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1-s2.0-s0197455622001083-main_0
Public access from
31/07/2026
Journal article

Piano with a twist: a pilot study exploring the preliminary effects of a piano therapy program for children with autism spectrum disorder

IPC

  • Dănciulescu, Tatiana Piano Therapy Association, Bucharest, Romania
  • Zaharia, Alexandra ORCID Faculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, Switzerland; Institute of Special Education, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 2023
Published in:
  • The Arts in Psychotherapy. - Elsevier BV. - 2023, vol. 82(2023), p. 101987
Autism spectrum disorder; Piano therapy; Music-based intervention; Communication skills; Adaptive Behavior; Motricity
English Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show frequent maladaptive behaviors and difficulties in social communication and motricity. Various studies suggest that music-based interventions might help overcome these challenges. Yet, their findings are not conclusive, particularly regarding piano music. The current pilot study aims to present a new music-based intervention – the Piano Therapy program – and to explore its effects on social communication, motricity, self-care, and adaptive behavior skills in children with ASD. The program uses techniques derived from Applied Behavioral Analysis and active and receptive musical methods structured around a single instrument (i.e., piano). Sixty children with ASD were quasi-randomly assigned either to the Piano Therapy group or the control group. In the experimental group, the 4-month program was administered individually, twice a week. Using the Psychoeducational Profile - Third Edition (PEP-3) reports, the examiner and the caregivers assessed participants’ skills pre- and post-intervention. The findings indicate that the children enrolled in the Piano Therapy program show significant improvements in all the developmental areas assessed with PEP-3, compared to the control group. Although further research is required, these preliminary results have clinical implications for practitioners and bring new evidence about the beneficial effects of a piano-based intervention in individuals with ASD.
Faculty
Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines
Department
Département de Pédagogie spécialisée
Language
  • English
License
Rights reserved
Open access status
green
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/329275
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