Dados do Trabalho

Título

Benefits of applying Music Therapy to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Systematic Review

Resumo

Introduction: Music therapy is a therapeutic modality that consists of the integration between music and health with the objective of providing intellectual development, communication and well-being, assisting in socialization factors to improve the quality of life of the individual. Therefore, several studies have analyzed the use of music therapy as a therapeutic intervention in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), since in this clinical condition there is a loss in social interaction and communication. Objective: To identify the main benefits of music therapy in the treatment of children with autism. Method: This is a systematic review, which used the following descriptors: "music therapy", "child", "autism spectrum disorder" with search in the databases: Medline, EBSCO, LILACS and SciELO. The inclusion criteria were articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish; full articles with the theme in question; articles published and indexed in the last 5 years in the mentioned databases. The exclusion criteria were review articles and articles that were not related to the theme. Results: 21 references that met the criteria of this research were selected. Of these, 20 articles evidenced the value of music and its role as a therapeutic resource in children with ASD and 1 was indifferent to the results presented. Those that presented positive results evaluated the application of music therapy in the medium and long term and the benefits presented were the development of new social interactions, improvement in the behavioral pattern of isolation, and improvement in communication skills. The study that did not show significant results evaluated the social affect and the parents' perception of social response and concluded that there was no considerable improvement. Conclusion: Based on the analysis of the studies presented, it can be concluded that the application of music therapy acts positively in the areas of socialization, communication, and language. Playing with instruments is a way to interact with others and establish strong social bonds, being one of the most important aspects of this practice. The benefits are not immediate, but in the long term they promote emotional satisfaction, break the patterns of social isolation and facilitate self-expression.

Palavras Chave

"music therapy" "autism spectrum disorder" "child" "benefits"