Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of Melodic Based Communication Therapy for Eliciting Speech in Nonverbal Children with Autism

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of Melodic Based Communication Therapy (MBCT) to traditional speech and language therapy for eliciting speech in nonverbal children with autism. Participants were 12 nonverbal children with autism ages 5 through 7 randomly assigned to either treatment group. Both groups made significant progress after treatment. The MBCT group progressed significantly in number of verbal attempts after weeks 1 through 4 and number of correct words after weeks 1 and 3, while the traditional group progressed significantly after weeks 4 and 5. No significant differences in number of verbal attempts or number of correct words were noted between groups following treatment. A significant number of new words were heard in the home environment for the MBCT group (p = .04). Participants in the MBCT group had more imitative attempts (p = .03). MBCT appears to be a valid form of intervention for children with autism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Accordino, R., Comer, R., & Heller, W. B. (2006). Searching for music’s potential: A critical examination of research on music therapy with individuals with Autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 1(1), 101–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altgassen, M., Kliegel, M., & Williams, T. (2005). Pitch perception in children with autistic spectrum disorders. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 23(4), 543–558.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2005). Evidence-based practice in communication disorders [Position Statement]. Available from www.asha.org/policy.

  • Berman, I. W. (1981). Musical functioning, speech lateralization and the Amusias. South African Medical Journal, 59(3), 78–81.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brenton, J. N., Devries, S. P., Barton, C., Minnich, H., & Sokol, D. K. (2008). Absolute pitch in a four-year-old boy with autism. Pediatric Neurology, 39(2), 137–138.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Callan, D. E., Tsytsarev, V., Hanakawa, T., Callan, A. M., Katsuhara, M., Fukuyama, H., et al. (2006). Song and speech: Brain regions involved with perception and covert production. Neuroimage, 31(3), 1327–1342.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2012). Prevalence of Autism spectrum disorders–Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, United States, 2008. Morbidity and mortal weekly report (MMWR), Vol. 61(3).

  • Charlop, M. H. & Haymes, L. K. (1994). Speech and language intervention: Behavioral approaches. In. J. L. Matson (Ed.), Autism in children and adults: Etiology, assessment, and intervention (pp. 213–24). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

  • Dawson, G. (Ed.). (1989) Autism: Nature, Diagnosis, and Treatment. New York: The Guilford Press.

  • Finnigan, E., & Starr, E. (2010). Increasing social responsiveness in a child with autism. A comparison of music and non-music interventions. Autism, 14(4), 321–348.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flagg, E. J., Cardy, J. E., Roberts, W., & Roberts, T. P. (2005). Language lateralization development in children with autism: Insights from the late field magnetoencephalogram. Neuroscience Letters, 386(2), 82–87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gozzi, M., Nielson, D. M., Lenroot, R. K., Ostuni, J. L. Luckenbaugh, D. A., Thurm, A. E., Giedd, J. N. & Swedo, S. E. (2012). Biological Psychiatry, [Epub ahead of print].

