• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.89-110
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• 2016

This study examined the effect of an interactive instrument playing program on the social interaction of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A single subject design with multiple baselines across participants was applied, and three adults with severe ASD in their late 20s living at a group home participated in this study. Participants received a total of 25 group sessions. During the intervention, participants engaged in structured instrument playing in which initiation and response to socially interactive behaviors were musically cued, and target behaviors were reinforced in the musical environment. At pre- and posttest, the frequency of initiation of and responding to social interaction behaviors were recorded and analyzed. The results of this study showed that the frequency of both initiation of, and response to, social interaction increased for all participants during the intervention phase, compared to the baseline phase. This result demonstrates that interactive instrument playing increased social behaviors of adults with ASD. It also shows that musically delivered social information can facilitate adults with ASD understanding the intention of social partners in social contexts and motivate this population to engage in social interaction.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.19-43
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• 2017

This study aimed to examine the effects of a reciprocal attention intervention on the joint attention behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by comparing the music and nonmusic conditions. An alternating treatment design was applied as one of the single subject designs and the reciprocal attention intervention included music and nonmusic conditions implemented alternately within a session. The participants were four children between the ages 4 and 5 years and each participant who participated in 23 intervention sessions that followed the sequence of baseline (3 sessions), treatment (15 sessions), and follow-up (5 sessions). The music condition consisted of structured joint instrument playing, trials for attentional shift, and interactive instrument playing. The nonmusic condition consisted of joint toy play, trials for attentional shift, and turn taking-based play. The occurrence of target behaviors (i. e., joint attention behavior, eye gaze, and joint action) was analyzed across sessions. At pretest and posttest, the Early Social Communication Scale was administered. All participants showed increasing tendency in all target behaviors, but such occurrence was greater in the music condition than in the nonmusic condition. The findings support the use of a reciprocal attention intervention with musical stimuli to effectively improve joint attention in this population.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.7
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• pp.341-348
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• 2017

The aim of this study is to distinguish children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the norm group by identifying their Intelligence with Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (K-WISC-IV) profile analysis. The article were administered to 90 children with high-functioning ASD (6-16) years and has surveyed the average of the Full scale IQ, index scores, and subtest scores of K-WISC-IV. Also, this study has conducted a single-subject T-test in order to verify whether Full scale IQ, index scores, subtest scores are different from those of the norm group. The results show that children with high-functioning ASD achieved significantly lower scores on Processing Speed Index, compared to the norm group. Furthermore, their scores in Comprehension, Picture Concept, Picture completion, Coding, and Symbol Search were significantly lower than those of the norm group. It is likely that what have turned out to be the cognitive weaknesses of high-functioning ASD children by K-WISC-IV analysis, including slow process speed, low social judgement, and difficulty in visual stimuli in everyday life are interrelated to their unique characters.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.15-28
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• 2020

Objective : The purpose of this study was to verify the construct validity of Short Sensory Profile-2 (SSP-2) for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Methods : Data were collected from SSP-2 for 120 parents of ASD children. Raw data were analyzed by applying the Rasch analysis to the goodness fit of person and item, item difficulty, rating scale, and separation reliability of SSP-2. Results : 7 persons in sensory processing area and 8 persons in behavioral response area were inappropriate criteria and excluded from the analysis. Item goodness-of-fit analysis determined that the If the Mnsq value is between 0.6 and 1.4 and the Z value is outside the ±2 range for nonconformity. this study All items in the instrument were found to have appropriate criteria. Item difficulty analysis in sensory processing area was high in item 13 (.48 logit) and low in item 10 (-.54 logit). In the behavioral response area, item 25 (1.58 logit) was high and item 30 (-.68 logit) was low. In the rating scale analysis, it was found that the 3-point scale is more appropriate than the 5-point scale. The separation reliability of sensory processing area was .90 and the behavioral response area was .95. Conclusion : This study verified the construct validity of SSP-2 and expected to be applied as a useful evaluation tool for children with ASD.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.19-31
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• 2019

Objective : The purpose of this study was to examine differences of psychological symptoms for mothers of infants with autism spectrum disorder(ASD) according to the level of parenting stress. Methods : The subjects were seventy-two mothers of infants with ASD(aged 22 months to 71 months) completed Korean Parenting Stress Index (K-PSI) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory(MMPI-2). The data was analyzed using SPSS 23.0 program. Results : First, total and parent domain of parenting stress were positively correlated with several clinical scales of MMPI-2. However, there was no significant association between the child domain of parenting stress and clinical scale MMPI-2. Second, as a result of verified the difference of psychological symptoms according to level of total and parent domain of parenting stress, high-risks group was significantly higher scores in several clinical scales of MMPI-2 relative to those in normal range group. However, regarding the association between the child domain of parenting stress and psychological symptoms, there was no significant difference in psychological symptoms between high-risks group and normal range group. Conclusions : The results of this study have implications for verified the difference of psychological symptoms according to level of parenting stress among mothers of infants with ASD.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.19-43
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• 2021

