Using a Music Therapy Collaborative Consultative Approach - World ...

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The studies presented here expand upon previous studies by showing that acquisition
of social and adaptive skills occurs when the interventions are embedded in the context of the
target children’s natural environment. Music therapy interventions also facilitate a smooth
transition during the morning greeting routine and enable children with autism to follow
specific multiple-step tasks. Thus, as recommended by the Division of Early Childhood
(DEC) (Sandall et al., 2000) and by the Committee on Educational Interventions for Children
with Autism (National Research Council, 2001), embedding interventions in ongoing
classroom routines is supported. Further research should investigate whether or not music
therapy interventions embedded in inclusive preschool routines can be applied for
development of other skills and if they are helpful for children with special needs other than
autism.
A second major finding is that, in eight of nine cases, the songs produce desirable
outcomes. These findings are consistent with strategies that suggest the use of songs for
smooth transitioning with children with autism (Baker, 1992; Cole-Currens, 1993; Furman,
2001; Gottschewski, 2001; Williams, 1996) and provide evidence that greeting songs can be
effective during one of the most crucial childcare transitions, the morning arrival time. They
also replicate earlier studies in which music was used to assist individuals with memorization
of sequence of information (Gfeller, 1983; Jellison & Miller, 1982; Wolfe & Horn, 1993), as
well as to improve social skills (Stevens & Clark, 1969; Brownell, 2002). However, previous
studies had not examined the use of songs with children with autism for transitioning and
memorization of multiple-step tasks, nor were the studies embedded in an inclusive childcare
program. Yet once again, two of the three studies were not comparison studies, so. It is not