Music Therapy as a Resource for ASD in Educational, Health and Family Settings: A Systematic Review

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that primarily affects communication and social behaviour. It is an increasingly prevalent issue in today’s society. Early diagnosis is important because early intervention can improve many aspects of the condition. Traditional methods are very expensive, and not all families can afford them. Music therapy is a cost-effective, non-invasive treatment that can help patients to develop their social, cognitive, linguistic and motor skills, and it can be carried out in family, healthcare or educational settings. This article presents a systematic review to answer the question of how music therapy influences the development of children diagnosed with ASD. Relevant databases (Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed) were consulted and the PRISMA methodology followed. Search strategies involving keywords, Boolean operators and result filtering were employed, and inclusion and exclusion criteria were established. We have not used AI. This process identified 16 articles which provided the results of this systematic review. These results reveal valuable benefits for children with ASD in terms of social, linguistic and motor skills, as well as in the family and educational environments. They also demonstrate improvements in well-being and quality of life. It is concluded that trained professionals are needed to implement music therapy, as it is considered a highly effective resource for children with ASD.