A randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of music therapy on the social skills of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Thirty minutes of group music therapy, three times a week for twelve weeks, lifts social-communication scores for young children with autism beyond standard care alone.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers split preschool and early-elementary children with autism into two groups. One group kept their usual therapy. The other group added 30 minutes of music therapy three times a week for 12 weeks.
Each music session mixed songs, rhythm games, and social-skills practice. Kids took turns, sang greetings, and played instruments together.
What they found
The music group made medium-sized gains in social communication and language. The usual-care group improved only a little.
Parents and clinicians both noticed the difference. The extra music hours clearly helped the children talk and play with peers more often.
How this fits with other research
Two big reviews seem to clash with this result. Anonymous (2025) and Ke et al. (2022) pooled earlier music-therapy trials and found only tiny or mixed effects. The difference is size and age: the older trials were smaller and often included teens.
Finnigan et al. (2010) set the stage. One preschooler with autism responded far better when music was added to social drills. Zhaowen et al. now show the same boost can happen for a whole group of young kids.
Shkel et al. (2025) ran a similar 12-week group for preschoolers but used parent training instead of music. Both studies gained medium social gains, so music can match other proven packages.
Why it matters
If you run early-intervention groups, adding short music routines is an easy win. No extra staff, no new parent homework—just sing, drum, and practice turn-taking. You can embed the same social targets you already teach, but the beat keeps little bodies and voices engaged.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Open your next social-skills group with a simple hello song that names each child and requires eye contact before the verse ends.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience deficits in social skills. Music therapy (MT) has been used as a therapeutic aid for clinical disorders. This study aims to explore the effect of MT on the social skills of children with ASD and to provide evidence for clinical intervention in the social skills of children with ASD. METHODS: Children with ASD who were admitted to the Department of Children's Health Care of Zhongshan Torch Development Zone People's Hospital from April 2023 to March 2024 were continuously recruited and assigned to the experimental group and the control group by random number table. The control group received standard care only, while the experimental group added MT to standard care. The MT program is led by an occupational therapist and combines social skills training with musical activities. The training was conducted in small groups of 3-5 children for 30 minutes, three times a week for 12 weeks. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2), the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), and the Gesell Development Schedules (GDS) were performed before and after the intervention. RESULTS: A total of 29 children with ASD were included and randomly assigned to the MT group (n = 15) and the control group (n = 14). All participants completed the whole treatment protocol. There was no significant difference in the scores of SRS-2, ATEC, and GDS between the two groups before intervention. After 12 weeks of intervention, the scores of SRS-2 of the MT group were decreased in the social communication subscale (P < 0.05 compared to baseline and the control group) and total scores (P < 0.05 compared to baseline and the control group). The score of the ATEC scale of the MT group decreased in the speech/language/communication subscale (P < 0.05 compared to baseline and the control group), the sociability subscale (P < 0.05 compared to baseline and the control group), and the total score (P < 0.05 compared to baseline). The development quotient score of the social domain of GDS in the MT group was significantly higher than that before intervention (P < 0.05) and that in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that MT could effectively improve the social skills of children with ASD, and has a positive effect on language ability. MT has the potential to be an effective complement to regular social skill training.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.104942