Autism - Children's Improvisational Music Therapy Evaluation

Last updated: March 24, 2025
Sponsor: Prof Simon Baron-Cohen
Overall Status: Active - Recruiting

Phase

N/A

Condition

Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd)

Treatment

Improvisational Music Therapy

Clinical Study ID

NCT06016621
PRE.2022.077
ETH2223-3184
  • Ages 7-11
  • All Genders

Study Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of individual sessions of improvisational music therapy for autistic children aged 7 - 11.

Researchers will compare the impact of adding improvisational music therapy to usual care alone for autistic children over a 12-week period.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the following two conditions: the Improvisational Music Therapy (intervention) Group or the support as usual (control) Group.

The aim is to achieve seven overarching objectives:

  1. To determine whether 12 weeks of individual sessions of improvisational music therapy in addition to support as usual is superior to support as usual alone in improving social communication in autistic children.

  2. To examine whether 12 weeks of individual sessions of improvisational music therapy in addition to support as usual is superior to support as usual alone in improving communication skills in autistic children.

  3. To examine whether 12 weeks of individual sessions of improvisational music therapy in addition to support as usual is superior to support as usual alone in reducing psychosocial problems in autistic children.

  4. To examine whether 12 weeks of individual sessions of improvisational music therapy in addition to support as usual is superior to support as usual alone in improving wellbeing of autistic children.

  5. To examine whether 12 weeks of individual sessions of improvisational music therapy in addition to support as usual is superior to support as usual alone in improving adaptive functioning in autistic children.

  6. To examine whether 12 weeks of individual sessions of improvisational music therapy in addition to support as usual is superior to support as usual alone in improving anxiety in autistic children.

  7. To examine whether the therapeutic relationship predicts the development of social, communication and language skills among autistic children.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 7 to 11 years.

  • A clinical diagnosis of autism made by a qualified professional according to theInternational Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10th Revision criteria. Confirmed bya copy of the clinical report detailing the diagnosis (if available) or verifiedverbally by the child's parents.

  • Parents/guardians must give informed consent for their children to be enrolled inthe trial.

  • Parents/guardians must be willing for the music therapy sessions and BOSCCassessments to be video recorded for monitoring and research purpose

  • Participants must be willing to attend two music therapy sessions per week for theduration of the trial.

  • Non-verbal children may be included

Exclusion

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Received regular individual music therapy in the preceding year as this would belikely to have a strong influence on the course of therapy.

  • Severe hearing deficit as this would alter the aim, course, and implementation oftherapy.

  • Caregivers that are unable to attend for the psychological assessments with theirchild.

  • Caregivers without a basic understanding of English.

Study Design

Total Participants: 240
Treatment Group(s): 1
Primary Treatment: Improvisational Music Therapy
Phase:
Study Start date:
November 13, 2023
Estimated Completion Date:
December 31, 2025

Study Description

Co-Chief Investigators Professor Simon Baron-Cohen Dr Carrie Allison Dr David M. Greenberg Dr. Jonathan Pool

Co-Investigators Dr Artur Jaschke

Advisor Emeritus Professor Helen Odell-Miller Dr. Claire Howlin

The Autism-CHIME trial is designed as a rigorous Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of individual sessions of improvisational music therapy with autistic children. The trial will be conducted in mainstream and special schools located in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, London, and the South and East of England. The number of schools involved will depend on the number of eligible children willing to participate, with a minimum of 5-10 children per school.

Enrolled participants will undergo 1:1 block randomisation, to either support as usual plus improvisational music therapy sessions (intervention arm) or support as usual (control arm). Randomisation will occur after the baseline assessments have been completed. Participants will be stratified based on the version of the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC) that they are allocated (primary outcome measure): (1) Minimally Verbal, (2) Phrase Speakers, or (3) Fluent Speakers, so that there are equal numbers in each group, and that the control group and experimental group are balanced.

Data will be collected at different time points during the trial:

The first data collection point (T1) will be collected prior to randomisation (to establish eligibility to participate and assess baseline functioning), and at the primary endpoint T2 (13 weeks after randomisation; end of intervention) and the secondary endpoint T3 will be 39 weeks post-randomisation (i.e. 6 months after the end of music therapy).

The trial will finish after the final follow-up data collection from the participants is completed.

Connect with a study center

  • Anglia Ruskin University

    Cambridge, CB1 1PT
    United Kingdom

    Active - Recruiting

  • Autism Research Centre

    Cambridge, CB2 8AH
    United Kingdom

    Active - Recruiting

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