MUSIC-CENTERED IMPROVISATIONAL MUSIC THERAPY TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

Abstract

This work investigates the treatment protocol used to evaluate the development of the therapeutic process of 10 autistic children, aged between 03 and 06 years, attended in Improvisational Music Therapy sessions, on the Music-centered model, during a semester. The goal is to help music therapists in the course of proceedings to verify the development of the patient and to propose assertive interventions. The protocol identifies steps of music therapy process, related to the following techniques: detection of Clinical Theme Fragments (CTFs), construction of Clinical Theme (CTs) and consolidation of its Variations. The results show that most of the children reached three proposed steps in a stable average number of sessions. The protocol can be effective for research and clinical practice in Music Therapy.