  • Hardan, A. Y., Pabalan, M., Gupta, N., Bansal, R., Melhem, N. M., Fedorov, S., et al. (2009). Corpus Callosum volume in children with Autism. Psychiatry Research, 174(1), 57–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heaton, P. (2009). Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 364(1522), 1443–1447.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heaton, P., Davis, R. E., & Happe, G. E. (2008). Exceptional absolute pitch perception for spoken words in an able adult with autism. Neuropsychologia, 46(7), 2095–2098.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herbert, M. R., Ziegler, D. A., Deutsch, C. K., O’Brien, L. M., Kennedy, D. N., Filipek, P. A., et al. (2005). Brain asymmetries in autism and developmental language disorder: A nested whole-brain analysis. Brain, 128(1), 213–226.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoelzley, P. D. (1993). Communication potentiating sounds: Developing channels of communication with autistic children through psychobiological responses to novel sound stimuli. Canadian Journal of Music Therapy, 1(1), 54–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, M. (2008). Isolated right temporal lobe stroke patients present with Geschwind Gastaut syndrome, frontal network syndrome and delusional misidentification syndromes. Behavioral Neurology, 20(3), 83–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. A., Treharne, D. A., & Boucher, J. (1997). Rhythm and language in children with moderate learning difficulties. European Journal of Disorders of Communication: The Journal of the College of Speech and Language Therapists, London, 32(1), 99–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keary, C. J., Minshew, N. J., Bansal, R., Goradia, D., Fedorov, S., Keshavan, M. S., et al. (2009). Corpus callosum volume and neurocognition in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(6), 834–841.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, K. (2001). They’ve got rhythm. Clapping away attention deficits? U.S. News & World Report, 130(15), 50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, M. J., Hong, J. H., & Jang, S. H. (2011). The cortical effect of clapping on the human brain: A functional MRI study. NeuroRehabilitation, 28(2), 75–79.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knecht, S., Drager, B., Deppe, M., Bobe, L., Lohmann, H., Floel, A., et al. (2000). Handedness and hemispheric language dominance in healthy humans. Brain, 123, 2512–2518.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koegel, L. K., Singh, A. K., & Koegel, R. L. (2010). Improving motivation for academics in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(9), 1057–1066.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koegel, R. L., Vernon, T. W., & Koegel, L. K. (2009). Improving social initiations in young children with autism using reinforcers with embedded social interactions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(9), 1240–1251.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, G., Pantazatos, S. P., Schneider, H., & Hirsch, J. (2012). Neural systems for speech and song in autism. Brain, 135(Pt.3), 961–975.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarev, V. V., Pontes, A., Mitrofanov, A. A., & deAzevedo, L. C. (2010). Interhemispheric asymmetry in EEG photic driving coherence in childhood autism. Clinical Neurophysiology, 121(2), 145–152.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lim, H. A. (2010). Effect of “developmental speech and language training through music” on speech production in children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Music Therapy, 47(1), 2–26.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, Y. L., & Fook-Chong, S. (2004). Ipsilateral and contralateral motor inhibitory control in musical and vocalization tasks. Experimental Brain Research, 159(2), 258–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E., Leventhal, B., DiLavore, P., et al. (2000). The autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30(3), 205–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P., & Risi, S. (1999). Autism diagnostic observational schedule (ADOS). Western Psychological Services.

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., Goode, S., Heemsbergen, J., Jordan, H., Mahwood, L., et al. (1989). Autism diagnostic observation schedule: A standardized observation of communicative and social behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19(2), 185–212.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matsuyama, K. (2005). Correlation between musical responsiveness and developmental age among early age children as assessed by the Non-Verbal Measurement of the Musical Responsiveness of Children. Medical Science Monitor: International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research, 11(10), 485–492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. B., & Toca, J. M. (1979). Adapted melodic intonation therapy: A case study of an experimental language program for an autistic child. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 40(4), 201–2013.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar-Szakacs, I., & Heaton, P. (2012). Muic: A unique window into the world of autism. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1252(1), 318–324.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mostafa, M., Kotby, M. N., Barakah, M., el-Sady, S., Allosh, T., Elshobary, A., et al. (1989). Dominant functions of right versus the left hemisphere. Acta Otolaryngolica, 107(5–6), 479–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman, B., Reinke, D., & Ramos, M. (2009). Is a reasonable attempt reasonable? Shaping versus reinforcing verbal attempts of preschoolers with autsim. The Analysis of verbal behavior, 25, 67–72.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oimet, T., Foster, N. E., Tryfon, A., & Hyde, K. L. (2012). Auditory-musical processing in autism spectrum disorders: A review of behavioral and brain imaging studies. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1252, 325–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olander, L., Smith, A., & Zelaznik, H. N. (2010). Evidence that a motor timing deficit is a factor in the development of stuttering. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53(4), 876–886.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ono, K., Nakamura, A., Yoshiyama, K., Kinkori, T., Bundo, M., Kato, T., & Ito, K. (2011). The effect of musical experience on hemispheric lateralization in musical feature processing. Neuroscience Letters. [Epub ahead of print].

