Spontaneous imitation by children with autism during a repetitive musical play routine.
Imitating preschoolers with autism during songs can spark their own imitation, but gains are uneven and harder to see than with object-based play.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers watched preschoolers with autism during a daily musical play routine. The adult copied each child's movements and sounds while singing the same short song.
The team used a multiple-baseline design across three imitation targets. They wanted to see if being imitated would make the children imitate back more often.
What they found
Most children did start to imitate more during the songs, but the gains were uneven. Some kids copied only one new move, others copied several.
The researchers noted carry-over effects. Once a child learned to imitate one action, that skill sometimes appeared in later phases, making clear cause-and-effect hard to pin down.
How this fits with other research
Ingersoll et al. (2006) got cleaner results two years earlier. They taught object imitation with naturalistic play and saw clear jumps in language, pretend play, and joint attention. Their tighter control shows musical imitation may be harder to measure.
Vaiouli et al. (2015) kept the music but swapped the goal. Instead of targeting imitation, they used improvisational music therapy to spark joint attention. All three children improved, suggesting music works best when paired with a clear social target.
Ingersoll et al. (2003) offers a simpler boost. They found that adding lights or sound to toys increased imitation right away. Musical imitation gives social feedback too, but the loop is slower and less predictable.
Why it matters
If you run circle-time or music groups, try copying the child's gesture or vocal first, then pause. Some children will echo you back, giving you a free trial of spontaneous imitation. Track each child separately; the study shows results can vary. If progress stalls, switch to object imitation with sensory toys or child-led music that aims for joint attention instead.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Joint-attention-type intervention strategies have been identified as effective scaffolds for increasing social engagement in children with autism. Imitating children with autism within child-led social routines has increased children's attention and active participation in social interaction. The current study expands on this research by establishing a musical social milieu using repetitive imitation routines for four children with autism. Results were evaluated using an MPD across three behaviors and four children with an ABAB reversal for one child. Children increased spontaneous imitation of the researcher's models after being imitated with only social reinforcement for increased imitation. However, experimental control was weakened with carry-over effects for two children and failure to fully replicate results across participants and behaviors. The accumulation of evidence from varied studies, despite some mixed results, encourages further study into the effects of imitating children with autism to increase spontaneous social engagement.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2008 · doi:10.1177/1362361308097117