Enhancing Social Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Natural Musical Instruments and Innovative Digital Musical Instruments: A Literature Review

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have serious deficits in their social interactions, due to their limited social skills. There are many ways to use music as an intervention tool. One of them is by using musical instruments. Music emerges as a potential method of intervention, which can be used to address these deficits. The aims of this review are (a) to lay out internationally acclaimed and peer-reviewed studies, describing the elements of interventions with the use of musical instruments by children with autism, (b) to assess and analyze the effects of interventions with the use of musical instruments on the children’s social skills and (c) to provide recommendations to therapists, educators and researchers for future research and implementation. The process of article selection was carried out in strict adherence to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, ensuring methodological rigor and transparency in the systematic review process. A systematic search was conducted, using the following electronic databases: (a) PsycINFO, (b) Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), (c) Scopus and (d) Web of Science. Twelve studies were selected, with their results suggesting that the use of musical instruments, tangible or electronic ones, can have a positive effect on the social skills of children with autism. Inadequacies detected in the mentioned studies are also mentioned, as well as any important topics that should be gradually examined in future research. The present review is conducted within the framework of a doctoral thesis focusing on interventions that utilize music and technology as primary tools.