Background/Purpose It is commonly known that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) typically exhibit off-task behaviors. While music has been used to decrease off-task behaviors in children with various developmental disabilities (Humpal, 1991), there is little empirical evidence supporting the use of music to decrease off-task behaviors of children with ASD, especially in physical education settings. The purpose of this study was to determine if music can facilitate a decrease in off-task physical education behavior of children with ASD.
Method The theoretical framework for this study utilized a behaviorist perspective and the conceptualization was rooted in music therapy. Participants were two preschool children diagnosed with ASD and who had a history of off-task behavior. A single subject reversal design (A-B-A-B) was used and chosen for its ability to compare baseline (A) and treatment (B) conditions. Selected segments of the ALT-PE (Academic Learning Time in Physical Education), a validated tool was used to assess the frequency of off-task behaviors. All sessions were videotaped.
Analysis/Results Treatment fidelity and inter-observer agreement were established (100% and 99%, respectively) on 10% of randomly chosen sessions. Upon visual analysis of graphed data, both participants exhibited marked decreases in off-task behaviors during treatment (music). On average, participant one exhibited a 33% decrease (43% baseline, 11% treatment; 42% baseline, 9% treatment), and participant two a 18% decrease (23% baseline, 7% treatment; 28% baseline, 8% treatment) in off-task behaviors during treatment (music) when compared to baseline.
Conclusions These results can be useful for physical educators when programming activities for children with ASD.
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