  • Overton, T., Fielding, C., & de Alba, R. G. (2008). Brief Report: exploratory analysis of the ADOS revised algorithm: Specificity and predictive value with Hispanic children referred for autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(6), 1166–1169.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Park, J. Y., Park, H., Kim, J. I., & Park, H. J. (2011). Consonant chords stimulate higher EEG gamma activity than dissonant chords. Neuroscience Letters, 488(1), 101–105.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pickett, E., Pullara, O., O’Grady, J., & Gordon, B. (2009). Speech acquisition in older nonverbal individuals with Autism: A review of features, methods and prognosis. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 22(1), 1–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prizant, B. M., & Wetherby, A. M. (1993). Communication in preschool autistic children. In E. Schopler, M. Van Bourgandien, & M. Bristol (Eds.), Preschool issues in autism (pp. 95–128). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pujol, J., Lopez-Sala, A., Deus, J., Cardoner, N., Sebastian-Galles, N., Conesa, G., et al. (2002). The lateral asymmetry of the human brain studied by volumetric magnetic resonance imaging. Neuroimage, 17(2), 670–679.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schlaug, G., Forgeard, M., Zhu, L., Norton, A., & Winner, E. (2009). Training-induced neuroplasticity in young children. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1169, 205–208.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schlaug, G., Jancke, L., Huang, Y., Staiger, J. F., & Steinmetz, H. (1995). Increased corpus callosum size in musicians. Neuropsychologia, 33, 1047–1055.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shukla, D. K., Keehn, B., Lincoln, A. J., & Muller, R. (2010). White matter compromise of callosal and subcortical fiber tracts in children with autism spectrum disorder: A diffusion tensor imaging study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 49(12), 1269–1278.e2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr, E., & Zenker, E. (1998). Understanding autism in the context of music therapy: Bridging theory and practice. Canadian Journal of Music Therapy, 6, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturmey, P. (2008). How to teach verbal behavior. Austin, TX: Proed Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szirony, G. M., Pearson, L. C., Burgin, J. S., Murray, G. C., & Elrod, L. M. (2007). Brain hemisphere dominance and vocational preference: A preliminary analysis. Work, 29(4), 323–329.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volkert, V. M., Lerman, D. C., Trosclair, N., Addison, L., & Kodak, T. (2008). An exploratory analysis of task-interspersal procedures while teaching object labels to children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 41(3), 335–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, C. Y., Bazen, L., Baars, R., Libenson, A., Zipse, L., Zuk, J., Norton, A., & Schlaug, G. (2011) Auditory-motor mapping training as an intervention to facilitate speech output in non-verbal children with Autism: A proof of concept study. Public Library of Science PLoS One, 6(9).

  • Wan, C. Y., Demaine, K., Zipse, L., Norton, A., & Schlaug, G. (2010a). From music making to speaking: Engaging the mirror neuron system in autism. Brain Research Bulletin, 82(3–4), 161–168.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, C. Y., Ruber, T., Hohman, A., & Schlaug, G. (2010b). The therapeutic effects of singing on neurological disorders. Music Perception, 27(4), 287–295.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, C. Y., & Schlaug, G. (2010). Neural pathways for language in autism: The potential for music based treatments. Special report. Future Neurology, 5(6), 797–805.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., & Leslie, D. L. (2010). Health care expenditures for children with autism spectrum disorders in Medicaid. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(11), 1165–1171.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, W., & Newmark, S. (2007). Complementary and alternative medical therapies for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 54(6), 983–1006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimpory, D., Chadwick, P., & Nash, S. (1995). Brief report: musical interaction therapy for children with autism: An evaluative case study with two-year follow-up. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25(5), 541–552.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Funding from the Communication Sciences and Disorders and Rehabilitation Sciences Departments at Loma Linda University supported this research. We are grateful to the families who participated in this research and to the talented and patient Loma Linda University Communication Sciences and Disorders graduate students who were involved in the providing of therapy, Brittany Masai, Jordan Shimamura, Ryan Forgette, Christine DerDanielian, Jennifer Diaz, and Cassie Richardson. We also thank the Sachs Norton Clinic for the use of their speech therapy rooms for the duration of the study. Special thanks to pediatric neurologist Dr. Sarah Roddy and neuroscientist Dr. Ernie Schwab for their invaluable advice on the neurology of the brain as well as their supportive role in planning and designing this study. Special thanks, as well, to statistician Dr. Grenith Zimmerman for her invaluable support in the design and planning phases of this study. Special thanks to musicians Alan-Pierre Eloi (Alleykat Entertainment Inc.) and Shannon Hicks, for their role in making MBCT a reality. Special thanks to the first author’s family and friends for their support and prayers throughout the duration of this study. God is able.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Allied Health Professionals, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA

    Givona A. Sandiford, Karen J. Mainess & Noha S. Daher

  2. c/o Karen J. Mainess at LLU SAHP, Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA

    Givona A. Sandiford

Authors
  1. Givona A. Sandiford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Karen J. Mainess
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Noha S. Daher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Givona A. Sandiford.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 79 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sandiford, G.A., Mainess, K.J. & Daher, N.S. A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of Melodic Based Communication Therapy for Eliciting Speech in Nonverbal Children with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 1298–1307 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1672-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1672-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation