Effect of musical activity on participation of Tehran's 6-12 years old Autistic children in formal & informal activities

Autism is a developmental disorder that is characterized by delays in communication skills, social interaction, participation, accountability and behavioral symptoms such as repetitive and stereotyped behavior. The most common purposes of occupational therapy in these children is improving verbal and non verbal communication and social skills which lead to increase their participation and they will be more independent in their daily life. One of the most effective interactions in autism is music therapy. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of musical activities on participation and preference of autism children. This investigation was a randomized controlled trial. 20 autistic boys with no other differential diagnosis, the age of 6-12 and IQ of 50-70 were selected from autism schools in Tehran and randomly assigned in two groups of intervention and control. Then they were participated in musical activities for 24 sessions. Participation of these children was evaluated with children’s assessment of participation and enjoyment and preference for activities of children. The data was analyzed with the independent T-TEST using SPSS 17. The findings show that the mean score of participation and preference at formal and informal activities of autistic children, before and after musical activities were not significant except for preference of informal activities. Participation of autistic children at formal and informal activities before and after musical activities sessions was not significant except for preference of informal activities.