ABSTRACT

Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may have strengths in musical skills and music perception. Some children with ASD may also have better social engagement in music activities, making music a potential strength for interacting with others. Although children with ASD may be mainstreamed into music education classes, there is little known research on the impact of peer support. The purpose of this project was to examine the impact of peer-assisted learning (PAL) on musical creatiFvity and pro-social skills, between neurotypical (NT) and students with ASD. The following questions were investigated: (a) does music making with a peer impact music creativity differently in NT children and children with ASD, (b) does music making with a peer promote pro-social skills differently in NT children and in children with ASD. The sample included eighteen children with ASD and twenty-eight children with no known disability, between the ages of 9–14. Results of this study provide initial evidence that PAL experiences may be mutually beneficial for children with ASD and NT peers. In particular, an increase in pro-social skills were observed for some children grouped with NT peers, while the amount of time in creative music-making was similar between NT and NT/ASD peer groups.

摘要

患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的人可能在音乐技能和音乐感知方面具有优势。一些患有自闭症的儿童在音乐活动中也可能有更好的社交参与，使音乐成为与他人互动的潜在力量。虽然自闭症儿童可能会被纳入音乐教育课程的主流，但关于同伴支持影响的研究鲜为人知。该项目的目的是检查同伴辅助学习 (PAL) 对神经典型 (NT) 和 ASD 学生之间的音乐创造力和亲社会技能的影响。调查了以下问题：(a) 与同伴一起制作音乐对 NT 儿童和 ASD 儿童的音乐创造力是否有不同的影响，(b) 与同伴一起制作音乐对 NT 儿童和 ASD 儿童的亲社会技能有不同的促进作用吗？ . 样本包括 18 名患有 ASD 的儿童和 28 名没有已知残疾的儿童，年龄在 9-14 岁之间。这项研究的结果提供了初步证据，表明 PAL 经历可能对患有 ASD 和 NT 同龄的儿童互惠互利。特别是，观察到与 NT 同龄人分组的一些儿童的亲社会技能有所提高，而 NT 和 NT/ASD 同龄人组之间创造性音乐制作的时间相似。