Efficacy of music therapy with a social story as the main content for intervention in children with autism

Objective To observe the efficacy of music therapy with social stories as the main content in the treatment of children with autism. Methods Twenty-seven children with autism were randomly divided into a social story group (n=9), a music therapy group (n=9) and a control group (n=9). All three groups received comprehensive interventions in a combined medical-educational model, and music therapy was added to both the social story group and the music therapy group. All three groups were evaluated before and after 3 months of treatment (post-treatment) using the Autism Behavior Scale (ABC) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). After the treatment, the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05) in the ABC scale scores, the social story group scores on the factors of interaction [(6.67 ± 5.07)] and self-care [(6.67 ± 5.07)] compared with the pre-treatment scores; the CARS scale scores, the social story group scores on the factors of physical activity [(1.33 ± 0.50)], toy use [(1.67 ± 1.00)]. ±1.00) points], visual changes [(1.67±0.50) points], auditory responses [(1.67±0.50) points], fear and anxiety [(2.33±0.50) points], verbal communication [(2.00±0.87) points], nonverbal communication [(1.33±0.50) points], intellectual responses [(2.00±0.05) points], imitation [( 2.00±0.05)], and overall impression [(2.33±0.50)] were statistically significant (P<0.05) when compared with the pre-treatment scores in the group on 10 factors. Conclusion Music therapy with social stories was effective in improving autistic children's abilities of self-care, social interaction and language. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)