Education ‘in’ and ‘through’ singing to improve and facilitate the communication skills of autistic children

Introduction/Background
Autistic children can gain from education ‘in’ and ‘through’ music (Ockelford & Markou, 2012, p. 387). This exploratory study explored four research questions: 1) What approaches do teachers of singing consider to be effective in teaching singing to autistic students, including students who are MS (minimally speaking)? 2) What is the impact of teaching autistic students to sing as perceived by teachers of singing? 3) What are the perceptions of practitioners and parents about how singing can facilitate the communication skills of autistic children who are NS (nonspeaking), MS, or LS (limited speaking)? 4) To explore how, while keeping the uniqueness of the child at the centre, I can use singing to facilitate and improve the communication skills of autistic children who are NS, MS, or LS.
Methods
In phase one, 35 singing teachers answered an online questionnaire. In the second phase, online interviews were conducted with 14 participants, including parents, music therapists, and speech-language pathologists. In the third phase, five autistic children and their caregivers participated in an ethnographic study; an ethnographic case series was written. Data was analysed using descriptive analytics and reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022).
Findings and Discussion
The responses to the questionnaire indicated that a specific singing teaching approach for all autistic students does not exist. Singing teachers observed improvements in musical and other skills, including communication skills. The interviews suggested that singing can be explored as a tool to facilitate communication skills. The importance of goal adaptation and linking singing to communication goals was emphasised in the ethnographic case series. This qualitative, exploratory study showed that singing is perceived as a potential tool for fostering the development of communication skills in autistic students; however, further research using quantitative methods is needed to analyse the impact of singing instruction on autistic students.