A joint behavioral and emotive analysis of synchrony in music therapy of children with autism spectrum disorders

<b>Background</b><br /> Synchrony is an essential component of interactive exchanges. In mother-infant interaction, synchrony underlies reciprocity and emotive regulation. A severe lack of synchrony is indeed a core issue within the communication and interaction deficit that characterizes autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in accordance with the DSM-5 classification. Based on emerging evidence that music therapy can improve the communication and regulation ability in children with ASD, we aim to verify quantitatively whether: 1) children with ASD improve synchrony with their therapist during music therapy sessions, and 2) this ability persists in different structured contexts.<br /> <br /> <b>Participants and procedure</b><br /> Twenty-five children, aged from 4 to 6 years (M = 57.80, SD = 16.70), with an autistic disorder diagnosis based on DSM IV-TR and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), participated in the study. An observational tool for coding behaviors and emotive states of synchrony (Child Behavioral and Emotional status Code [CBEC] and Adult Behavioral and Emotional status Code [ABEC]) was applied in video recorded sessions of improvisational music therapy (IMT) for the subject-therapist pair. For each subject, we considered the 20 central minutes of the first, tenth and twentieth session of IMT. To verify the persistence of effect in a different context with a different adult, we administered and coded the interactive ADOS section (anticipation of a routine with objects) applied after session 20 of therapy. <br /> <br /> <b>Results</b><br /> During the IMT cycle, the amount of synchronic activity increases, with a significant difference from Session 1 to Session 20 in behavioral synchrony and emotional attunement. Also, the increase of synchrony is confirmed at the end of the therapy cycle as measured by an interactive ADOS section.<br /> <br /> <b>Conclusions</b><br /> Synchrony is an effective indicator of efficacy for music therapy in children with ASD, in particular to evaluate the expansion of positive emotive exchanges.