Evidence for intact melodic and rhythmic perception in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study sought to examine music perception in terms of melodic pitch, rhythm, and memory in school-age children with ASD compared to typically-developing (TD) children. Music perception was investigated as a function of verbal and non-verbal IQ, age, and ASD social symptom severity.ResultsChildren with ASD performed similar to TD children on melodic pitch perception, rhythm perception and melodic memory. Melodic pitch perception in particular was strongly associated with non-verbal cognitive abilities in the ASD group. Similar effects of age on performance were observed in ASD and TD; in particular, rhythm discrimination increased with age in both groups. Music perception in ASD was not associated with ASD social symptom severity.DiscussionThese findings provide further evidence for intact melodic and rhythmic perception in children with ASD. In addition, music perception abilities were related to non-verbal cognitive ability and age in ASD, and not with ASD social symptom severity. This research provides a better understanding of individual differences in auditory processing, helps to better define phenotypes in ASD, and can guide future studies on the effects of music therapy in ASD.
Source: Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research