Music therapy for children with autism: investigating social behaviour through music

Media reports of people with autism who have a special link to music are not a new phenomenon. Since the first person was diagnosed with autism in 1943, such reports are regularly made. The link between music and autism is now being revisited because in addition to qualitative and experiential views, empirical evidence of the effect of music on children with autism now exists in medical journals. However, before advocating for the broader use of music therapy in children with autism, we need to understand how this therapy works, why it sometimes does and does not work, and how its use can be scaled up.