Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan 14;12(1):87.
doi: 10.3390/children12010087.

The Impact of a Music- and Movement-Based Intervention on Motor Competence, Social Engagement, and Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Chayma Kanzari  1 , Aymen Hawani  2   3 , Karim Ben Ayed  1 , Maher Mrayeh  2   3 , Santo Marsigliante  4 , Antonella Muscella  4
Affiliations

The Impact of a Music- and Movement-Based Intervention on Motor Competence, Social Engagement, and Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Chayma Kanzari et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background/objectives: The main objective of this manuscript is to evaluate the effects of training, music, and movement intervention on motor functions, social engagement, and behaviors in autistic children.

Methods: Twenty-one children with a diagnosis of mild autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with an age range of 5-to-13 years, were divided into two groups: the experimental group (n = 10) and the control group (n = 11). All participants were examined before (T0) and after the intervention (T1) to evaluate their motor functions (Bruininks-Oseretsky Motor Performance Test (BOT-2)), maladaptive behavior (RCS (Response to Challenge Scale)), and enjoyment and engagement (PACES (Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale)).

Results: Statistical analysis showed that music and movement intervention significantly improved motor functions such as balance and bilateral coordination (p < 0.0001), social engagement (p = 0.002), and adaptive behaviors (p = 0.005) in children with ASD. Our research supports the feasibility of music and movement intervention and documents the interest in participating in children with ASD.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the benefits of movement and music interventions and can be considered a useful way to manage autism spectrum disorders in the future.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder (ASD); intervention; motor functions; movement; music; physical activity; social engagement; stereotypical behavior.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram. Experimental design: PACES, Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale; RCS, Response to Challenge Scale; BOT-2, Bruininks–Oseretsky Motor Performance Test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Explanatory figure of the intervention protocol. Physical activity in the air refers to movements where the feet leave the ground, including jumps, leaps, rope skipping, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The mean scores of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) before and after the training program in both groups. ** p < 0.01 by ANOVA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Hodges H., Fealko C., Soares N. Autism spectrum disorder: Definition, epidemiology, causes, and clinical evaluation. Transl. Pediatr. 2020;9((Suppl. S1)):S55–S65. doi: 10.21037/tp.2019.09.09. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fakhoury M. Autistic spectrum disorders: A review of clinical features, theories and diagnosis. Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. 2015;43:70–77. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2015.04.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lord C., Elsabbagh M., Baird G., Veenstra-Vanderweele J. Autism spectrum disorder. Lancet. 2018;392:508–520. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31129-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alves J.G.B., Alves G.V. Effects of physical activity on children’s growth. J. Pediatr. 2019;95((Suppl. S1)):72–78. doi: 10.1016/j.jped.2018.11.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lim Y.H., Licari M., Spittle A.J., Watkins R.E., Zwicker J.G., Downs J., Finlay-Jones A. Early Motor Function of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. Pediatrics. 2021;147:e2020011270. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-011270. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources