Playing Drums May Improve Socialization, Focus in Teens With Autism

The percussive skill needed to bang out rhythms on a drum may help improve socializing, inhibition control and focus among teens with autism, research suggests.

The finding follows work with 36 teens with an autism spectrum disorder. Half were randomly chosen to receive two months’ worth of drum training, based on a standard electronic drum kit program.

Designed so that it could track each teen’s motor performance and timing accuracy, the program “consisted of learning to perform a series of repetitive rhythm patterns,” explained lead author Marie-Stephanie Cahart.

The upshot: Learning to drum appeared to reduce hyperactive behavior and improve teens’ ability to focus and pay attention, she said. The activity also seemed to enhance communication “between brain regions responsible for inhibitory control, action-outcome monitoring, and self-regulation.”

Cahart is a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London in the United Kingdom.

She noted that autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition marked by deficits in social communication and interaction, as well as a range of repetitive interests, activities and behaviors.

To see if it could be of help, researchers tested a drumming program among three dozen teens (average age 18). None had drummed before.

Those assigned to drum training were given two 45-minute sessions a week for eight weeks. The other group received no drum training.

All underwent brain scans and neuro-psychological testing both before and after the study. Severity of autism symptoms was also assessed for all.

By the study’s end, caregivers and drum tutors reported that participants who received drum training had better ability to make eye contact, verbalize their needs and regulate their emotions, Cahart said. As a result, participants’ self-esteem was better and there were fewer angry outbursts, according to the caregivers and tutors.

Donna Murray, vice president and head of clinical programs at Autism Speaks, said she is not aware of drumming being specifically deployed as an autism intervention.

At the same time, she suggested that the potential benefit be viewed in the overall context of music therapy, which “is a common supplemental therapy” for people with autism.

Music therapies designed “to address motor coordination, synchronization and even tapping to enhance verbal communication have been successful in improving outcomes, in a number of conditions,” Murray added.

In this instance, she noted, the findings suggest that drumming may have a positive impact in several areas of concern for people with autism, including attention and focus, inhibition and motor control, and better timing.

But while the findings “look promising,” Murray said the study’s small size means it’s too soon to draw broad conclusions or make clinical recommendations.

The findings were published online Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Excerpted from “Playing Drums May Improve Socialization, Focus in Teens With Autism” in HealthDay Read the full article online.