Effects of Integration Music Therapy and Play Therapy on Improvement of Children with Autism

Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder that usually appears in early years and its main characteristics are repeated problems in social interaction, abnormal verbal and nonverbal communication, and stereotyped patterns of behavior and interests. Two of the therapies that are currently being discussed are music therapy and play therapy. Music with play is one of the skills necessary for communication in children with autism who do not use language to communicate. As a result the experience of music and play and the interaction between them ends in improving communication which is one of the main problems in these children. Through the process of integrating music and plays, patients will move to reach some predetermined goals by the help of some specialists who are trained in such courses. These goals may include improving motor, social and interpersonal development, reduced stereotypical behaviors, achieving self-awareness, but they are not limited to these.
In this article, the importance of music education and play and the effect of training and playing music in children with autism is discussed. It is concluded that music therapy should be useful in conjunction with play therapy.