The purpose of this case study was to examine whether an interactive music-making intervention using GarageBand was applicable to improve the social communication skills of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two children with ASD (both male, ages = 8 and 11 yrs.) participated in this study. The interactive music-making intervention included three stages: 1) musical imitation, 2) musical expression and coordination, and 3) musical interaction. Each session lasted 40 minutes, and sessions took place twice a week over 4 weeks. The participants' social communication behaviors were observed and analyzed in terms of exchanging ideas with each other. Engagement in interactive behaviors (e.g., turn-taking, imitating or reflecting the investigator's music, and creating one's own music using the motive from the investigator) during music making was also analyzed. During the sessions, increases in the attempts to express their opinions on music making processes and requests for help for the process were observed. Engagement in turn-taking form of interactive playing and reflecting the musical motive from a partner (i.e., investigator) were also improved. The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) ratings indicated negative social behaviors decreased after intervention in both participants. The findings of this study suggest that interactive music-making activities using GarageBand can be an effective method in clinical practice to improve social communication skills for school-aged children with ASD.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.43-52
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• 2021

Objectives This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of 63 patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who received Korean medicine treatment. Methods This study identified and retrospectively reviewed the first visit records and clinical characteristics of all of the patients who visited the Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital and Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital at Gangdong in South Korea with ASD as their chief complaints. The herbal medicines that were prescribed according to the patient's symptoms were analyzed by separating them into categories. Results The data of 83 children with ASD were collected. Among them, the primary medical record charts of 63 patients were reviewed. Additional analysis was performed for 56 patients who were treated with herbal medicine. Through a retrospective chart review, the patients' clinical characteristics and the tendency of the prescribed herbal medicine was identified. Conclusions This study was conducted to provide preliminary data that proposes Korean medicine as a new alternative medical treatment. Our study is meaningful as it used the demographic and clinical records of 63 patients with ASD in Korea who visited an Korean medicine hospital in the last 11 years to identify tendencies and analyzed the prescriptions of two or more Korean medicine pediatricians.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.47-72
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• 2019

This study reviewed and analyzed English-written studies using a rhythmic tapping task for motor control of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Inclusion criteria for the participants were children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children. The keywords used for the outcome variables included rhythmic tapping, timed movement, and synchronization. Ten studies were included in the final analysis. The included studies were analyzed in terms of target variables, auditory stimuli, and measurements. A meta-analysis was also conducted to examine how children with ASD performed rhythmic tapping tasks compared to children with TD. In the identified studies, five variables were used: timed movement control, timing reproduction, bimanual coordination, synchronization, and interpersonal synchronization. It was found that rhythmic tapping performance was analyzed in terms of accuracy and precision of the movement and reported as significantly correlated to social skills measures. The meta-analysis results showed that there were no significant differences between the ASD and TD groups in continuing rhythmic movements when the presented auditory stimuli ended, whereas there were significant group differences in their ability to maintain their motor performance consistently and to synchronize with auditory cue or with others. These results support the rhythmic tapping task as an effective measure for not only motor control but also social skills development in children with ASD.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.29-62
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• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of an interactive singing-based synchronous videoconferencing program for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study was conducted in four stages: analysis of interactive singing tasks in the literature for children with ASD, examination of differences in perception of sounds transmitted via synchronous videoconferencing platform depending on the type of singing tasks and accompaniment, construction of singing-based synchronous videoconferencing program and determination of its validity, and implementation of the constructed program with three children with ASD and confirmation of its feasibility. The results showed that different types of singing tasks and accompaniment affected perception of sounds transmitted online, which highlights the importance of considering such effects when designing synchronous videoconferencing music therapy programs. Also, increases in program engagement and singing behaviors were observed for all three participants, and their caregivers reported high levels of satisfaction with the program. The findings support the applicability of this intervention as a tele-music alternative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical implications and suggestions are discussed.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.122-138
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• 2021

Objectives The purpose of this study is to widely utilize the clinical practice guideline for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by investigating parents who have children with ASD about their perception in ASD and their thoughts on Korean medicine treatment to treat ASD. Methods We conducted a survey on 'perception of ASD' and 'perception and preference of Korean medicine treatment for ASD' on the parents of 22 children with ASD (age 4-6) who visited department of pediatrics of Korean medicine at Kyunghee University Korean medicine hospital at Gangdong and Kyunghee University Korean medicine hospital. Results Of the parents, 20 (90.91%) said their children had no experience with Korean medicine treatment. Among them, 11 (35.48%) chose 'I didn't know that Korean medicine treats ASD' for the reason (multiple choice). When questioned what the worries are for Korean medicine treatment, 13 (30.95%) chose 'worries about probability of side effects of herbal medicine' as the most worrisome reason (multiple choice). On the question about the necessity of Korean medicine for the treatment of ASD, most chose 'Korean medicine treatments are necessary for children with ASD' (9, 40.91%). Conclusions It is necessary to develop a clinical practice guideline that reflects comprehensive evidence for side effects as well as the effectiveness of Korean medicine for ASD, and is necessary to promote the effectiveness and evidence-based Korean medicine treatment to patients and their caregivers through various distribution tools.