Reviewing the effect of creative arts therapy on the development of cognitive and social skills in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Sydney Brannen; Jackelina Pando-Kelly

doi:10.33178/SMJ.2023.1.4

Authors

Sydney Brannen
Jackelina Pando-Kelly

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33178/SMJ.2023.1.4

Keywords:

creative arts therapy, ASD, autism spectrum disorder, development

Abstract

Creative art therapy has been utilized for many years as a treatment regimen for certain mental disorders. Overall, results of studies on creative art therapy show a positive trend, with general improvements in mental health and reduction of neurological symptoms in the majority of cases. The results regarding the effectiveness of creative art therapies in treating autism spectrum disorder are unclear and varied, due to the range of symptoms involved in autism spectrum disorder, the effect of age on therapy, and the variety of creative art therapies available for use. Of all the creative art therapies chosen to review, music was the most investigated. The studies performed on music therapy showed positive results, however, a large-scale randomized controlled trial refuted the positive benefits, leading to an inconclusive overall result on the effectiveness of music therapy. Research on the benefits of creative art therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder is inconclusive. Studies generally demonstrate a positive effect on many different types of creative art therapies. However, these studies have major limitations in generalizability due to small sample sizes and their descriptive nature. Future research should focus on developing randomized controlled trial protocols that can be used on a larger scale to generate more definitive results on the benefits, or lack thereof, of creative art therapies. Research should also be performed on the effect of adolescence on creative art therapies, and whether targeting it at younger children with autism spectrum disorder would be more or less beneficial than targeting it towards adolescents.

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