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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Autism
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1553883
Research trends of music in children with autism: a bibliometric analysis
Provisionally accepted
Ye Tao 1,2*
Chun Yu 3- 1 College of Child Development and Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang, China
- 2 Department of Special Education, College of Child Development and Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- 3 Department of Public Education , College of Child Development and Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, China
Introduction: The impact of music on children with autism—a condition marked by deficits in social interaction, communication, and behavior—has become a significant area of research. This study investigates current trends, key contributors, and emerging interests regarding music's effects on this population.Methods: A comprehensive review of publications from 1953 to 2024 on the influence of music on children with autism was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection. Bibliometric and visual analyses were performed with VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R version 4.3.3.Results: A total of 411 research papers were identified, with significant publication growth noted post-2009. The leading countries in this research include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, and Australia. McGill University ranked as the most prolific institution (23 publications), followed by the University of Montreal (17) and Vanderbilt University (12). The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders is the most influential journal, with an h-index of 19 and 1,706 citations. Professor Christian Gold emerged as the top author, with 12 papers totaling 599 citations. Key keywords included “children,” “autism,” and “therapy,” with a noted increase in terms like “social skills,” “communication,” and “engagement” since 2020.Conclusion: This study highlights music's potential to enhance social and communication skills in children with autism. Future research should explore the long-term effects of music therapy on language, cognition, and behavioral outcomes, as well as its role in improving engagement in educational and therapeutic settings.
Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Music, Bibliometrics, Children, Web of Science Core Collection
Received: 31 Dec 2024; Accepted: 05 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tao and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ye Tao, College of Child Development and Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.