Effects of group-based music therapy combined with speech therapy on language and social skills in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: An exploratory randomized controlled trial.

This was a randomised controlled trial — people were assigned to treatments by chance, which is the most reliable way to tell whether a treatment itself caused a change.

It involved 40 people — a modest group, enough to be interesting but not enough to settle a question on its own.

The study ran for 8 weeks. That is a short window, so it says nothing about whether the effects last.

The researchers concluded: "In this exploratory RCT, group-based music therapy was feasible to integrate with speech therapy and was not associated with intervention-related adverse events. Although language performance and selected autism-related behavioral features showed improvements over time, adjunctive group-based music therapy did not demonstrate statistically significant superiority over speech therapy alone."

This is a plain-language summary of one paper's abstract, not medical advice. Talk to your child's clinician before changing anything.

Journal: Research in developmental disabilities

Year: 2026

Design: Randomized Controlled Trial

Participants: 40

Age range: 3-5 years

Intervention: group-based music therapy combined with speech therapy

Co-occurring conditions: Language Development Disorders

Authors: Chih-En Liu, Pei-Ying Chen, Ting-Ju Lai, Shu-Mei Yang

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by early difficulties in language and social communication. While speech therapy is a core early intervention, music therapy has been increasingly applied to support social-emotional development. However, evidence regarding the additive effects of group-based music therapy combined with speech therapy in preschool children with ASD remains limited. METHOD: This exploratory randomized controlled trial enrolled (RCT) preschool children aged 3-5 years with ASD and language delay. Participants were randomly assigned to a Music Therapy group receiving group-based music therapy (60 min/week) plus individual speech therapy (30 min/week), or a Control group receiving speech therapy alone, for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was week 8 language performance assessed using the Preschool Language Scale (PLS). Secondary outcomes included autism-related characteristics, emotional and behavioral functioning, and parenting stress, assessed using the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder-Chinese Version (CASD-C), Pervasive Developmental Problems scale of the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½-5 (CBCL 1½-5 PDP), and Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-4-SF), respectively. The primary treatment effect was evaluated using a multiple imputation-based intention-to-treat (ITT) adjusted analysis accounting for sex and baseline outcome measures. Secondary outcome analyses were interpreted with Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate correction for multiple comparisons. Exploratory within-group analyses and generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to characterize observed changes over time. RESULTS: Forty participants were randomized, and 38 participants completed the week 8 assessment. The ITT analysis included all randomized participants. Observed PLS total scores increased significantly within both groups. Exploratory within-group analyses also showed reductions in CASD-C social interaction issues and emotional difficulties in the Music Therapy group, and CBCL 1½-5 PDP T-scores decreased within both groups. However, the primary adjusted ITT analysis did not demonstrate statistically significant superiority of adjunctive group-based music therapy over speech therapy alone for the primary language outcome (adjusted between-group difference, -1.65; 95% confidence interval, -7.52-4.21; p = 0.569). No statistically significant adjusted between-group differences were observed for secondary outcomes. Exploratory GEE analyses indicated time-related changes in PLS total score, CASD-C sensory difficulties, and CBCL 1½-5 PDP T-score, but no significant group-by-time interactions. CONCLUSION: In this exploratory RCT, group-based music therapy was feasible to integrate with speech therapy and was not associated with intervention-related adverse events. Although language performance and selected autism-related behavioral features showed improvements over time, adjunctive group-based music therapy did not demonstrate statistically significant superiority over speech therapy alone. Larger adequately powered trials are needed to evaluate its incremental benefit.

Research in developmental disabilities, 2026

PMID 42468411

DOI 10.1016/j.ridd.2026.105345

This record was extracted from the paper's PubMed abstract and metadata. Full-text methods and risk-of-bias details were not reviewed.