Sci-ence Direct and Google Scholar for randomized controlled trials(RCT)on the effect of music therapy on children with ASD.The search period was from database inception to April,2024.The control group received non-music therapy interventions,including medication,educational therapy,cognitive-behavioral therapy,and structured treatment.The observation group received music therapy.Studies were systematically reviewed following the Co-chrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews,with two researchers independently screening literatures,extracting data,and assessing the risk of bias in the included studies.Statistic analysis was performed using Review Manag-er 5.4.Results Nine RCTs were included,involving 828 patients from France,China,Norway,Iran,the United States and Aus-tralia.The intervention types mainly included music therapy,parent-child cooperative music therapy,Orff music therapy,group music therapy,improvisational music therapy,Orff-Schulwerk-based music therapy,music inter-vention and family-centered music therapy.The overall outcomes(SMD=-0.30,95%CI-0.55 to-0.04,P=0.02),language function(MD=-2.09,95%CI-2.89 to-1.30,P<0.001)and physical behavior(SMD=-0.27,95%CI-0.53 to-0.01,P=0.040)improved better in the observation group.Conclusion Music therapy can improve the overall outcome of children with ASD,especially in language function and physical behavior.
