Neag School of Education Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Anjana Bhat has received a $120,000 grant to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a novel, music-based intervention for children with autism that includes singing, beat-keeping, music-making with different instruments, and whole body movements like marching.
Given by Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, the funds will allow Dr. Bhat to design and test the intervention, which is designed to improve the motor, social, and communication skills of low- to moderate-functioning autistic children 3 to 14 years old.
The grant is especially significant because despite the popularity of music-based therapies for children in recent years, few have focused on children with autism, Dr. Bhat said. Those that have weren't offered frequently enough for children to truly benefit and didn't incorporate the movement component, which Dr. Bhat believes will only improve results.
“Children with autism have great difficulty coordinating complex movements like tying their shoe laces or dribbling a ball, which the movement-based activities in our intervention will address," said Dr. Bhat, adding that most children with autism enjoy music.
The eight-week therapeutic study will involve 24 children with autism. Half will receive the music-movement therapy, and half will be assigned to a control group. Those receiving therapy will attend two weekly classroom sessions led by an expert, as well as take part in three sessions a week led by a parent or caregiver at home. Parents will receive a training manual and a CD of songs.
“The parent supplement will enhance the program's likelihood of success, because children with autism need repeated practice to master new skills,” Dr. Bhat said.
A pre-test, post-test, video data, family-kept music and movement logs, and eye-tracking equipment that will show researchers how focused children remained during therapy sessions will be used to help determine the intervention's effectiveness.
Dr. Bhat said she expects the children who complete all sessions will experience improved social skills, verbalization and motor abilities.
“Music-based interventions for children with autism are being used. But due to a lack of evidence about their effectiveness, they're not yet typically covered by insurance,” Dr. Bhat said. “We're hoping that this study will help change that, as well as make effective music-based movement interventions more mainstream. The result would be having more therapies like this more readily available to children with autism, who would clearly benefit.”
For information on the study including how to participate, contact Dr. Bhat at anjana.bhat@uconn.edu
