The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a seven week DIR/Floortime parent training on (1) the quality of the parent-child dyad and (2) the child's developmental level. The results of this study provide support for the notion that short term parent training significantly increases the quality of the parent/child interaction and also significantly increases the developmental level of the child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. These significant results were evidenced on the first two levels and the total scores on both the Functional Emotional Assessment Scale - Child (FEAS) and the Neuro-Developmental Disorders of Relating and Communication Functional Emotional Developmental Levels (NDRC-FEDL). / Educational Psychology

This study was concerned with the effectiveness of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT) carried out within a Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-based (DIR®)/Floortime Framework in addressing the individual needs of children with autism. In NRMT, the child is an active participant in the music making process, playing various instruments that require no formal training. The therapist's task is to improvise music built around the child's musical responses, reactions, responses, and/or movements to engage him or her in a musical experience that will facilitate musical relatedness, communication, socialization, and awareness. The DIR® model provides a comprehensive framework for assessing, understanding, and treating the child. It centers on helping the child master the building blocks of relating, communicating, and thinking through the formulation of relationships via interactive play, using Floortime (a systematic way of working with the children to help them reach their developmental potential). This study sought to determine the effectiveness of NRMT in meeting musical goals specifically established for each individual child, and to conclude if progress in musical goals paralleled progress in non-musical (DIR®) goals. / Music Therapy