The Use of Music Therapy Interventions to Improve Pre-Reading Skills and Reduce Off-Task Behaviors during Reading Tasks of a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Wiputh Kehasuwan

fonput@gmail.com

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the music therapy interventions used to improve pre-reading skills and reduce off-task behaviors during reading tasks of a 6-year-old child with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study employed ABAB single-case experimental and qualitative case-study design. In the study, the music therapy interventions (B) were provided four days a week alternatively with non-music conditions each week including five days of baseline phase (A). The Word Reading Test (WRT) was used to evaluate pre-reading skills and Off-task Behavior Observation Form was employed to measure the off-task behaviors of the participant during reading tasks. The results were represented using visual inspection and qualitative case analysis.

The results showed that the word reading scores of the participant were increased during both music and non-music conditions, but the scores rapidly improved during participating in music therapy sessions. In terms of off-task behaviors, participant exhibited off-task behaviors about 50% of the sessions. On the contrary, the off-task decreased dramatically while engaging in music therapy sessions and also reduced during participating in the second non-music phase.

Keywords:Music Therapy Interventions, Pre-Reading Skills, Off-Task Behaviors,
      A Child with Autism Spectrum Disorders